53 Winter Boredom Busters for Families
Feb 19, 2022 ● By The Hood Magazine
It is halfway through the winter season, and you may be out of ideas to keep your family entertained. Here are 52 ideas to help your family enjoy these next few months and create new memories.
SDGFP The Outdoor Campus Sioux Falls
Provides education about outdoor skills, wildlife, conservation, and management practices of South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks to all ages in order to preserve our outdoor heritage.
Great Bear Ski Valley
Great way to spend the day together as a family! We have options from tubing, snowboarding and skiing and all the gear you will need. Visit our website for updated hours, to purchase tickets and more!
Sioux Falls Skyforce
Join the Skyforce at the Sanford Pentagon for high-flying action all season long with family- friendly entertainment and professional basketball! Tickets start as low as $8/seat or pick one of our group ticket packages like birthday parties or gameday suites.
Exciting new ways to play ARE HERE! Stop in and see our new Air Court attraction! Also don’t forget to check out our Little Leapers program every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30am-11:30am.
Skate City
Skating, Arcade Games, Redemption Prizes, and Concession Snacks. It’s Family Fun for everyone. Great for a fun day out or for Celebrations. Public skating times available as well as private rentals!
605 Ninja
605 Ninja is a fabulous place to come and burn off some energy! We offer Ninja, Parkour, & Aerial Silk Classes. Open Gyms, Camps, Kids Night Out Events and more!
Washington Pavilion
Visit the Washington Pavilion this winter to break the winter blues. Children can experience Sioux Falls’ biggest indoor climbing area, explore tunnels, enroll in a winter class, perform on a small stage and much more. Call 605-367-6000 to learn more!
Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History
Come enjoy your Zoo all year round with indoor viewing areas and natural history museum! See wildlife from across the globe like snow monkeys, brown bears, Amur tigers and more!
Galaxy Gaming
Galaxy Gaming offers an out of this world Laser Tag arena, Virtual Reality and Gaming experience. Your ultimate entertainment destination.
Nominate an Educator
Take time this month to recognize the people in the school system that impact your child’s life by nominating them for Hood’ Educator of the Year. Nominations are open to teachers, bus drivers, secretaries, nurses, and anyone who interacts with your child at school. Nominations accepted until February 20th.
Color Me Mine
Looking for a fun activity? We have hundreds of items to choose from. We would love to help you create not only a fun piece but a special memory! Want to paint at home? Get your items to-go!
Curl up with a Book
Swing by Siouxland Libraries or Reach Literacy and pick up a few books to snuggle up and read with the kids. Check out the Winter Reading Program from Siouxland Libraries, in addition to their other events throughout the week.
Upgrade the Hot Chocolate
Nothing is better than snuggling up with a warm mug of hot chocolate. Upgrade your experience by grabbing fun toppings, like using marshmallow fluff around the rim! See more ideas by searching for Hot Chocolate Bar on our website.
Ice Skating Rinks
Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation has multiple skating rinks throughout town to provide hours of family fun.
Take in a Movie
Whether you want to watch it on the big screen or opt for a movie at home, grab your popcorn and be transported to a new world for a family movie night.
Paint a Memory
Get crafty! Find DIY projects at a variety of businesses, from the Museum of Visual Materials to big box stores, to try a new project and create something fun!
Mission Possible
Change out the laser beams for yarn and tape up a spy course in the hallway. Black clothing optional.
Sugar and Conversation
Pick up a yummy treat from the many cookie or cotton candy businesses, and drive around town while asking your kids conversation starter questions that can be found on Hood’s website.
Pay It Forward
Give your children each a roll of quarters and a package of tape. Help them decorate little cards of encouragement with quarters attached and then head downtown to tape them to the meters.
Baking Day
Some of the best memories are made in the kitchen! Let each of your kids look up a recipe and then make it together as a family. You can do one each week or do them all in one day...either way it is a great, and tasty, way to make memories!
Escape!
Escape rooms are not only great for team building with friends and co-workers, but they are wonderful memories for the whole family! There are multiple options in Sioux Falls, too!
Sledding
In addition to your neighborhood snow hills, Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation also has multiple sledding areas to check out.
Family Game Night
A classic way to spend a fun weekend in is to get out those games and puzzles! Let each family member pick one game and play each one for a certain time. To make it more interesting, you can even add prizes for the winner!
Give your Time
One thing that Sioux Falls is amazing at is giving back! There are numerous opportunities for your whole family to give back to our community this winter. Visit the Helpline Center for opportunities around town.
Have an Ice Cream Date
Although the temps are chilly, ice cream is a yummy treat year-round! For a special treat, hit up Stensland’s Ice Cream, Parlour, or grab a Sub-Zero treat to go from Chef Ellen’s. If ice cream isn’t your thing, check out one of the cookie or donut shops.
Bring the Snow Inside
Use a Rubbermaid tote and scoop up some snow for your children to enjoy. Dye some water with simple food coloring and put it into a squirt bottle to color the snow! Use cups and spoons to make your very own snow cone fun.
