There is nothing more frustrating than a house full of kids that have nothing to do. That is a recipe for a very long day. Fortunately, there are countless things you can do to prevent such a nightmare. There are hundreds of indoor activities for kids that cost next to nothing and will entertain them for hours. Here are some of my personal favorites:
Frugal And Fun Indoor Activities For Kids
Basketball On Your Knees
All you need is a Nerf hoop or a trashcan to have hours of fun with this simple game. Simply have a Nerf hoop set up on the door and play Horse, one on one or a full on basketball game if you have the space to do so. If you don’t have the cash for a Nerf hoop you can easily make due with a trashcan on top of a table. Wad up a paper “ball” and you have the perfect set up! No dribbling necessary and you can’t leave your knees to play this one. (This one gets bonus points for wearing them out but you also should move any breakables)
Build a Boat
Constructing something from nothing is always a good strategy for calming unruly and bored kids. Gather up all of your scrap materials, cardboard, papers and art supplies that might already be around the house. Set aside a place in the house that is safe and instruct them to build something with it. It should be hard enough that it is a challenge but easy enough that they won’t give up. Vote a leadership structure into place by having positions. Lead builder, second in command, secretary, supplies leader, and so on. Instruct them to do this in a professional manner and to vote the person in each position they want. (They are not allowed to vote for themselves) Building a boat is always fun because in the end, they can take it to the lake or bathtub to see if it works.
Come up with a new play or act out an existing one
Nothing is more fun when you have several kids in one spot than to make up a play. Telling a story is exciting and fun and it costs absolutely nothing. Be sure to put together a “crowd” to enjoy the end result and make their efforts worthwhile.
Whip out the old board games
Nobody is going to bored for very long if you play board games. Clue, Monopoly, Twister and countless other classics are wonderful and inexpensive ways to have a good time.
Have a monster game of charades
There are few things that are better with kids than charades. The freedom and simplistic nature of the game is perfect. Best of all, everyone will get involved and nobody will ever feel left out. Charades is a great kid game.
Set up a scavenger hunt
You do need a little space and enough room inside to move about, but a scavenger hunt is a ton of fun. The idea can be adjusted and changed to fit whatever situation is needed. Simply hide random items in a particular area and the kid that comes back with the most items wins. It is kind of like hide and go seek without the kids having to hide themselves.
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