Snow Day Busy Bags!

These Snow Day Busy Bags were a huge hit with my kids and their friends during a recent snow day when school was canceled! The best part was that we used things we already had around the house to create hours of fun by placing items in brown paper bags with instructions to open one every hour on the hour. These six paper lunch bags kept them happily entertained all day, and we were able to make up a second set of bags to make a surprise delivery to our friends!!

Here are all of the things that went into our Snow Day Busy Bags:

Open at 10am: Make a Bird Feeder Craft

Inside the Busy Bag:

• cardboard tubes with holes punched near one end to attach a string
• container of peanut butter (or shortening)
• wooden disposable knives
• cotton string
• bags with bird seed

Directions:

Coat the outside of the cardboard tube with a thick layer of peanut butter or shortening. Sprinkle with bird seed and press the seed into the peanut butter. Tie the string and hang outside for the birds to enjoy!

Open at 11am — Build a Robot

Inside the Busy Bag:

• Materials needed to build 1-2 toy robots. I love this toy robot kit that contains enough materials to make 5 wind-up toy robots. I try to have at least one of these kits on-hand for last minute building fun!

Directions:

Include a copy of the paper instructions that are included in the kit.

Open at Noon — Dinosaur Ice Age Sensory Bin

Inside the Busy Bag:

• small toy dinosaurs
• Bag containing powder to make fake snow

Directions:

In a large dishpan or disposable baking pan, create the fake snow by adding water as per the packages instructions. Add the toy dinosaurs to create your own ice age sensory bin.

Open at 1pm — Tic Tac Snow Game

Inside the Busy Bag:

• one circle cookie cutter
• one snowflake cookie cutter
• white play dough

Directions:

Each player uses a cookie cutter to create 5 game pieces. Draw a tic tac toe board on a sheet of paper. Play and have a tournament to see who wins the most!

Open at 2pm — Paint Snowy Landscapes in the Bathtub

Inside the Busy Bag:

• Can of shaving cream
• paint brushes

Directions:

In the bathtub, paint snowy scenes with the shaving cream.

Open at 3pm — Snow Day Snack

Inside the Busy Bag:

• Packets of hot chocolate mix
• Bags of popcorn

Directions:

Enjoy a special snow day snack treat!

More Snow Day Fun with the Kids:

• 50 Ways to Keep Kids Entertained During a Blizzard
• What to do with Toddlers on a Snow Day
• Ideas for Playing in the Snow

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