Tag Archives: boredom busters

Must-Have Travel Accessory for Kids

I’ve spent the last eight years racking up more than 160,000 frequent flyer miles with my daughter during our annual jaunts from Wisconsin to Hawaii.  If all goes according to plan, we can get from our home to my parents’ house in roughly 18 hours. Of course, things rarely go according to plan. Honestly, I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve spent in various airplanes and airports with a young child who would rather be anywhere other than in an airplane or airport. What I do recall are all of the mistakes I’ve made during those seemingly endless flights. … Continue reading →

21 Indoor Boredom Busters

21 Indoor Boredom Busters Play Doh Have a coloring contest! Set up a fort in your living room and camp out with snacks and a movie. Tea party Have a fashion show! Indoor picnic Bake cookies Sit on comfy chairs or pillows with a bunch of books and read together. Put on a puppet show Play grocery store and let your little ones go shopping in the kitchen. Get out your Legos, MegaBloks, or wooden blocks and build a little city or see how can build the tallest tower. Clear out an area and tape down black construction paper on … Continue reading →

Christmas Break Boredom Busters

Today is the last day of school for many kids in our area.  Their Christmas break begins this afternoon and I’m sure they couldn’t be happier.  Their parents, on the other hand, may not share the same feeling. A week from now those same kids may be climbing the walls looking for ways to keep busy.  If you fear boredom will get the best of your brood before Santa flies into town, consider putting your kids to work making these simple and inexpensive holiday decorations that you can use to brighten up your home or give as gifts: Pretty Presents:  … Continue reading →

Inexpensive Ways to Countdown to Christmas

My 8-year-old adores her Snoopy countdown to Christmas calendar… and her wooden Advent calendar… and her chocolate-filled Advent calendar… and well, you get the idea.  My kid is obsessed with counting down to December 25th. While I enjoy seeing her excitement as she tears open the doors to her various candy-filled chronicles, Advent calendars don’t come cheap.  Neither do secular versions featuring syndicated cartoon characters. Fortunately, there are ways you can celebrate the coming of Christmas without going broke.  For example: Paper Chains:  Kids can craft a countdown to Christmas chain to help them visualize how many days until Santa’s … Continue reading →

Frugal Summer Boredom Busters

How do you keep the kids occupied during the summer while still staying on budget? Stay away from the fancy camps and cheap indoor playgrounds and provide them with a summer that is rich in experience but inexpensive in price. Feel free to build upon the following ideas or add your own in the comments. 1. Visit the library: go on a summer adventure through free science in the summer activities, free movies and of course, free books. 2. Explore your town: take advantage of the fun and cheap things to do in your own backyard. Is there a pond … Continue reading →

Frugal Summer Fun for Bored Teenagers

With summertime upon us, and long, lazy days that have grown in length, there are way too many hours in a day to keep a teenager entertained. If your teenager is to young to get a part time job, or has other commitments that prevent it, you might be faced with an extremely bored teenager. Boredom can lead to problems, so trying to get your teenager involved in other activities, seems like the thing to do. Encourage your teen to try volunteering at a community center, or at a camp for the summer. They might really enjoy the interaction with … Continue reading →

Holiday Boredom Busters

Sometimes, being off school sounds awesome, but then it can be a little boring. You get so used to being busy that not having any planned activities can quickly lead to boredom. TV and video games are fun sometimes, but you can’t spend all your time in front of a TV or monitor. So, here are some ideas of things kids can do during school vacations: Picture This! Here’s a fun game you can play that Mom and Dad will probably like too. It’s based on a TV game show called Win, Lose, or Draw. It’s simple and all you … Continue reading →

Boredom Busters: Simple Games

With a little imagination, nearly anything can be made into a simple game. You can use kitchen items and dried foods, or coins, beads, and recyclable items. These types of simple games make great boredom busters any time, but they also work great to fill time or keep kids busy while you make other preparations during parties. Penny Pitch *Supervision is required for young children due to the use of small items that could be swallowed. Use large muffin tins as game boards and have children pitch pennies into the muffin cups. There are different ways to play and different … Continue reading →

What to do on a rainy Saturday, as Turn Off Your TV Week is about to start?

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We headed for the museum. We are lucky to live in a city where there are tons of them, and we know how to take advantage. We drove in early, found a legal spot on the street (if you’re patient, you can find one, even in a busy area like the Upper East Side of Manhattan), carried our young charges through the rainy sidewalks and up the twenty-six steps to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is featuring an exhibit on Hathshepsut, a Queen who became Pharaoh as she ruled with her nephew, Thutmose III (note: “Thutmose” is recognized by … Continue reading →

On The Road With Children–“Sanity-Savers”

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My mother is a born craft queen. I am not a loyal subject, but will accept any and all completed projects she sends my way. We are getting ready to take my toddler daughter on a long car trip so my mom has put together some supplies that will hopefully avoid a major backseat meltdown. I agree, regardless of the ages and attention spans of your children, portable DVD players and hand-held video games are sanity-savers on long car trips, but these ideas may come in handy as well. · Books on tape (with a twist). My mom got my … Continue reading →