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Memorial Day May Be Wet: 10 Ideas for Enjoying a Rainy Day with the Kids

Memorial Day Weekend often spells "w-e-t," so here are some fun ideas to keep the children happy

Spring is spring

Da grass is riz

I wonder where da sunshine is.

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Okay, so those aren’t the real words to that famous springtime poem written by the prolific Anonymous.

And of course, I shouldn’t complain. It is springtime, a season known for its rainy weather. And, well, Woodinville is right in the middle of the Pacific Northwest.

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But I’ve got to say that we’ve had some pretty nice days in the past couple weeks. Just enough sun, in fact, to be dangerous. I like the sun. I miss the sun. And now, I remember it’s out there. I’m starting to expect a little more of it.

That’s why weather like Wednesday’s seems even harder to bear than say, five months ago when the weather was… pretty much exactly the same.

It was tempting to turn on the TV and write off the day. But we’ve got too many rainy days around here to write them off. What’s a little falling moisture, especially when (if!!) the temperature is comfortable?

I put on my creative mommy hat and came up with some fun things to do on warmer rainy days. We’ve tried some and look forward to the others, but here’s what I came up with:

  1. Pack a picnic and head to a park. Just make sure it’s one like  or , which offer covered shelters. Enjoy your spread in dry, open air while you watch the rain fall. If you’ve got time, pack cards or a board game and enjoy an afternoon al fresco.
  2. Make paper bag puppets. It’s the craft that keeps on giving because you’ve got the fun of making your puppet, as well as endless time afterward creating puppet shows with it. (And who knows, you may just need another character for the show – and thus, the cycle repeats itself.)
  3. Make gingerbread cookies. My little one came up with this idea. Enjoy some mixing, rolling, cutting and baking in the kitchen. Just be sure to decorate your gingerbread men and women with seasonably appropriate attire!
  4. Go wash the cars. That’s right. You’ll get wet washing the cars on a dry day, so why not get wet on a wet one? Just throw on some bathing suits and have fun.
  5. Go on a rainy hike. Perhaps you hit the backyard, perhaps you venture a bit farther, it doesn’t really matter. Nature is different when wet – and just as beautiful. Check out the drips and the muddy tracks. Make some of your own, or just hop from puddle to puddle. Sometimes it’s good to get wet, and lots of fun to get a little muddy.
  6. Build sand castles. Open the sandbox, head to the playground or hit the beach. Barring an outright downpour, which could cause some untimely erosion in your sand construction, the drizzle will have your sand sufficiently moist and ready to pack. Plus, you won’t have to worry about beach traffic stomping on your creations.
  7. Make it sunny. If Mother Nature isn’t doing the job, maybe you and your crew can. Get construction paper, paint, whatever crafty supplies you have on hand. Create a sun, birds and flowers and decorate your space to look sunny and cheerful.
  8. Have a Sing Down. This is a favorite from my camp counselor days. It’s best with a group, but could also work with just a couple of you. Come up with a key word, for example, rain. Then, see how many songs you can sing with that word in it. If you have enough people, break into teams and go from team to team until one team can’t think of a new song with that word. The last team singing wins that round.
  9. Build a fort! I think I spent my childhood in a fort. Not one, actually. Dozens and dozens. We loved forts. And believe it or not, my mom started it. It was a rainy day and I can only imagine now, we were probably driving her crazy wanting something to do. She finally pulled out a folding table and put it just outside of a bedroom closet. She then attached a sheet to the hanging bar in the closet and let it sweep out over the table. We thought it was the coolest fort ever and spent days in it. She must have been thrilled.
  10. Have a dance party. There’s no better elixir for dreary than booming, happy music and uninhibited kids dancing to the beat. Get dressed up for the occasion in funky dress-ups or wacky outfits, make some special snacks and get hopping.

When it comes down to it, there really are so many fun things to do any day – no matter the weather. It just takes a bit more effort when the sun isn’t beckoning you to grab the day and make it your own.

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