Curb Cabin Fever

Now that winter has truly set in for the year—for some of us more than others--- you may find your children developing cabin fever. It’s that time when you are trying to wipe down the kitchen counters and there is an unceasing tug on your pant leg from your five year old who claims she is soooo bored she will soon perish. It is too cold to send the kids outside and besides that it now gets dark before 6 pm.  So they are stuck in the house! What to do? Cabin fever can be curbed with fun and interactive indoor games. Gather your family together after dinner and spend some quality time packed with laughter. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Straight Face: Divide into two teams. Sit where the teams can face each other. One team is chosen to go first. Their objective is to keep a straight face no matter what. The opposing team has the task of doing whatever they can to make the other team break into a smile or laugh. No touching is allowed. See how many creative ways will be invented to bring out a smile.

Noah’s Ark: This is a fun game to play with a larger group—more than 8. Write the names of animals on to slips of paper. Include two of each animal. Place papers into a hat and let every one draw one piece, do not reveal which animal you drew. Inform everyone that they are the animals on Noah’s Ark. There has been a terrible mistake and all the animals have gotten mixed up. The animals now need to find their partners. Turn out the lights and everyone spreads throughout the room or house. When the lights come back on they are to find their partners by making the noise of the animal they drew. This game can be played over and over. Try all different kinds of animals. If there is an odd number of people take turns being Noah and assigning animals.

Action: This is a charades type of game. Put words into a hat such as: crazy, in love, joyful, and angry. One person is chosen to be “it” who draws a word out of the hat. When the word action is yelled “it” must strike a pose that represents the word they drew. If no one can guess, action is yelled again and a new pose is struck. The person who guesses correctly is “it” next.

--Share your Family Fun-Time Ideas with us by sending them to dan@dvo.com --