If you’re a mother, you’ve probably faced this challenge at some point: it’s raining, you can’t go outside, but you’ve just cleaned your perfectly set up home and it actually doesn’t look like a mess for once. But you need to entertain the kids, so how do you do that without trashing the entire house again or getting paint on your new wallpaper? Don’t worry, here are five fun activities you can do at home with the kids, that won’t ruin the house and aren’t just sitting in front of the TV.
Fort Building
Fort building is an all-time classic activity, and while it might sound messy, it can actually be an excellent and easy to clear up activity. Grab all the chairs, couches, blankets, duvets and cushions you can find and construct a secret sanctuary. If you want to go the extra mile, you can even throw up some fairy lights and have a little movie night inside with some popcorn.
Magic Tricks
Magic tricks may not be the first thing that springs to mind, but they are actually an easy, fun and engaging activity, especially for older kids, providing hours of fun. The main obstacle that stands in the way of most people is a lack of knowledge on how to do the magic tricks, but that’s okay, you don’t need to be a professional magician. With sites like Rebel Magic, you can find easy to follow tutorials that’ll keep your kids entertained for hours.
Reading
Reading is a classic quiet and non-messy activity for kids. Reading rates are declining in children, which isn’t great, because reading has been shown to actually help children’s brains to develop faster, allowing them to express themselves better, develop their creativity and sense of imagination, as well as helping them academically. If your kids are a bit older, they might want to take out their own books from the library and read by themselves, but for younger kids, reading with their parents can be a great way to encourage a love of books and keep them entertained.
Origami
More for older kids (but the younger ones can still have fun) origami is an ancient Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes or figures. Pro origami artists can create huge sculptures such as dragons and swans, but there is also a lot of fun to be had with beginners. You can buy origami sets online that teach kids how to make basic figures such as frogs and birds.
Dance Party
Stick on some tunes, perhaps some throwback tracks to your own childhood and get dancing. This is not only fun for the kids, but also for the adults, and allows you all to get in some exercise, which will de-stress you and hopefully wear them out a bit.
There are many more options for mess-free home activities, but these are just some of the most popular options to save for a rainy day. Hopefully they’ve inspired you to be a bit more creative when it comes to one of those days you’ve been locked in the house.