We made a New Year’s resolution to cut way back on our spending. We’ve bought almost nothing for the kids this year, and it’s forced us to be really imaginative to create games for the kids!

I thought I’d share a few of the tricks we’ve come up with to entertain the kids with nothing but our collective imagination.

1. Waltzing

This may be the best thing I’ve ever done as a parent. In the morning, I type “Chopin Waltz” into YouTube and press play: 

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Then Olive and Charlie will come RUNNING from wherever they are in the house, and leap into my arms for a waltz. It’s probably their favorite thing that I do… I will waltz with them while counting out each step (1-2-3, 1-2-3) and then when the music hits a certain refrain, I will start spinning and spinning around with them in my arms and they will squeal and squeal with laughter.

Seriously if you haven’t waltzed with your kids, you are missing out!

2. Magic Wand

The other day I was walking home with Charlie, and promised him a “surprise” when we got home. As usual though, there was no surprise and I had to make something up when I got home.

Here’s what I came up with: I taught Charlie how to cast two spells from Harry Potter:

* Expecto Patronum
* Wingardium Leviosa

Then I handed him a magic wand (aka a stick from a tree, or a chopstick – depending on what is handy) and told him to cast the spell and point the stick at one of my pockets. Then I reached into the pocket, and pulled out a toy that I had secretly put in the pocket when he wasn’t looking.

The first time I did this, his eyes got as big as saucers and I told him it was MAGIC! I thought I was so clever, but the joke was on me as he loved it and cast about 4,000 spells on my pockets over the next two hours. It truly is an endless source of free (and magical!) fun.

If you’d like, you can teach your child one of the three unforgivable curses (Avada Kedavra, Crucio, or Imperio)… but I strongly recommend against it. If your LO gets an owl from Hogwarts, they’re likely to go straight to Slytherin if they’ve been practicing the Dark Arts.

3. Kiss egg

This is the world’s dumbest game, but we play it all the time so it definitely has staying power. I take two of those plastic eggs that are ubiquitous around Easter, and I put a small toy dinosaur in one of the eggs. Then I put the eggs behind my back, switch them around, and show Charlie both eggs… and ask him the big question:  “Which one is the Dinosaur Egg, and which one is the Kiss Egg?”

Once he picks his egg, then I make a big production out of opening the egg, peeking in, and seeing if there’s a dinosaur in it. If there is, I give him the dinosaur and give him a high five!

If there’s no dinosaur though, I tell him it’s the kiss egg and chase him around trying to give him a big kiss! He loves it and as soon as I’m done chasing him, he wants to play it again right away.

I made up this game on a lark and thought he’d forget it quickly, but the next day he showed me two eggs and asked, “Which one is the Dinosaur Egg, and which one is the Kiss Egg?” Here is Charlie playing a similar game last year (this predates the Kiss Egg game):

He loves this game so much that we play it a couple times a week.

4. Boing

Does anyone remember Gummiberry Juice?

Basically the Gummi Bears would drink this special juice, and be able to bounce super high in the air. Well both kids love to “boing” Gummi-style… here’s how you do it:

1. Hold your child under their armpits.
2. Say BOING really loudly.
3. Then pretend your child is bouncing and lift them really high in the air, as if they just drank a huge container of Gummiberry juice.
4. Say BOING again.
5. Repeat until you go insane or your arms go numb.

My friend Premal taught Charlie how to “boing” and since then, he’s begged on a regular basis for me to boing him – especially when we’re walking home from daycare. It’s one of his favorite things to do – and as an added bonus, it really gives your triceps a great workout!

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As the kids get older, I’m realizing that it’s increasingly possible to entertain them with nothing but imagination! In this world of YouTube and video games systems, imaginations are increasingly underrated… it’s been a lot of fun to get to exercise that part of our brains together!

We’d love some more imagination-powered entertainment… do you have any fun and free games you play with your kids?