When it comes to winter fun, us parents have gotten pretty creative in finding exciting new ways to spend quality time outdoors with the kids — from skating and skiing to hitting the toboggan hill. But what do you do when the kids (and parents for that matter) are looking to get in from the cold? There’s only so many movies and shows one can binge before it’s time for a change. So here’s our top 15 picks for screen-free indoor entertainment.
Super Sports 3-in-1 Hover-Disk
Finally, a sports ball that you don’t have to worry about the kids kicking into a lamp or damaging the walls. SuperSports 3-in-1 Hover-Disk lets you safely bring the game indoors, with three different sports all in one package. Play hockey, bowling, or soccer with the Hover-Disk, which glides easily over hard surfaces with its powerful fan providing a cushion of air. The surrounding foam body allows it to safely bounce off walls and furniture. This set includes the Hover-Disk, as well as 2 soccer goals, 2 hockey sticks, and 6 bowling pins.
Frozen II Jumbo Art Set
With over 500 pieces, this jumbo art set is a great way to keep the young Disney Frozen fan entertained. It’s packed with a sketch pad, colouring sheets, crayons, markers, pop-out characters, stickers, gel pens, glitter sheets, stencils, ink pads and stamps, charms and cords, nail polish, pen, and eraser, and a plastic carrying case. Plenty of artistic time for them to spend with Elsa, Anna, and their favourite Frozen characters.
Crayola Ultimate Light Board
This super-sized board lets young artists put their art in lights. They can draw their masterpiece right onto the light board surface with Gel FX markers that really glow. A removable back panel allows kids to trace images with ease. When their masterpiece is finished, turn the light board on and let their artwork shine. The screen can be wiped clean for unlimited creativity.
Ideal Spectacular Magic Show
We’ve all wondered how those magicians do it, and this magic set teaches youngsters just that. With 100 magic tricks packed into this one kit, kids can learn each one from professional magician Ryan Oakes’ step-by-step guide. This magic set includes a magic hat, wand, props, and a storage suitcase that doubles as a 10” high x 19.5” wide performance table. Tricks to learn include the trading places illusion and the disappearing juice.
Puzzles
Pop on some music or your favourite podcast, pull out a puzzle of your choice, and an hour or two might pass before you notice as you focus on the task at hand. From 100-piece to 1,000-piece, there is an array of puzzles for all interests to be found that can be a calming activity that also improves one’s memory.
Take a look at puzzles for children and adults here.
New Rubik’s
The classic toy has made a resurgence, with all new ways to solve the puzzle.
Rubik’s Race pits two players in a head-to-head battle as they shake, slide, and solve. The first person to match the pattern on the scrambler wins.
Rubik’s Roll is a high-energy game featuring 27 coloured dice pieces, a shaker, and two grids. It’s 5 games in 1, where you can play The Shake, Twenty-One, Battle Dice, Trio, and Tower of Dice.
Rubik’s Revolution, Rubik’s Apprentice, and Rubik’s Cube 4×4 all offer different levels of challenges from your standard Rubik’s cube as you improve upon your speedcuber skills.
New Remixed Card Games
From Monopoly Deal to UNO All Wild, there are lots of great new takes on classic games.
Monopoly Deal is all the fun of the board game in a quick-playing card game. Be the first player to collect 3 complete property card sets in different colours to win.
Monopoly Bid is designed to be easy to learn and quick to play. It’s a game of chance, luck, and strategy as players bid in blind auction, pay with money cards, steal properties with action cards, and change their luck with wild cards.
In UNO All Wild, just as the name suggests, every card is wild! Play is fast, with no matching colors or numbers required like in classic UNO. It’s also more surprising with the action cards in the deck — Wild Reverse, Wild Skip and Skip 2, Wild Draw 2 and 4, Wild Forced Swap, and Wild Targeted Draw 2.
Blockbuster and Chill Game
If your family is filled with movie buffs, this is the game for you. The Blockbuster and Chill Game is played by two, working as a team to be victorious. To beat the game, you have to solve the mystery movies before the time runs out and you’re hit with the dreaded “Late Fee.” Movie categories include “Movies by Steven Spielberg” and “Movies with Sharks.” The game has plenty of ‘90s nostalgia for parents and adults to appreciate, including its old school Blockbuster VHS sleeve design. Aimed at ages 12 and up.
The Young Scientists Club Adventure Backpacks
The Young Scientists Club is an award-winning brand that produces quality STEM learning kits for kids to explore a variety of science themes. Its Nature Adventure Pack has 14 different activities, like creating an animal habitat, identifying insects, and learning animal tracks. And its Dinosaur Backpack has 16 different activities, including making a fossil, creating a volcanic eruption, and discovering what makes dinosaurs unique. Recommended for ages 4 and up.
Lego Classic 790-Piece Large Creative Brick Box
LEGO has been building memories for boys and girls (not to mention older collectors and fans) for over 70 years. And it’s easy to see why. This big box of Classic LEGO bricks offers endless creative possibilities. With 790 pieces in 33 different colours, it has LEGO bricks in a variety of colours, as well as windows, doors and special pieces to inspire kids ages 4 and up. It includes some ideas to get kids started, then see where their mind takes them. It comes in a sturdy plastic brick-shaped box for easy clean-up and storage.
Crazy Forts
Admit it. We all love a good blanket fort. And this kit has ramped up the engineering of your standard blanket-and-couch-cushion construction. Created by a Toronto dad, the Canadian brand has been applauded in the media for combining imaginative play with STEM learning. Each Crazy Forts kit includes 44 sticks and 25 balls that allow kids to construct sturdy, complex blanket fort structures. They’re geared at ages 3-5, but we can’t blame parents for getting in on the blanket fort construction action.
Escape Your House Game
Take family game night to the next level with this spy-themed escape game. In each of the 6 missions, you have 15 minutes to escape your house. Designed for 3-6 players, this Escape Room Family Edition Game from Spin Master can be played in any house. Work together to solve the puzzles which have been left around the house, using them to locate the key for the door lock. It includes an easy-to-use door lock and timer, which counts down from 15 minutes when you hit start. Simply place the door lock onto the front door (or the door handle of any room you’re in), and it will lock into place. (In an emergency, you can use the door key if you are not able to solve the mystery in time). Great strategy game for ages 8 and up, and parents will be entertained, too.
Anomia Party Box Card Game
For older kids, the Anomia Party Box Card Game includes 6 all-new decks, over 425 unique categories, and customizable blank cards for adding your own categories to every deck. You can play the Party Edition decks on their own or mix them in with the original decks for even more fast-paced fun.
Players flip cards until the symbols on two players’ cards match. They then race to give an example of the category on their opponent’s card. Unexpected twist: wild cards create unanticipated matches, and even losing a card can set off a chain of cascading face-offs. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Crayola Tie Dye Colour Chemistry
This special edition of the Crayola Colour Chemistry Set adds the element of tie-dye with every experiment. It includes 50 instructions for experiments like the erupting tie-dye volcano, kaleidoscope creator, bouncing coloured bubbles, tornado in a bottle, and more. Adult supervision is recommended, but these tie-dye projects are designed for ages 7 and up.
Creativity for Kids Pizza Garden
For kids with a growing green thumb, the Creativity for Kids Pizza Garden allows them to plant and grow their own pizza toppings. With this set, they can plant, water, and grow their own tomatoes, peppers, and basil. It also includes a mini storybook to record their gardening adventures.
Creativity for Kids has a wide array of craft kits aimed at inspiring children in a variety of creative areas — from making jewelry to knitting to origami.
