ALEX Toys Official Blog

We all run out of ideas regarding how to keep the kids busy- especially when you’re inside more than outside during the cold winter months. SavvyAuntie.com has some great ideas for activities with the kids. Here are a few for you to check out:

Ice Cream in a Bag!

It is simply easy making ice cream in a plastic bag! Who would have thought ice cream could be so easy to make? And so tasty! The kids will be very excited to try their homemade concoctions.

Just Talking

I think having intimate conversations with your nieces and nephews helps create the strongest bond between them and yourself.  But being a friend, sharing and listening to your little nieces and nephews is one thing that makes for a very special aunt.

Cardboard Binoculars

This is a simple but fun activity that you can enjoy with your nieces and nephews. My nieces and nephews love art projects and they love nature and the outdoors, so this activity was the perfect way to spend our afternoon together.

We took two cardboard toilet paper rolls, stapled them, and then set out to decorate them. You can always decorate the toilet paper rolls before stapling them, but I stapled first to avoid having to ruin any of their designs afterward.

There are all different ways you can decorate your soon-to-be binoculars. You can use crayons or markers to simply just color and design the toilet paper rolls. You can collage your toilet paper rolls using scraps of paper, beads, gems and stickers. Or you can decorate your toilet paper rolls the way my nieces, nephews and I did, which is decoupage. This very simple craft is fun, easy, and the final product is especially exciting. All you need to do is pick up some vibrant, patterned, napkins, Mod Podge and a cheap, small paintbrush – all available at any crafts store, toy store, or party store – and you’re ready to go.

To Decoupage: Take the thin, first layer of the napkin with the patterns printed on it and gently tear it away from the rest of the napkin. Coat your toilet paper rolls with Mod Podge using a small brush and carefully paste on the piece of napkin. Now take your brush and paint over the napkin with more Mod Podge and let it dry.

Now that you have your decorated toilet paper rolls, poke two holes in each of the sides, with a hole puncher, and thread through some string so that the kids can wear the binoculars around their necks.

After we made our toilet paper binoculars, we went outside to the park and went bird and nature watching with our nifty creations. The kids loved their binoculars so much, they wanted to sit outside all day calling out the different birds, trees, and clouds they spotted!

Baking Cookies

What child doesn’t love cookies? Next visit, bake cookies with the kids. If you’re not much of a baker yourself, you can purchase ready-to-bake cookie rolls, or bring along a bag of chocolate chips with the recipe on the bag. If you are a baker, well now’s a great time to teach the kids how to make cookies from scratch. When cookie cutters are part of the process, let the kids pick their favorite shape and decorate the cookies themselves with jimmies, sprinkles, icing and little baking chips. What’s the only thing better than baking cookies with your nieces and nephews? Eating them!

More ideas like these can be found on SavvyAuntie.com

SavvyAuntie.com is the first and only community for Aunts: Aunties by Relation (ABR), Aunties by Choice (ABC), Mommy Aunties, Great Aunts, Godmothers, and all women who love kids. SavvyAuntie.com enables and empowers Aunts to exchange ideas, get advice, find gifts and connect with other Savvy Aunties.