How do you keep two toddlers entertained during Winter ?

[Earlyriser84]

Looking for ideas really. My two are three and two years old and could do with some ideas for new activities, especially indoor ones now summer is over.

We seem to have hit a rut lately with the result being two toddlers getting frustrated and an over reliance on CBeebies !

It's hard work I'll admit.

We go to indoor shopping centres a lot, early on so it's quiet and they can run around a bit.

Lots of park time even if it's cold.

Library - depends on the kid though.

Make a mental note of where the best puddles appear near your house. Then, when it has rained (even while it is raining) everyone (including you) put on wellies and waterproofs.
Go and jump in the puddle. Stay until everyone is wet and tired. Ignore passersby.
Go home, have warm milk and a snack and a rest.
When mine were small, I found that fresh air, fun and physical activity could turn a grumpy day into a good one.

At home:
Slime
Play dough
Water beads
Washing up play kitchen stuff or plastic stuff
Painting, printing, cutting, sticking
Make dens
Bake
Put a pull up bar on a doorway so you can have monkey rings or a swing
Dance
Long baths!

Indoor:
Library
Museum
Gallery
NT/castles (depends where you live! We have lots of castles)

Outside;
Get good waterproofs (hats or hoods are key!) & do everything you normally do.
Even getting cold & wet is good if you go home for hot chocolate :)
Take seeds & go feed the birds in the woods, setting up a bird/squirrel feast on a tree stump is fun
Mine all love (even the 9 yr old still does) a puddle splash walk!

Yes to everything suggested already! I have an almost 4 and 2.5 year old.

Good waterproofs and wellies, and get out even on terrible days. I am the mother with the kids leaping about in puddles in the pissing rain, with other people thinking I'm nuts.

National trust is great - always have a nice cafe and good loos.
Library
Playcentre (if you have a Wacky Watehouse close by they do a monthly pass for something like £10)
Museums - loads of them have great kids activities, toddler time etc
Farms
Messy play sessions
Playgroups - I'm not a huge fan but hit them up in poorer weather
Colouring
Stickers (TKMaxx have good sticker book selections)
Gluing - a glue stick and magazines keep mine busy for ages
Playdoh
Lego
Small world play - we use the shallow Ikea Trofast boxes and they're great for making beaches, farms etc.
Kinetic sand
Painting
Baking (I cop out and get cupcake mixes)

Give them an argos or smyths catalogue and get them to cut out what they want from Santa, stick them on a piece of paper for a ready made Santa letter.

Also can cut out furniture and make room collages (TV, settee, coffee table for front room, washing machine, fridge cooler for kitchen etc)

Buy a pack of paper plates, can make masks, draw silly faces on them or draw their dinner.

Buy some glitter and make paper plate snowflakes.

Cut plastic straws, thread on wool and make bracelets.

Buy a roll of lining paper (£1 shop sell them) and draw round them, then cut up old clothes and 'dress' them.

Smell the spices/herbs in the cupboard (if you have some).

Get an annual pass to somewhere like a petting farm or a zoo. A lot of these places have some indoor activities as well as outdoor.

Oh & lots of messy play type things can be brilliantly contained in a paddling pool
Coloured rice doesnt make much mess

Get them outdoors.

Decent outer clothing, shoes, boots hats and gloves, shove em outdoors. Scandiwegian brands are the best. Layer with wool underneath.

Mine plays and sleeps outside in winter down to -20. I look back now at all the ‘wet playtimes’ spent cooped up indoors in my uk childhood with great sadness. It’s rarely too cold to be out in the uk.

waddle we did the paddling pool too, until ds1 was about 2/3 and I caught him filling it up with a jug from the toilet sink 😂

Loving all the ideas , thanks everybody !

I've been far too boring lately with just playgroup, painting and the swings !

I might bravE play dough again. Last time they both just ate it

I used to make bread dough in the machine - and then let my DCs shape it into rolls for their lunch. DD used to mostly make hedghogs. DS used to mostly make poos (cue much hilarity when it came to eating lunch ).

EvilCleverDog ha!
My eldest & I spent hours & hours playing what she called "splashy" in the back garden when she was a toddler - tubs, jugs, pots & basins filled with rain water to pour into each other or down your waterproofs
At 9 she still spends as much time in water as possible!

Loving the bread dough idea !

I need to get some all in one rain suits I've seen some toddlers in. Then I can let them mess about in the garden more when it's pouring down.

If you have space get one of those big floor trays and fill with jelly or sand etc +toys. Playdough always a winner. Get some cheap blank canvasses and do fun paintings or collect leaves and make autumn collages to hang up? Any local groups you've nor tried yet? Museums/library often have fun activities for little ones.

I second all those mentions of waterproofs (hat, jacket and wellies at least- but trousers really make a beneficial difference too!).

Keep doing outdoor stuff.

Have layers to keep Going when it gets cold, a couple of woolly hats and gloves each are useful to reduce reliance of fast drying at times (if it snows here, we can get through up to 4 pairs in an afternoon as it's wet snow- but it means we can keep going just by changing wet pairs with snowman building, snowball fights, or neighbourhood BBQ on the green -yes, really, hot food, hot squash for DCs and hot wine for adults!).

This is great so many things I'd not thought of !

I'll be shopping this weekend for supplies. Last winter we spent too much time indoors not doing an awful lot really.

Thanks to you all for the ideas

Mine are 3 and 2 too. We just do the same as we do any other time but with waterproofs and warm coats!
Mine behave much better when they have plenty of fresh air so we go to farm parks, country parks etc.
Play dough and kinetic sand are big favourites for indoor activities, as well as baking/painting/glueing and sticking etc.

Rainproof gloves over the top, biddy :)

www.polarnopyret.se/regnvantar-enfargade-barn-60292068-483-1

PoP, Reima and Didrikson do great kids outerwear. Well worth the money. It’s our major clothing expense of the year over here, kids are out most of the day regardless of weather and have to be dressed up in the right stuff.

The bird/ squirrel feed spot sounds a good idea because of course younustgoeveryday or animals might be hungry (spose you could put extra if you go away on holiday )

Bookmarking for when my baby is older!!! Great ideas

We have zoo and farm passes. If it's not too freezing we'll visit a few animals, if it's icy then we just make use of the softplay and butterfly house.
We also visit 'The Free Zoo' (pets at home) and Ikea. The latter is great as our nearest is very quiet midweek. They love looking in the showrooms (sitting in the chairs, opening the cupboards etc), and it always includes a very cheap lunch/dinner.
We do swimming lessons too, Play Gym at the local gymnastics club, and a playgroup. Any time that is left I just bundle them up in layers and we visit a park or similar followed by a hot chocolate.

I My DCs don't cope well with being cooped up so I prefer to get out. If we're home then it tends to be baking, play doh, films, or cBeebies. If I'm feeling brave we get the craft stuff out, but TBH that's why we go to playgroup. Why cover your own home in glitter when you can cover the local village hall instead?!