Unfortunately, cabin fever is a “condition” that I’m all too familiar with but it doesn’t have to be. With these 8 awesome activities, you are sure to beat cabin fever with your kids and have loads of fun this winter!
Oh! I almost forgot a bonus factor. Everything is low cost or FREE!
LAST WINTER SUCKED. THERE, I SAID IT!
For real though, when I think back to what we did a year ago it was such a blur I can’t tell you one fun thing that we did together. In my defense, flu season was really bad and I had a young infant so I guess you could say I was a bit paranoid. I stayed cooped up in this tiny home and to put it honestly, it consumed me.
The fear of illness consumed my life for a good 3-4 months. Y’all, I didn’t even go to the grocery store! I would say postpartum hormones played a huge role in my fears. I felt trapped, completely unmotivated and with the passing weeks it only got worse.
The day I finally put my brave face on and went to Walmart was the day that I knew I couldn’t do this again. My almost 3 year old was simply amazed of each and every little thing. His face lit up when we walked inside and he couldn’t get enough. Everything had to be touched, played with and explored. It seemed like this was his first visit to Walmart and to him, it probably felt like it. It broke my heart to realize that I deprived my child of even the simple things in life.
1/3 of our lives were wasted and that’s such a huge chunk of time, especially to a 3 year old! I knew I had to do better and so that’s my goal for this year and the rest of our years. Living life to it’s fullest without fear (mostly, anyway).
BEAT CABIN FEVER OUTSIDE THE HOME
LOCAL LIBRARY
It is no secret that we love our library! There’s several programs to get involved with and it’s usually free to the public. In addition to the awesome programs there’s of course books to check out as well. Lounge at the library for a while and read books to your kiddos. If you are more like me though, you may prefer to bring a few home.
My 3 year old loves story hour and interacting with the other kids his age. There’s story time, music, crafts, and sometimes snacks too! He builds with Legos, blocks, and there’s even a small computer just for kids. Recently, our library has added a new program for babies too. My youngest seems to enjoy that.
Not only does the library benefit my kids, but it has also been a good outlet for me as well. Adult interaction is crucial for my own mental health so anywhere I can talk to other adults is a great opportunity.
PLAYING IN A TOY STORE
Okay, I know what you are thinking. A toy store? Has this girl lost her mind?
Some of you may think this is the craziest idea ever but it has been so fun for us. The first place we go in just about any store is the toys. There’s something so relaxing about looking through all of the fun toys and seeing what each one does. Sometimes, we let the kids pick out a very inexpensive toy but most of the time we just go to look around.
COFFEE “DATE”
This would probably not be the best idea for super young kids but I did this once with my 3 year old and it was so good for us!
A nearby town has a Starbucks inside the Kroger grocery store and one day I decided to go on a little one on one “date” with my son. I got myself a coffee and Wyatt picked out apple juice to go with his cake pop. We sat down and I gave him my undivided attention. It was very nice because this is something we don’t get to do very often here at home. Its hard to give him the attention he deserves with everything else going on. We definitely have more mother son dates planned for the future!
MCDONALD’S PLAY PALACE
I used to be the mom who never stepped foot into McDonald’s Play Palace. The amount of germs contained in that area was enough to keep me away for eternity. I have decided though that every now and then won’t hurt. We have taken a few trips this winter and you know what? We have returned home in one piece!
BEAT CABIN FEVER INSIDE THE HOME
CREATE FROM THE RECYCLE BIN
On nasty days when we don’t want to leave the home it can get pretty boring. There’s only so much of Netflix I can handle so sometimes we like to get creative! If you have a recycle bin, then you likely have several items that can be repurposed for crafts.
One day we were eating lunch and my 3 year old wanted to make a rocket. I dug around through our recycle bin and found several cardboard tubes. Our essential oils arrive in these through the mail and I never thought to use them for crafts. It ended up working out perfectly for Wyatt’s rocket!
If you save aluminum cans those could be repurposed for many different things. We have made a bird feeder out of them before and it makes a good pen holder too. Look around and see what you can come up with. You may be surprised at what you can create with materials you already have at home!
ORGANIZE THE PLAYROOM
This may not sound like the most fun thing to do but I feel like it is a huge pick me up when I’m feeling cabin fever creep in. What I like to do is make 3 piles. One is for donations, another is for the consignment store, and the 3rd is what I call a “maybe later” pile. The maybe later items are what I take to one of the grandmas or sometimes I split between them. We are getting the toys out of our house, but don’t want to commit to getting rid of completely.
Get your kids excited about organizing! Don’t treat it like a chore but instead more of a game. Explain to them that some other child is going to love the toys even more than he or she does. Wyatt will sometimes bring me a toy and say he wants to give it to someone else. It warms the heart!
HOST A PLAYGROUP
Kids love to play with other kids and hosting a playgroup is an awesome way to beat cabin fever! We haven’t been very good about hosting in the past but it is something I’d like to do more of.
Connect with old high school friends who have children. Invite them over and let the kids run wild. Chat with their mom or dad and eat snacks together. Watch a family movie with everyone together, play a board game, work on a puzzle. The list goes on and on!
PLAN FOR WARMER DAYS
Although it’s cold now, know that there are warmer days ahead (unless you live in a very cold area- sorry)!
Get yourself a yearly planner or make one out of a notebook. Write down fun things you’d like to do during the warmer months of the year. If you want to go camping or hiking make out a list of places you’d like to visit. Search the nearby areas for things to do and bookmark them. What will you need to bring? Make an Amazon wish list! Are you on a tight budget? Research ways to save money and check out a post I did on 5 tips for a budget friendly vacation!
Also, Pinterest! Need I say more? If you want to try out gardening, composting, building a new deck, or literally anything else check out Pinterest. Pin the daylights out of new ideas and get your kids in on the fun! When it starts to warm up your calendar will already be packed full of things to do.
HOW DO YOU BEAT CABIN FEVER?
Do you have different ways of beating cabin fever? Have you done any of the activities I listed? Let me know in the comments what works for you and your family!
PIN IT FOR LATER!
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