April showers bring May flowers and boredom

With spring in the air, rainy days are inevitable. For many, rainy days may seem like a wasted, gloomy day of nothingness. However, there are many ways to busy yourself indoors, even if you have bored kids or younger siblings to keep occupied.

If you have children or younger siblings, I would recommend finding a simple game or craft to keep them busy. Remember, the younger the child, the shorter the attention span. Make sure you have more than enough simple activities planned to easily occupy bored and distracted minds. Games like Hide and Seek and Duck, Duck, Goose are always fun for groups of three or more. If you are by yourself or with one other person, then card games like Solitaire, Go Fish or Spoons are great forms of entertainment. More ideas for card games and rules can be found here: http://www.todaysparent.com/family/activities/10-kid-friendly-card-games/

Crafts can also be simple and fun for individuals of all ages. Crafts can be as easy as throwing some glitter and paint on construction paper or as challenging as sculpting a life size masterpiece. Pinterest and YouTube are both great websites for finding various levels of do-it-yourself crafting in an endless supply. Here are some links to a few of my favorite crafts:

Glow-in-the-dark fairy light jars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeFsWbvixw0

Melted crayon art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgk0j-XSjGo

Clay crafts: http://www.parents.com/fun/arts-crafts/kid/clay-crafts-kids-will-love/#page=4

Spring crafts: http://handsonaswegrow.com/simple-spring-crafts-for-kids/

Rainy days can also give you a chance to find creative ways of staying warm. Spring rain is normally cold and somewhat gentler than a summer shower or thunderstorm. Springtime rain can put you in the perfect mood to curl up with a good book and a blanket, make a hot drink or even find a new recipe for a hot meal or a baked good. Below are links to recipes for warm drinks, baking ideas and hot meals:

Hot drinks:  http://redandhoney.com/50-hot-drink-recipes-to-warm-you-up-on-a-cold-day/

Warm meals:  http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/comfort-food-recipes/baked-potato-eggs-1

Baked goods:

Stuffed cookies:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/jensto2t/16-ways-to-stuff-a-cookie-1bor7

Rainy day desserts:  https://www.pinterest.com/mfrickrobinson/rainy-day-desserts/

Triple-chocolate Easter or spring-themed nests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTYW_FWMBio

Overall, there are many activities that you can participate in on a rainy day, but it is up to you to make your rainy day the most productive it can be.