In case you missed my Jan. 10 post, I'll catch you up. This week's going to be bad. Really bad. Cold, nasty -- the whole nine.
What are you going to do with your kids if you're stuck in the house? Every day this week I'll give you a little something to do, an idea that doesn't cost a lot or require you to leave the house.
Today's plan? Dance Party.
This is something I used to do with my kids from time to time. It has no rhyme or reason to it, but the kids always loved it and it keeps them occupied -- at least for a little while.
In the dead of winter, when we were going stir-crazy, housebound insane, there were some days that were just made for dance parties. If you can call a friend and invite her and those kids too, even better.
Throw a pot of coffee on, and then head for the basement or closet to dig up last Halloween's costumes or costumes from the last few years. Ask your friend's kids to come wearing their old costumes, and also ask them to bring any extras they might have from years past.
Grab any other dress up clothes, sunglasses, big boots, hats, scarves, purses or other accessories that would make it fun.
Throw all the costumes the kids aren't wearing and any accessories into a big pile on the floor. Push back the furniture to make some room.
Now here's the key part -- find some music that really gets your kids rockin'. Back in the dance-party days for us, my kids and their friends were partial to the Disney "Tarzan" soundtrack and the "Spirit" soundtrack. Also big for us was this CD I bought for no good reason but it ended up being one of our favorites. It's called "African Playground."
Get your music going, encourage costume accessorizing and costume swapping, and just watch and enjoy. For some reason the combination of loud music, Halloween costumes and silly accessories seems to pass the time nicely. There's nothing quite like a Spider-Man costume paired with a Hannah Montana wig, a beaded handbag and aviator glasses and a "goofy dance move" competition to get everybody giggling.
Throw out a few bowls of crackers and some juice boxes, and you're all set.
Keep 'em moving, and you might even get some nice naps out of the whole experience.
OK, now you're all warmed up for the temperature drop. Get ready for tomorrow, when we're heading to the kitchen.
