The winter school holidays are just around the corner. Keeping the kids entertained on a cold winter’s day can be challenging. We’ve complied a list of activities that the Mingara team love to do at home with their families when the weather is too miserable to leave the house.

 

1. Cook

Cooking is a fun learning experience that boosts confidence in kids; seeing their finished product gives a real sense of pride and accomplishment. Our favourite dishes to cook with younger kids include muffins, pancakes, cookies and pizza. Cooking incorporates math skills when measuring ingredients, teaches life skills and is a great opportunity to talk about different foods. If your children are a little older and more confident in the kitchen, why not try cooking some of our recommended family friendly winter recipes?

Top Tip: Be prepared to embrace the mess!

 

2. At home concerts

The perfect opportunity to pull out the dress up costumes, pop on an epic playlist (we love Spotify’s Disney Hits playlist) and dance like nobody’s watching. This is a great time to get creative – use a wooden spoon as a microphone, an empty cereal box as a drum and a paper towel tube as a trumpet. These moments are great to capture on video to pull out at their 21st…..

Top Tip: Don’t let them sing Baby Shark or it’ll be stuck in your head for days haha!

 

3. Board Games

Guess Who, Uno, Monopoly, Mouse Trap, Connect 4 and Pictionary all help create core memories in Australian homes. When you play board games as a family, a sense of belonging increases and the family bond strengthens. Board games build problem-solving skills, teach resilience and improve math skills. It’s also a great opportunity to teach sportsmanship and celebrate wins.

Earn great bragging rights or let them win a game or two… it’s up to you!

 

4. Arts and Crafts

It’s time to get crafty! Pull out the textas and coloured paper and let their imagination run wild. The website Easy, Peasy and Fun have some great Winter Craft ideas featuring snowflakes, snowman and penguins. Arts and crafts encourage creativity, allow children to express themselves without rules and help to improve focus. You could even get them to make cards for the family – the kids love creating sentimental and heartfelt crafts.

Kidspots No-Cook Homemade Play Dough recipe is another great, easy at home project on a cold winter’s day which uses staples that are likely to already be in your pantry; salt, plain flour, vegetable oil and food colouring.

5. Build a fort

Curling up in a cosy blanket fort on a cold day is one of the best childhood memories! Check out the video below for a simple explanation on how to build a blanket fort. Remember to add plenty of soft toys, cushions, and books for extra comfort.

6. Virtual Classes

With the world at our fingertips online, there are plenty of educational classes and videos to watch during screen time. Australian Reptile Park have a whole range of cute animal videos featuring Australian animals such as Koalas, Kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils and Wombats that the kids will love. Our favourite is “Celebrating Pixie the Koala’s first birthday“.

Love music? Why not learn the basics of musical instruments such as guitar. If dance is more your child’s thing, check out Mingara One Trainer Ange’s 15 minute virtual dance class.

7. Movie Night

Grab the popcorn, blankets and hot chocolate and get ready to bring the cinemas to your loungeroom; what a perfect winter activity! Go the extra mile and create movie tickets to add extra excitement to the night. Our favourite family movies include: Shrek, Scooby Doo, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo.

If you’re using a streaming service, check out Stan and Netflix’s list of recommended kids movies.

Top Tip: You can never go wrong with a Disney film!

 

 

Looking for a day out?

There are plenty of fun things to do at Mingara in the 2022 winter school holidays! Splash around in our indoor pool Mingara Aquatics or come along and play Free Family Bingo.