Mom days are not all great. There are several times of the day where it really feels like it’s starting to tank. One way that we often break up a tough day is to go somewhere. There are a lot of reasons that that solution will not always work. There are times that I really need to make it work at home.
If I can go on the offense and make something really fun happen, then it can really turn it around. This is really not for the kids as much as it is for me, when I get down and moody, it can be hard to get back up.
I am not great at planning, but I am great at being prepared. I keep these things around so that I can wing it when I need a great activity to get me through the next few hours.
You do not have to be Pinterest perfect or a supermom to make a really fun memory with your kids without leaving the hours. We can do this.
1. Celebratory Meal
Make or use a placemat to decorate someone’s place at the table and make the meal all about them. Choose their favorite meal or make all the food start with their initials.
Its a great opportunity to be creative and switch it up
2. Table Time
Grab a tablecloth, you can use anything big enough to cover the table. Wrapping paper, a large cardboard box, a sheet, a blanket or a piece of fabric all make great tablecloths. Add crayons or legos to make it even more fun.
Get everyone around the table and just color or build. This is a super easy way for me to reset. It helps me to just look at the kids, get us off screens and have some fun.
3. Family Photos on the TV
I do not like how my kids get totally hypnotized by television, but I find that if I turn something on, they do not ask to watch as much. Does that make sense?
Anyway, you can set your TV to just scroll through your phone’s photos. If you use Google Photos and have a ROKU TV you can install a channel that will do this for you.
Letting those smiling faces scroll by is a great way to stop a bad day in its tracks!
4. Music
When a day is really going bad, turn on some music. I have found that it really doesn’t matter what kind of music I turn on, it changes our moods.
I can turn on a playlist of the classical composers we are studying, punk rock from my teen years, or silly kid songs, they all get us smiling.
You could even choose a theme song! Could you play Happy by Pharelle Williams before nap time every day? That would be cool.
5. Pick a Color
I got this idea originally from this book, which I HIGHLY recommend, and it stuck.
Make Monday green. Have spinach smoothies for breakfast, wear green earrings, dress the baby in green and learn about plants.
Focusing your mind on one simple theme forces you to be more creative and gives you a cool challenge for the day.
6. Set A Timer
I use my timer several times a day. When its the mess that is driving me insane I do a 5-5-5, I spend five minutes in the bedroom, five cleaning the table and five in the kitchen. This really resets the house, and the timer is the motivator.
If I want to shift the mood I turn off the TV and set the timer for 30 minutes and tell the kids they need to find something new to do until the timer beeps. This has been a really good strategy for mixing it up. It also really helps me feel accomplished because I know we read books for thirty minutes!
7. Give it a theme
Similar to picking a color, picking a theme for the day can really make the day more fun without leaving the house. You could use this strategy for meal planning and then just expand it.
Example: Waffle Wednesday
Expand to: Square day, Breakfast Day, Belgin day, or W day.
The theme can dictate the books you read, shows you watch, toys you play with or even words you say!
These themes will help you think differently and creatively as you move through the day.
8. Try something new
Follow a YouTube tutorial and try something new. If you do not have lots of supplies on hand I have some ideas:
Knot Tying
Hand Claps
Learn to play Cat’s Cradle
Pen and paper games
Card Tricks
Card Games
Closet or Dresser Organization
Drawing
Short Dances
Finger Play Rhymes
Try some of these low or no supply ideas for a new skill to learn together. I know that it is really hard to do this in a dirty living room with laundry piling up, but its worth it. Set a timer and then clean up after.
9. Write the opposites
This is a mom tip, but can work for kids too. When I am really frustrated and angry I will fold a piece of paper in half, then write a list of all the words that describe how I am feeling down one side, then I open the paper and write down all the opposites of those words. I often end up writing a few more sentences after this exercise that gets me out of my head.
I almost always stand up feeling lighter.
