Wet Day Winners

50+1 ideas to keep the kids busy when it rains

Thursday, 13 Dec 2012

The rain has settled in, the kids are getting ratty, and you’re this close to giving them away.

Don’t fret. We’ve got 50+1 ideas to keep your kids busy (and hopefully out of your hair) on those wet Singapore afternoons.

1. Let the kids loose with playdough; roll it, squash it, mould it, cut it, but don’t eat it. Don’t have any playdough in the house? You can make some!

2. Rainy afternoons are perfect for baking, the kids can help mix, measure, and pour. Keep it simple and quick with recipes that have short cooking times, like peanut butter biscuits or berry muffins.

3. Set up an indoor bowling centre. Blocks can be used as ‘pins’ and any soft ball becomes a bowling ball!

4. Challenge your littlie to use every single piece of road or train track to make a big mega track. Don’t have any? Why yes you know you can make some.

5. Keep a few sticker and colouring books on hand. The perfect way for bored kids to keep busy practicing their drawing (and sticking) skills.

6. Create a treasure map and hide objects around the house. Get the kids to locate the ‘treasure’.

7. Brave the rain and head to your nearest indoor play centre. Best to remember the socks! Try Fidgets, Go Go Bambini, or Royce Kid’s Gym.

8. A big sheet of paper plus a few tubs of paint = finger painting fun. Let the kids unleash their creativity.

9. Cushions, a few old sheets, and a touch of imagination are all you need to set up a loungeroom cubby house.

10. Get the puzzles out and piece them together. Creative and time-consuming (yes!).

11. Dust off the cookie cutters and make gingerbread men. Bonus points for parents who also help decorate with royal icing and sprinkles.

12. Those lucky enough to have an outside space can use the opportunity of a rainy afternoon to let kids play in the mud, Peppa Pig style!

13. Pull out the craft box – courtesy of Lollibox – and let the children go wild. Our favourite? The Under the Sea themed box.

14. Go swimming! It’s raining anyway so why not let the children paddle in the pool? Watch out for lightening though!

15. Old clothes make perfect dress-ups for young fashionistas.

16. Grab a cab and head to your local shopping centre for a spot of retail therapy. Great World City and Tanglin Mall have plenty of toy shops.

17. Dust off the old movies and spend the afternoon watching childhood classics like Cinderella and Mickey Mouse (the originals, of course).

18. Who likes Aeroplane Jelly? We do! Hot water, a packet of jelly mix and hey presto – jelly moulds! Let the kids help.

19. There is fun to be had in simplicity. Play a game of good ol’ hide and seek. Extra points for kids who can count to twenty without peeking.

20. Say hello to Grandma and set up a Skype call with family back home.

21. Rescue the last of the bananas and make a banana sundae. Eat sloooowly.

22. A shoe box and a packet of rubber bands and you have yourself a DIY guitar. Rock on.

23. Teach the children yoga – kids are naturals. Get the kids into poses like cobra and down facing dog.

24. Find an all you can eat buffet. Compete to see who lasts the longest.

25. Venture to the local cinema to catch the latest blockbuster from Hollywood. Rise of the Guardians is fit for the family this month.

26. Catch a play. January rain means one thing – KidsFest!

27. Donate your old magazines to the children and let them cut them up to make a collage. Hours of cutting and pasting to be had.

28. Mini manicurists can keep busy painting their fingernails, or Mum’s, or their siblings.

29. Invite your children’s besties around and play a round of Junior Masterchef.

30. Great for Mums (and fabulous for the general cleanliness of the place) – clean out the toybox. Create 3 piles – keep, throw and donate (and when the rain stops… throw and donate!).

31. Recently moved apartments? Save those packing boxes and use them to make a collapsible indoor playhouse. Recycles easily too.

32. A big sheet of paper, a couple of old trucks, and a tub of paint and you have the most interesting art project for your little ones. Paint tracks with toy trucks!

33. Rescue a few old potatoes and create DIY vegetable stampers. Cut the vegetables in half, create some cool cross-sections, dip in paint, and stamp away.

34. Dust off the board games and sit down for an afternoon of family game time. Extra wet afternoons call for extra long games like Monopoly (or Snakes and Ladders for younger ones).

35. Don the skates and head towards your nearest ice skating rink. Our pick? Marina Bay Sands.

36. Keep little chins up by creating kites at home!

37. Let your little Vikings use stray cushions (and other handy household objects) to make their own fort.

38. Build a cardboard city using old cereal and shoe boxes. Spend time decorating them like your favourite city.

39. Mini actors and actresses can dramatise a classic play. Invite their friends over to create a modern day version of The Wizard of Oz.

40. Share the joy of literacy with your children by spending time writing, decorating, and binding your own picture book.

41. Hit the local art shops – before the rain settles in – and look for moulding clay. Brilliant for small hands to play with (and you don’t even need to bake their creations to set it).

42. Make the Chinese classic, noodles and soup, and teach the kids how to use chopsticks to eat their noodles.

43. Channel your inner Picasso and make your own face paints. Spend the afternoon painting the kids’ faces!

44. Go indoor camping. Try Ikea for (affordable) children’s tents.

45. Invest in some indoor chalkboards and keep them aside for wet afternoons. Play games like Hangman or Tic-Tac-Toe.

46. Think old-school hair wraps. Spend time braiding your kid’s long hair into DIY hair wraps. Beads optional.

47. Who doesn’t have some pasta shapes sitting around the place? Of course you do. Give them to the little ones and teach them how to string pasta bracelets.

48. Future textile designers will enjoy making a no-sew bunting. Kids can pick their favourite patterned materials.

49. Simple but oh so noisy – karaoke! Let your kids pick their favourite tunes and belt away.

50. Small squares and glue sticks equal mosaic fun. Tip: the smaller the squares, the longer it will take your little lovelies to finish their mosaic creations.

51. Think tall. Collect all the wooden blocks and Duplo you can find and set up competitions for your children to see who can build the tallest tower.

Image: PBS