Let’s face it, in the UK, winter evenings do not always have people wanting to go outside. So staying in and enjoying time at home on cold winter evenings is quite common. But staying in doesn’t have to mean feeling like you are trapped by the weather or as if ‘there is nothing to do’! There are so many activities you can do as a family, all within the comfort of your own home.
Here are just a few of the activities that you can do all together:
Classic movie night
A movie night is a classic, and for good reason! You can take turns picking out a movie and even have a themed night according what you pick. On CHILI, there are a lot of great children’s movies that you can choose from like Frozen for example, which is one of my family’s favourites.Sometimes my kids can make it through a movie just being completely entranced by the story. Other times, not so much. And a movie night doesn’t just need to be a night where you simply watch a film: you can build activities around it. For example, you can create a snowman like the movie’s lovable Olaf character, cut out snowflakes, or make one of the many DIY Frozen-inspired snacks and desserts to enjoy with or after the movie!
Game night
A game night is a great way to take a break from the screen time and enjoy some good old-fashioned fun. Every family member can bring out their favourite game and you can take turns playing them as you go. Twister is a fun and classic game that I don’t think could ever get old and card games are a go-to for us.
Read a book
Reading a book together on a night-in is a wonderful way to spend time together, get lost in a story. Plus, if everyone picks out their favourite book to read, you can learn so much about the interests of everyone. With kids, interests can change so quickly, so a book can give you a peak into what’s current with your family and even give you ideas for other activities to do along those lines. For example, if your kid chooses a book about a train, you can build a train set inside!
Bake
Baking is an especially nice activity to do together during this festive time of the year. Your home will smell lovely, you will have some tasty food at home, and you can have fun making and decorating whatever you may bake. For example, if you are feeling festive you can bake and decorate some gingerbread cookies!
Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts are the perfect answer for when you are feeling a bit antsy at home and need to have some sort of outlet, especially a creative one. You can weave arts and crafts to each of these categories, or simply enjoy colouring, creating and having an end product to be proud of! Here are some ideas to get some inspiration from.
These are only a few of activities to do while you’re spending a night-in. There are plenty of other things to do, like making a jigsaw puzzle, building a fort, hosting a show-and-tell or inviting friends over to do any combination of the activities all-together.
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
Great ideas, I do love a family night in. We tend to go for movies and games here, we love them!