10. Celebrate a Holiday
That’s right! Get over to Holidays Calendar and see what holidays are celebrated around the world! While I am writing this it is National Cabbage Day, which reminds me I have a cabbage in the fridge. I think we will be having some spiralized cabbage stir fry tonight!
11. Read a Poem
“Without poetry, we lose our way.” Joy Harjo
Find a collection of poems and read it, then read it again. Maybe make tea and throw some cookies on a fancy plate and have a poetry tea time.
Poetry helps me feel like my feelings and situation are not unique to me and helps me connect to my super optimistic, artsy, eccentric side. It invites me to think about the world outside my house, outside my time, outside my experience. Oh poetry, I love it.
A few of my favorites:
Discover your own by signing up at poets.org and they will send you a daily poem!
12. Eat with your hands
Not finger food, just food. Outlaw utensils for a day. This is sure to spread the smiles in your house, it will make you feel silly and change up the routine.
Go ahead and put a tablecloth down while you are at it and just make a HUGE dinner pile.
I like pasta for this, put a big bowl of pasta down then add sauces, maybe do bowties and dip them in tomato sauce, alfredo, dipping oil.
Sure to be a great night.
13. Write a Letter
The beauty of letter writing is that you are sending something your hands have touched into someone that you love. You can buy stamps at many gas stations, Walmart, online and at a regular Post Office.
You could send a letter to a neighbor or a friend. If you want to get a little more fancy you could send a letter to an embassy and ask them about their country. If you include your address they may send maps or other information.
There are great lists online for sending letters to the President, Mickey Mouse and Pen Pals. You could also try to find an address for an author, actor or musician who inspires you. Super fun.
14. Give Something Away
Look around the house and grab up a few things you no longer want, but still have value. Snap a picture and offer it to your friends! You could also wrap up a few and give them as gifts!
If you really cannot leave the house I suggest raiding your bookshelf. Snap a picture of a few books and see if anyone would like to get a book in the mail! You can wrap the book in a recycled box or wrap in a paper grocery bag, then print a label using the Post Office website or Pirate Ship (which I use and love). Make sure you ship it Media Mail and it will only cost around $3-4.
15. Start a New Tradition
Every night we watch Dude Perfect. Its a family tradition. It doesn’t have to be instagrammable. My husband is a truck driver so his sleep schedule is pretty different from mine and the kids. The transition for us after he goes to sleep has been hard, so we attached a tradition that is fun for us all. I love DP.
This one might not be as fun and exciting today, but in a month it will feel calming and meaningful.
Traditions build family culture. You likely already have many family traditions like holiday celebrations, birthday traditions, vacations that happen every year to two, but lets add another one today. How about you plan a greeting for daddy that you will say every time he comes home, a lunchtime song, or a repeatable bedtime snack.
Start with a transition time and attach an action.
16. Illustrate a Memory
Some of my best memories with my family are sitting around laughing about old injuries or vacations.
If you are missing those family members today is the day to draw a picture of one of those hilarious memories! Snap a picture of your drawing and text it or maybe even throw it in the mail!
17. Watch an Obscure Sport
Early on in 2020 my family discovered bouldering on YouTube. Really cool stuff for the whole family to watch!
We have also liked:
Tug of War
Trampolining
Table Tennis
Synchronized Swimming
Canoe Slalom
Sheep Shearing
18. Dress Up
If you are in the afternoon doldrums consider a Formal Night for dinner. My son will probably dress as Spiderman for the occasion.
Make sure you get dressed up too Mama! Full accessories, hair and makeup!
19. Mad Libs
There is an APP! This would be super fun over a meal or before bed. Mix it up and teach the parts of speech!
There is a user generated version called Word Blanks that I have heard is really fun too! Just be sure to preview anything you will be doing with the kids, that is always a risk with user generated stuff, anyone can add a story.
I hope you can grab one of these ideas to rescue a hard day at home! I know that I have done some of the things since I started writing this article!
What is your favorite way to change up the energy on a hard day at home?
