It’s official. Atlanta has shut down for the snow. Between the 29 car pile-up on 285 and the slick and icy roads, many Atlantans have found themselves at home with their families today. It doesn’t look like temperatures are going to rise any time soon, which means it’s less likely the ice will melt so now the question is: How are you going to keep your kids entertained inside during this cold weekend?

As someone who has spend many cold winter days trapped inside with my extended family in Michigan I can give you plenty of games and activities all designed to keep your kids occupied all weekend.

1. Go Camping– Camping is not just for the summer anymore. Grab your tent and set it up in the living room. Combined with a roaring fire, you have the perfect camping experience. You can roast marshmallows, make smores or even cook a hot dog. Of course no camping trip is ever complete without a little fishing so fill up a tub and set kids up with fishing poles and nets. Use bath toys as fish and have a contest to see who can catch the most. Make sure you have the sleeping bags set up for tonight, sleeping in front of the fire after a day of fun will be a memory your kids have for a long time to come.
2. Telephone Pictionary – This simple game is easy to set up and a ton of fun for older kids. All you need is a lot of paper and pens. Cut up paper into small squares (quarter of a page). If four people are playing, four paper squares are needed. 6, people 6 squares, etc. Everyone will begin by writing a sentence on their paper. You’ll then pass the paper to the person on your left. That person will use their next piece of paper to draw a picture of your sentence. They put your sentence behind their picture and pass it to the left. Without looking at the first piece of paper the next person has to write a sentence interpreting what the picture is. This process continues until the papers have arrived back to their original owners. You’ll find yourself crying-laughing when you see the picture interpretations and the new sentences that come out of this game.

Other activities include:

1. Hide and Seek
2. Board Game Marathon
3. Coloring Contest
4. Obstacle Course
5. Treasure Hunts
6. Fashion Shows
7. Makeovers
8. Video Game Competitions
9. Indoor bicycling (it’s way more fun than you would think)
10. Stories by the fire

With a little creativity and research you’ll be able to find a plethora of activities sure to keep kids of all ages occupied. Have fun!