Fun Activities to Beat the Blizzard Blues

Each week, our Moms Talk Q&A looks at questions and topics raised by local moms. Wondering how to hush a crying baby? Tiger Mother tactics got you thinking? Members of our Newton Patch Moms Council will answer your questions and offer their thoughts

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This week, our Moms Council discusses what do do with kids during the snowy days of winter. 

With all the snow days and blizzards we've had recently, parents are itching to find new activities for kids to do indoors or within relative close distance (the less driving in this weather, the better.) Hint: click on the council member's name to learn more about who she is. 

When the weather is so bad that we don't even want to venture out, it's time for some new "toys." Anabella has discovered the joy of taking tea bags out of a tin, one by one by one. We also took a box of summer clothes out of storage and played dress up (or, throw the clothes around the room.) Once the precipitation stops, we're to visit the faithful employees who haven't seen many customers, or we simply clear off the car and breathe in some fresh air!

Being stuck inside with an energetic 25-month old can challenge to anyone -- but it is especially trying when you're nine-months pregnant and longing for a nap!  When the snow falls and the roads are treacherous, I'll often pull out the mini trampoline and turn on some music to burn energy.  Other times we make messes with playdoh or draw with crayons on a roll of paper.  Around Christmas time our house was filled with Amazon boxes and they proved fun to play with, sit inside, or build with. Of course if all else fails, Lightening McQueen is good for 100 minutes or so.

Projects that can take a little longer are always great.  Cooking, crafts, building forts with couch cushions, etc. For slightly older kids, a fun idea is to take out the video camera and make a movie!  Let your kids come up with costumes, music, and a story.  

The Atrium Mall was our go-to place for indoor fun. There's parking, kid-friendly restaurants, a bookstore and the playspace with it's nursing and changing areas that make for a great destination. I  really  miss the Borders -- it was an ideal place to meet and have coffee with other moms. I hope something kid friendly pops up there soon, it would be a shame to have such lovely space go to waste.

You can also take the MBTA's  Green D line from Newton to Brookline Village and hit , a wonderful locally-owned toy store with a train table and kitchen area for kids.   is also right across from the Brookline Village T stop. They have really great shows for the little ones and they do wonderful birthday parties as well.  A couple of passes to the theatre make a great, inexpensive gift for kids who have everything and/or whose parent's don't have the space for more junk! In that same area,  there's which is geared for older kids, as well as coffee shops and restaurants nearby. 

I grew up in a temperate climate so even though I have lived in New England for 18 years, I don't think I will ever look out the window at fresh falling snow and say: "Let's go outside and play." I think this is something that is learned as a child. 

I do, however, want to try something a friend did. She filled squirt bottles with water and food coloring to paint the snow outside. Maybe we'll do that the next time we have a snow day, which seems like all too often this winter.

On snowy days, I much prefer to stay inside. I have found a few things that I really love to do inside with my boys (4-years and 18-months old). We'll have indoor picnics for lunch where we put the picnic blanket on the living room floor and use a lamp to pretend the sun is bright and shiny. We also take long baths -- yes, sometimes I jump in with them. Some ways to make the baths fun are to let them wear their bathing suits, turn off the lights and use glow sticks.

Since I do have boys, eventually all the things I think would be lovely to do indoors are not enough to burn off all that extra energy they build up inside. So, last Christmas we received the best gift ever: a trampoline for toddlers. This has saved us on several occasions when they are literally bouncing off the walls.

Getting to know our neighbors has also been very helpful because even if we can't drive, we can often get ourselves over to a neighbor's house and play.