Snow Day Fun - Indoor Carnival!

Being stuck inside on a snow day is no excuse for boredom! I decided to transform my whole house into an indoor carnival when my two kids were home from school on a very cold snow day. Each room had a couple different games in it and I acted as their ring master to guide them from game to game. As my kids watched tv, I set it all up and had it ready to play, but then my kids had a fun time coming up with their own games! My daughter even set up a prize stand in her room, assigning points to each item so it was a great bit of math practice when it was time to cash in our prizes!

Here are a few of the games I came up with:

I used Washable Crayola markers to draw a huge target on our living room windows and had the kids shoot their dart guns at it.

We bounced plastic buttons into a display of plastic trays... from the Dollar Spot at Target! Score!

Just timing each other while we did a simple puzzle was really fun.

Here's my favorite one: a water shooting gallery!! I drew several circles across the back of my bathtub using Washable Crayola markers. Then the kids stood next to the tub and shot at the dots with water guns! The only thing to get wet was my bathtub, and as they kept shooting, the colored dots disappeared! We actually re-did this game a few times because it was such a big hit!

Here's a giant ring toss consisting of a hula hoop and a skinny little shelf I had in our family room.  You just need something sturdy enough that it won't fall over when the ring hits it! Even a person sitting down will work - we did it that way too. ;O)

We tossed a small basketball into a large basket in our hallway...

... and I set up a bean bag toss using a few bowls from our kitchen. Check out a Valentine's Day version I made HERE that shows how to make homemade bean bags!


We did have a few other simple games, and then my kids' games they made up got a little silly, but it was definitely a fun and different way to spend some time at home on a snow day! Plus we got prizes! Have fun!