When you’ve got a fun day planned outside and the weather turns, always nice to have some fun backup ideas to keep the kids entertained. These are also great for days where it’s too hot to play much outside, when you’ve had too much sun – or just fun anytime!
– Check out Across the Board Cafe. A cute little place in the Exchange, for $5 per person you get access to all of their board games. And they have over 800 of them! A fun way to try out some new games without buying a bunch and it makes for a really fun family outing. They have all kinds of food and snacks too. This place is actually a great money saver too, by testing out the games you really get a feel for them. I had a few really expensive games on my wishlist and we went there to try them out – and they really didn’t work for our family. Glad I found out before buying them! And we found other games I never thought we’d like, which we ended up buying after and have played at home a lot. It’s a great concept, and kids find it very exciting to go there.
– Bowling is always a fun family outing – check out the summer bowling deal at Coronation Lanes or the Kids Bowl Free promotion. Usually nice and cool in bowling alleys too which is great on hot days. We like to make our family bowling outings super competitive as the kiddo is just as good as both parents – always ends up being a blast. This is a good one too for grandparents and extended family, make it into a tournament.
– Head to the movies – always a hit with the kids. There are cheap movies on Saturday mornings and you can also get discount packs at Costco. Or save up and use your scene points to keep the costs down.
– Check out an indoor play facility, like SkyZone, Great Big Adventure or KidCity. Let the kids run around and wear themselves out.
– Ikea is always fun on a rainy day. Have a cheap breakfast or lunch and wander the store. Always fun for kids to test out all the different furniture and for parents it’s a good time to look at what’s new. I like wandering to get new ideas for organizing and updating.
– Head to a museum – we have so many to choose from! Manitoba Museum, St. Boniface, Childrens, Wpg Railway, Hydro, Aviation Museum or even the Art Gallery. Perfect for a rainy day and so much for kids to explore. And things for all ages also.
– Check out the Forks or a different type of market like Piazza de Nardi. Always some neat things to see, and can be inspiring for cooking too. Or check out a great toy store like Toad Hall or Kite and Kaboodle.
– Do a Purge and Trade Day. Get the kids to clean their rooms but make it fun and with an incentive. They can do keep, trade or toss – and at the end you can either trade with a friend or family member – or go donate it all and trade your kids for a coupon for a special outing or something you know they’d enjoy.
– Let the kids pick a recipe from a cookbook or online – something crazy or fun they’ve always wanted to try. Rainy days are the perfect time to experiment in the kitchen, and I know my daughter loves to get the chance to choose anything she wants to make. Shop for the ingredients together and depending on the age of the kids they can even make you dinner or dessert.
– Surprise the kids with a Family Project Day. Keep a special puzzle hidden away for a day like this, or even stock up on supplies in advance to create your own board game! Get a foam board and let the kids go nuts – it’s easy to do and the kids will really enjoy playing it when they created it. The punishment and reward type of cards are always fun when kids made them up, you never know what they’ll come up with. Another fun one is some sort of family olympics – we often do that with Wii games in the winter – but it can be with almost anything. The kids can make medals or trophies, keep track of results and it’s a lot of fun and great memories for everyone.
What are your favourite things to do on rainy days? There’s always playing in puddles too! 🙂