7 Ingenious Ways To Keep Your Toddler Entertained in the Winter Months

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You’re running low on snacks, toys are everywhere and the weather forecast shows more freezing cold temperatures for the foreseeable future. Before you panic, wondering how you will make it through the rest of winter with an active toddler, know that you’re not the only mom feeling winter burnout. Being stuck inside is hard! If you’re all out of ideas, here are seven ingenious activities to keep your toddler entertained in the winter months.

1. Indoor scavenger hunt

An indoor treasure hunt is a great way to get your toddler moving around and is an excellent idea for when you need a little break. Since it can be done from the comforts of the living room sofa, it was my go-to when I was pregnant with my second child and would be incredibly ill if I stood up.

To do this, you will ask your toddler to find you an object. You want that object to be within eyesight and not risky for them to get to. For example, if your toddler is learning colors, you could ask them to find a red toy. They will look through their toys for one that is red and bring it to you. With a bit of enthusiasm, you might be able to make it through the entire rainbow!

2. Build a castle

Kids love sitting in boxes. And, kids love castles. Combine the two, and your toddler will be happy for hours! If you have any Amazon boxes lying around – and I know you do – put them to good use with this fun afternoon activity.

First, you can do your best to draw parts of a castle on the box, like a tower or a big door. At the same time, your toddler can color the box. Once that’s done, put your toddler in the box, have their stuffies join them, and they can act like the king or queen of their own castle.

3. Frozen toy rescue

Frozen toy rescue can be played all year round but is especially helpful during the cold winter months. This one does require some advanced planning, but the result should be well worth it!

You will place small toys in a container, fill it with water and place it in the freezer overnight. When you’re ready to play, you will dramatically announce that your toddler’s toys are stuck in the ice and need to be rescued. Give them a spray bottle with warm water and plastic utensils to rescue the toys. You can take it one step further by introducing scientific concepts with them. Discuss why the ice is melting, or ask them to guess how many sprays it will take to free a toy and practice counting together.

4. Bake a sweet treat

Baking with toddlers is a fun way to spend time together and also practice essential skills like counting and hand-eye coordination. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy a tasty treat!

Your toddler will likely be more than willing to participate, but if they need a little coaxing, lure them in by letting them pour the ingredients into the mixing bowls or safely use cookie cutters to create fun shapes in the dough.

5. Paint the snow

Kids love playing in the snow, but if it’s just too cold to play outside, bring the snow inside and “paint.” This activity is easy and can be done with minimal supervision, so you can tend to other things that need to be done around the house.

You will need a container and some food coloring for this activity. I used this brownie pan, which worked just fine. Your toddler will squeeze drops of food coloring onto the snow to paint it. It will be exciting for them to see how the colors mix together to create new colors. If you have an artsy kid, they could even try to make a picture with the food coloring.

6. Sink or float

The best momming advice I have received so far was from a friend who told me, “When everything is going downhill, just add water.” And that’s exactly what you will do with sink or float.

We fill up a container with water and find toys or other items from around the house. Next, we each take turns guessing if the item will sink or float. Your kiddo will put the item into the water and watch what it does. Listen, I know that doesn’t sound that interesting, but my 3-year-old loses his mind over this game.

7. When all else fails, have a dance party!

Dance parties are good for the soul! My kids love it when we crank up some music and wiggle around. Plus, it’s good exercise!

I hope you give some of these activities a try with your little one! Let me know in the comments which your toddler liked best.

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