Suds 'Em Up Toy Wash

This is one of our family favorites!

Have on Hand: A tub of toys, mild dish soap or liquid baby soap

Boredom Buster Description: This was one of our favorite summer activities. We'd dump all the dusty, dirty toys into the plastic baby pool. Add dish soap, water, and kids. We'd have a splashing good time and clean toys to boot.  Well the idea works in the tub too! You might have to  squelch the splashing just a little but when the toys are clean, the kids are too!

Drive-In Movie Theater

Have on Hand: 
LCD projector (borrow it from the office)
The latest and greatest DVD release
Every ride-on toy in the neighborhood

Boredom Buster Description:   When our kids were young, I worked for a company that produced LCD projectors. Having a movie up on the wall at our house soon hit the Top Ten list of favorite things to do. Today, big screen TVs are everywhere, but kids still love the drive-in movie nights in our basement! We play this one in the basement where there is plenty of space to drive around. You'll need one blank wall to project the movie, and space to line up all the kiddie cars and trikes.  Set up a ticket booth for the "cars" to drive through. And, of course, you'll need a snack stand. Distribute play money and allow everyone to choose a favorite snack to buy. Truly creative types will add parking lines to the floor using masking tape and create "speakers" for each vehicle using Styrofoam cups and some yarn. The older kids can perform the pre-show commercials and trailers. Hit the lights and let the show begin!

Boredom Buster Bio:  Okay, so my kids were toddlers a LONG time ago. This STILL worked over the holidays when we hosted the five kids from next door while their parents went on a Christmas wrapping frenzy.

Thank you, Rosemary Schwendler, for this great idea!

Family Room Campout

 

This is a family favorite!

Have on Hand: 
Hot Dogs, S'more Stuff or other camping food
Sleeping bags (or blankets) and Pillows
Flashlights
Fireplace (optional)
Tent (optional)
Guitar (Optional)
Glow Sticks (optional)

Boredom Buster Description:
Light a "campfire" in the fireplace, lay out the sleeping bags on the family room floor or if you have some extra space, set up a small tent. Then let the indoor campout begin. Not only is this loads of fun for cold weather nights but it's also perfect for those wee ones not yet ready to tame the great outdoors. If you've got plenty of extra adults supervising, throw down a tarp to protect the carpet and cook dinner over the campfire. Top it off with S'mores. Try a progressive ghost story in which each child adds his own scene. Then break out a guitar (or a CD with some classic campfire tunes!) and let a soothing singalong lull little ones to sleep.

Bathtub Swim Party

 

Have on Hand:   Bathtub, bathing suits, beach toys

Boredom Buster Description:      On those cold winter days when swimming is far, far away we have a bathtub swim party!!  I let my daughter put on her favorite swim suit, we get out beach pails, shovels, anything left from the summer!  She loves in the middle of the day breaking out of our usual routine to do this fun thing!  I have been known to bustout water color paints and  bathtub finger painting on these days too!!

Boredom Buster Bio:  I am the mom of 3 VERY active kids! So being bored is not an option for me! I try to make sure they have fun too!

The Cure for Boredom is curiosity... there is no cure for curisity! - Dorothy Parker

Thank you, Rhiannon Castetter for this great idea!

Indoor Sandbox

 

Have on Hand:

-Cookie sheet or other baking pan with sides

-Bag of cornmeal*
-Spoons, cups, cookie cutters, other small toys
-Dustbuster (for later)

Boredom Buster Description:   Pour cornmeal onto the baking sheet and watch the fun begin! Make cornmeal mountains for your army men. Make cornmeal highways for your hotwheels. Stamp lovely cookie cutter designs in your cornmeal and erase them with a little shake.

*Brown sugar makes fabulous indoor sandcastles because it can be packed and hold a shape. BUT, I dare you not to "sample" your kids' clever creations.

Boredom Buster Bio      In our neck of the desert (Tucson, AZ), where much of our boredom takes place in the scorching hot summer months, this is by far the favorite activity. My son, Max, is seven and my daughter, Nora, is five. Indoor Sandbox keeps the bickering at bay--as long as they have equal amounts of cornmeal on their trays :) Hope you enjoy!

Thank you, Lori Alexander, for this great idea!