Rainy Day Games and Fun
By Brenda Hyde

When rainy days sneak up on us I'm sure most parents arel looking for those special activities to keep our little ones occupied when they can't run outside. When I was a kid we loved to play dress-up, and my kids love this too, when I encourage it. Let's face it, with the distractions of video games and television you have to push the old fashioned activities a little bit more than our parents did. One easy and inexpensive thing to start doing is assembling dress-up theme tubs. You can store them in the closet or basement where they can be hauled out on rainy days. Many of the items you'll find around the house, and the rest are easily, and cheaply found at thrift stores.

Here are some ideas:

Tea Party Dress-Up: Mismatched teacups, saucers and at least one tea pot. Several hats, scarves, dressy shoes or sandals, knee-high nylons, fancy dresses (used flower girl and wedding attire is fun to include.), tablecloth, napkins, plates to use for cookies and treats plus books with tea party themes.

Artists For a Day: Use this with your rainy day art tub! Big men's shirts and berets for each kid, plus used art books and classical music CDs. Get them in the mood to paint like Monet!

Superhero Tub: For capes, take skirts and slit them up the center then sew fairly long pieces of fabric about 2 inches wide to the waste band to use as a tie. You want them to tie it in a bow, so it will untie if pulled on. Kids love to pretend with gloves, so throw in all those mismatched winter gloves. Anything can be accessories- old hats, scarves, boots, vests, big t-shirts, belts and socks.

Teacher for a Day: (my favorite when I was a kid!). Suit coats, skirts, eyeglass frames, shoes, lunch boxes, old school books, paper, pencils, a "pointer" (a wooden dowel is good- no sharp points!), stickers etc. Anything to pretend it's a classroom.

Some general fun dress-up items to watch for: shawls, funny slippers, suspenders, costume jewelry, fake flowers, ties, watches, and big hats.

These tubs are also great for Grandma to keep around when the grandkids visit! Once you start looking for fun things to include you'll have a treasure chest full of things to entertain the kids all day long!