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Winter indoor days
When it's too cold, too dark or too icy to go out. Forts, a living-room campout, kitchen projects, games that burn energy indoors, and a few to get ready for winter storms.
15 plans · Most useful December to February · Every one says plainly whether a real dad has tried it yet.
The plans
Pick by age and time →
Tie a square knot and a bowline
The overhand, the square knot and the bowline, in the order kids can learn them. Two ropes and a kitchen table.
Pancake Saturday
Measure, crack, stir, flip. A real recipe a kid can make with you, and breakfast at the end.
Make-your-own pizza night
A toppings bar, a ball of dough for each kid, and one rule: Dad runs the oven. Everyone names and rates their pizza.
Toddler snack helper: wash, tear, stir, pour
Rinse, tear, stir, pour. Small real kitchen jobs for toddlers, and a snack they made themselves.
Picture-book point-and-name for toddlers
One picture book, your finger and three questions. Point, name, ask "Where's the dog?" and let them point back. Fifteen minutes a day.
Chapter-book nights: 20 minutes, voices, cliffhangers
One chapter book, 20 minutes a night. Recap, do the voices, stop on a cliffhanger, and ask what happens next.
Blanket-fort reading den
Two chairs, a sheet and a flashlight. Build the den, stock it with books and pillows, and read inside with the lights off.
Cardboard marble run on the wall or a box
Paper-towel tubes, a box and painter's tape. Build it one piece at a time, test every drop, fix what fails, and land the marble in a cup.
Rainy-day hallway obstacle course
Tape line, cushion lava, blanket tunnel, sock toss, bear crawl. Five stations, built from what you have, in a hallway on a rainy day.
The screen-free swap box
A box with ten ready-to-go things to do instead of a screen. Build it together in 30 minutes. Pull a card when screen time ends.
Living-room campout
Tent or fort on the floor, flashlight games, a story in the dark, and everybody sleeps at camp. Battery lights only.
A 20-minute family workout in the living room
Warm-up, six stations twice through, cool-down. Jumping jacks, wall sits, bear crawls and push-ups, with Dad doing every one.
Build a real-food dinner together
Draw the dinner, check the fridge, shop for the gaps, cook it together. Protein, vegetables and a whole grain, with a thermometer to finish.
Play their video game with them
Your kid teaches you their favorite game. You ask questions, lose a lot, then check the rating and the chat and spending settings together.
Build a family emergency kit together
Turn the Ready.gov kit list into a house-wide hunt, do the water math together, make a contact card and pick two check dates a year.
Tick a few on Start here to print them as one pack. Other times of year: Back to school · Summer break · Holidays.