Learn How to Ice Fish
Once the ice on area lakes is frozen solid, it can be fun to learn how to do this summertime favorite in the winter! Find ice safety tips from The Outdoor Campus on our website.
Create a Scavenger Hunt
Whether indoors or outdoors, scavenger hunts can be loads of fun any time of the year. Make up clues and then work together as a family to solve the clues!
Let them Cook
Let them be the chef! Maybe they follow a recipe or maybe they make a soup of grapes, veggie straws, orange juice, and pepper (that you pretend to eat!!). Either way, let them be creative and help as needed.
Spend the Day in a Fort
Create a large fort in your living room with all the blankets you can find! Once you’ve created your giant fort, the whole family can spend the day reading, snacking, and snuggling!
Paint the Snow
Grab some affordable condiment squirt bottles from the dollar store and fill them with water and your favorite food coloring dye. The kids will have loads of fun creating artwork outside in the snow with their new “paints!”
Shovel the Sidewalks for the Block
After being cooped up inside from a snowstorm, burn off some energy by doing a good deed for the neighbors. Instead of just shoveling your sidewalk, do the whole street and show your neighbors how much they mean to you!
Snow, Snow, and more Snow
After you watch the snow fall from indoors, head outside and relive your childhood with your kids! Spend the afternoon creating snow angels, building snowmen, and tunneling into worlds of your imagination in a snow tunnel.
Bowling Bonanza
Have fun at a local bowling alley! We have multiple bowling alleys in our area, and they are a great way to enjoy a day full of family fun for an affordable price! You can also set up empty water bottles and use a tennis ball to bowl at home.
Homemade Pizza Party
Get together everyone’s favorite toppings and let everyone make their own perfect pizza creation! As everyone enjoys their own personal pizza, throw in a family movie and you’ll be set for the night!
Dance the Day Away
Let everyone add their own song choices and create a family play list. With a mixture of new and old songs, as well as some party favorites, a family dance day is sure to burn off the winter blues.
Hang Paper Snowflakes
Paper snowflakes are easy to create with nearly any kind of paper. From computer paper to tissue paper, everyone can make unique creations that you can decorate your house with.
Start a Family Journal
Choose one day per week and give each person a prompt or question to answer. Parents can write for the kids if they aren’t old enough to write and everyone can learn more about each other. It will be a keepsake for years to come!
Make a Snow Smoothie
Using fresh, clean snow, some fruit, and a little milk you can make a fresh snow smoothie! There are lots of recipes online and it’s so easy your kids can help too! You can check out the ones Hood made online.
Write Letters to Veterans or the Elderly
Winter can be a very lonely time for some people. Take an hour and help your children write a letter to residents at a local nursing home or the VA. The letters brighten the resident’s day and help to teach your children letter writing skills too!
Make Homemade Valentines
Bust out those paints, scissors, and all the glitter! Let your kids get as creative as they want and add a homemade touch to their valentines this year. You can even let them send them to grandparents or aunts and uncles to brighten someone’s day. See our website for Valentine’s Box ideas, too.
Use Tech to Stay Active
Find great app ideas from CellOnly on page XX to burn off some energy inside on those cold winter days.
Ice Cream Bar
Don’t let hot chocolate steal the show. Ice cream is just as good in the winter as it is on a hot summer day. Set up an ice cream bar with a variety of toppings – syrups, sprinkles, candy.
Glow in the Dark
Play hide-and-seek indoors, but with a twist of using glow sticks in a dark house.
Head to the Arcade
Your kids will love playing Skee-Ball, Pinball and Press Your Luck games at the local arcades. Whether you hit up Electric Rainbow, The Fun Zone at Pizza Ranch, The Country Fair in Brandon, or Thunder Road, there are lots of options to play the day away!
Dig in the Sand…Inside
If you are missing the warm beach days, head down to Harrisburg and check out The Sandlot. You can drop in during an open dig or you can book your private dig time as well!
Camp at Home
Bring the summer into winter by setting up a campsite indoors. Create a campfire by putting a Sterno can in a metal bucket with rocks (safety first!) and roast some marshmallows.
Try out Parent & Child Classes
Our friends at Sanford fit have great options to keep 3 to 5-year-olds active! These classes are both entertaining and enriching. Find these events on our calendar.
Organize a Room
If you are still buried from new holiday gifts or simply have a room that has gotten out of hand, plan to tidy up as a family. Get the kids involved by picking out containers, paint colors, or having them decide what stays or goes.
Clean the Windows, but first Color!
Did you know you can use dry erase markers on windows and glass? Let your kids draw on the windows, and then have them help erase by cleaning the windows – win win!
Paper Airplane Challenge
There are dozens of ways to fold a paper airplane. Make a fun family challenge to see what type of fold can fly the farthest.
Create Marshmallow Snowmen
Grab a skewer, large marshmallows, edible paint pen (if you want to eat them!), and another other decorations you’d want to use. Stack 3 marshmallows on the skewers and get creative! You can then use these to dip in hot chocolate.
Meal Plan
While it may not be the most fun idea on this list, sit down together and plan out the meals for the week. Getting your kids involved with help any fights that come up at mealtime. If you need meal ideas, search for recipes on Hood’s website.