Complimentary book provided for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. Affiliate links may be included. 

It’s coming, friends: WINTER BREAK! My kiddos will have 17 days in a row out from school. That’s 17 days of, “Mom, I’m bored!” and 17 days of, “Can we watch just one more video, PLEASE???!).

I know myself well enough to know that by day 5 I’ll be weak, and I’ll be giving in more and more to screen time unless I come up with a plan right now. I don’t think a little screen time is so bad, but I’ve seen that glazed expression my kids get after they’ve been in front of the television for a while, and it seems that the length of time they spend watching TV directly corresponds to how grumpy they are when they AREN’T watching TV. Can you relate?

My plan this year is to make good use of a great new resource, 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids: The Very Best and Easiest Playtime Activities from FunAtHomeWithKids.com!. This is bright, cheerful book with a nice variety of activities, many of which are variations on a theme. You can, therefore, do many different activities with similar materials, which keeps you from having to invest in tons of new stuff for every activity. I really appreciate that aspect of the book, myself!

If I can find activities that captivate my children’s imagination and that invite them to create, they forget all about the television (at least for a while). This book is FILLED with exactly these kinds of activities. I’m planning 1 trip to the craft store to get some supplies that I don’t already own, and then we’ll be good to go! You can purchase the book (currently under $15!) on Amazon.

Do you have any special projects lined up for your kids during the winter break? I’d love to hear your ideas!