10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Wednesday!  We need magical ideas on more days besides Mondays, right?  😉  That’s my excuse for being a bit of a slug and being so late this week!

Here’s a few ways to make some magic with your kiddos this week…

1. Let the kids pick out several yards of clearance fabric in glamorous, funky and fun patterns.  Help them make their own scarves, doll clothes, dress up clothes, throw pillows and more.  Iron on fusible tape instead of sewing seams, if you like (you do this part for younger kids, obviously).  If you’re short on money, let them use old clothes or sheets instead and decorate with permanent markers.

2. Heat up a plate in the microwave and show your child how to draw on it with crayons.  We’ve done this on paper on a griddle before but I never thought of just heating the plate in the microwave.  Brilliant!  Head to Play Create Explore for the fun directions.

3.  Eat supper with all sorts of weird props– eat off lids and frisbees, use ladles and tongs to eat with, serve soup from a tea pot, drink from clean ketchup containers…  Get creative!

4.  Clear out a back closet or other out of the way place to become a secret hideaway for each child.  Stock them with flashlights and let them decorate as they wish.

5.  Leave squirrel treats.  Gather up some fallen nuts or splurge on some bulk peanuts and leave little platters of them for the squirrels.  Hide someplace and watch them come to spirit them away.  Want to make it really fun?  Make them work for it!  Squirrels are brilliant at getting to even the trickiest of treats.  Some families have even rigged up obstacle courses for their furry visitors.

6.  Harvest acorns and roast them.  It’s a lot of work but our family loves this early fall tradition.  Here’s how we do it.

7.  Start a family poem.  Put up a large piece of paper on a door and put a pen nearby.  Ask every family member to add a word every time he or she passes.  It can be silly or serious.  Save the finished poems in an album or scrapbook.

8.  Make mud pies together.

9.  Set up a mall logic scavenger hunt. I love this fabulous idea from Toad Haven!  I’m afraid our version would not be nearly as elaborate but I’m so inspired and tickled at the idea. 

10.  Drape some blankets over a clothesline, tree, tent poles or other props in the back yard and make some impromptu forts.  Stock the insides with some fun books, games, snacks, a flashlight, whatever, and see what fun the kids dream up to have in their new fun space.

We’re off to Iowa tomorrow to spend a few days exploring caves, checking out some little towns and taking part in some nifty activities at the Seed Savers farm (there’s a rotten tomato toss and ketchup making for the kids, a salsa contest and tomato tasting and all sorts of fun!).  It should be a neat little trip.

(Are we weird that a tomato festival and cave explorations sound like fun to us?  You probably shouldn’t answer that!)

Have a wonderful week!