Rain, Rain Go Away!
Rain, rain go away – or not because we are prepared!
There’s nothing quite like snuggling up on the couch, listening to the rain lash down outside, heaters blasting, steaming cup of tea, about to watch that movie you’ve been wanting to see since forever ago – bliss. When suddenly a small voice cuts through your blissful-ness. That’s right, you’re a mum (or dad) and you’ve got to keep your mini entertained on this miserable day!
Well fear not of the impending rainy days! We’ve come up with a few ideas that may help you survive the winter weather and potentially be labelled the BEST MUM/DAD ever!
- The first thing that comes to mind is making a hut or a fort. Use the cushions from the couch or the dining table and some blankets and get ‘building’! Bonus fun to have a picnic in the hut.
- Create a ten-pin bowling game with some empty plastic bottles. This may require some pre-planning but when you have some empty bottles, fill the bottom with some rice or sand to give it some weight and set them up like a ten-pin bowling alley down the hall. Give the kids a soft ball to use and let them bowl away!
- Dance party! Put on some of your favourite tunes and get dancing. Play musical statues or musical chairs if you’ve got a few kids at home.
- If you don’t mind a little mess, get baking. Kids love to help (read: lick the bowl) so pull out your recipe books and choose a recipe together. Bonus is the reward of eating the goodies at the end.
- Get creative and make your own paint brushes. This might include a trip to your local $2 shop for supplies. You’ll need wooden clothes pegs for the handles and for the brush part, you can use a variety of things like feathers, leaves, cardboard, sponge, cotton balls, Velcro, dried pasta – or anything around the home. Set up some paints and paper and let the creative juices flow!
- Puddle jumping! Why not get amongst the raindrops? Pop on your gumboots and a rain coat and have a little fun. Then snuggle up afterwards with a hot chocolate and marshmallows.
If you’re keen to get out of the house for a bit, don’t let a few rain drops put you off, here are a few ideas outside of the house, but inside from the weather:
- Kelly Tarltons
- Auckland Museum – it’s free for Auckland rate payers so don’t forget to take along something with your address on it
- Your local library
- Magic Loft Indoor Playground – lots of fun for kids of all ages and coffee for the parents
- Kidzone @ Xtreme Wairau Park – another awesome indoor playground for kids of all ages
- Mitre 10 and Bunnings have a fun little play area and cafes for the parents
Hopefully there is something there that will help pass the next rainy day. If you’ve got other ideas, we would love you to share them on our facebook page – help another tired parent out!!
