Hellobee

{That’s our street! Somewhere.}

I love a good snowstorm as much as the next girl. In fact, there were times in my life when I hoped, prayed, and crossed everything in an effort to be snowed in. To disconnect. To curl up on the couch with a good book and some hot chocolate. To get some extra knitting time. Or, to simply look out the window, watch the snow fall, and daydream.

Well friends, I have come to the realization that snow days as a Mama are lots. of. hard. work. There is no reading, no knitting, no daydreaming. There is just all the regular stuff you normally do and the task of entertaining an energetic child who has lots of pent-up energy, as well as lots of anticipation of all the FUN he is going to have once he can go outside. Add in that this blizzard knocked out our power as well and you have one BIG task on your hands. Because, let’s face it. You can only read so many picture books, build so many train tracks, or play hide-and-seek for so long. Plus, there seems to be some Murphy’s Law that dictates all of your child’s “favorites” become “boooooorrriiinnggg!” when you most need them. You know, like the the train he’s been playing with every. single. day. since Christmas becomes an absolutely unacceptable option when you are trying to manually light the stove to heat the water for some much needed coffee. I tell you… this parenting gig keeps you on your toes!

I was not as prepared as I should have been. I guess I never realized how long four days inside the house could be. And how many hours of play you needed to fill up. That said, I did have a couple of winners for both my little and me (read : neither one of us were bored) that I wanted to share in case you ever find yourself in need of some snow day entertainment. Or, whenever you need to mix in a little something different.

Snowy Day Activities

1. Play Forts. Now, play forts are nothing new around here. But this time, we built the mothership of all play forts. We grabbed comforters from beds, spare sheets, and even a few baby blankets. We used tables and chairs for support, as well as one of the half-walls in our house. Some cardboard from the recycling even provided a few half walls. In the end, our fort took up a pretty good area. And while it provided me an extra pile of laundry, it was a fair trade for the entertainment. Bonus : It was toasty in the fort which was super nice given the no-heat scenario we had!

2. Masking Tape Roads. Got a rug? Got masking tape? Got toy cars? That’s all you need! I drew inspiration from this site, but there are loads of ideas on the web and pinterest. Suddenly, those “boring” matchbox cars are fun and exciting all over again! Bonus : This can be revisited later as train tracks, airport runways, and whatever else you can dream up!

3. Shadow Puppets. Well, we already had flashlights in rotation, so why not make it fun… right?! I had a shadow puppet craft kit on hand, but if you do a web search you will find lots of printable options. I think I may print these or these or these out for future use. While my little made me do most of the story telling, he did share a tale or two of his own. One of which was about a little boy who was so bored because there was nothing to do. Point taken, Lil’ Painter. Point taken. Bonus : This one will grow with him. I can see future snow storms where he tells the stories, and makes the puppets himself. {Please note : I chose not to do hand shadow puppets with him because at this stage, that would have been frustrating for him. As he gets older, we’ll obviously incorporate those too!}

4. Ice Candle Holders. Again, no lights… so making the best of it. And, we had the bonus of being able to throw these out on the back deck to freeze. I had bookmarked this link a few months ago, but never got around to making one. We grabbed some clean plastic containers out of the recycling bin, some sand buckets, and some food coloring… and whipped these up. (We used food coloring instead of cranberries and flameless candles instead of real ones.) Bonus : It’s a science lesson, disguised as fun!

5. Snow Ice Cream. Well, we gotta do something with all that snow besides build snowmen and forts, have snowball fights, and make snow angels… right?! This recipe is a great way to fill the time during the actual storm, before it’s safe to go outside. And, it’s a fun way to measure the snow fall. (And yes, I realize it’s not healthy… but sometimes a Mama has to do what a Mama has to do to get through… right?!) Bonus : I’m sure there is one… but really, do you need to have a bonus when a sweet treat is involved?! {It should be noted that we did this before the power went out. Otherwise it would have been too cold inside to have this!}

So, there you have it! The Paintbrush’s top five ways to wait out the storm. I’m already thinking about how I can mix in alternatives for next time.

Do you have any tips or tricks for when you are stuck inside for days?