Ways to Keep Tweens and Teens Entertained This Winter

 Winter is the time to introduce tweens and teens to new, screen free activities. If you are looking for inspiration for busting boredom while teaching new skills to older kids, you are going to love these ideas.  From knitting to financial know how, this collection has something for a variety of interests.

Making a quilt is a great project because it teaches useful sewing skills and produces a good blanket to keep them warm once they're done. Try getting some simple quilt patterns from here and see what kind of project your teen will produce from there on out.

Keep a teens hands busy while creating a useful item with knitting kits. Make a scarf with the included pattern and knitting tools. These are so much fun for kids of all ages and they will love wearing their creation all winter long! 

Give kids the chance to have fun while developing financial literacy. This game is perfect for a variety of ages and will help pass the time on a snow day. Cash Flow for Kids is from the Rich Dad line of goods, and packs a lot of fun into a compact package.

Y'art Kits are the perfect crafty escape for a winter day. These are easy to create works of art with yarn. Harper and I loved this unicorn kit from Play Monster and it only costs about $11. We are going to order the Pug Y'art Kit too because it is so cute!

Knitting is the thing to do this winter, and this Hat Not Hate Loom Kit is the perfect way to get started. This makes it so easy to make a toasty hat for yourself and to share. Buy more yarn and keep creating hats, which are so much more fun to share than hate. Order for $25.

In the 1980's my cousin was really into Latch Hooking Rugs. I was always a little jealous of her creations and wished my parents would buy latch hook kits for me. 40 years later, my daughter has been latch hooking some impressive works that would have my cousin jealous! Order these for about $15 from Play Monster for a fun crafting session that will have your girls hooked.

Yamaha offers an assortment of high quality musical instruments that are perfect for all ages, including teens and tweens. Something like the Alto Venova makes for a perfect pastime. The instrument produces the mellow sounds of the sax, in a portable and fun to play package. Tweens and teens will love picking up a new skill this winter like playing a unique instrument. 

If you are looking for more ways to craft with tweens and teens check out these ideas.

Reader  favorites include:

Dragonfly Bookmarks

Rainbow Coasters

Cupcake Coloring Page

Grab this free cupcake coloring page for a sweet coloring activity for the kids!

Cupcake Coloring Page

Since my kids have been home for remote school for *almost* a full year now, I have become an expert on how to keep them entertained, and what to do to give them a break from each other. When tensions run high, I like to offer them a coloring page or two. It gives them a chance for quiet reflection, and an outlet for creativity. I love to create coloring pages to meet the need or suit the season. This cupcake coloring page was designed on a day when Harp needed a little sugar to combat her salty attitude.

Print as many as you like, share with a friend, or send to school with your little ones to spread a little sweetness for Valentine's Day. These are also nice for sending along with a birthday treat. Make sure to pin this free coloring page for later!

If you are looking for more free print-able coloring sheets, I have a bunch for you!

Reader favorites include:

C is for Cat

Unicorn for Adults

B is for Butterfly

D is for Donut

Unicorn Fine Motor Rescue

Bring a bit of whimsy to your fine motor exercises with this easy to set up, but super challenging unicorn fine motor rescue activity. It is perfect for preschoolers, but don't be surprised if your older kids want to accept this challenge because it is a lot of fun!

We have been rescuing a lot of things from these little rubber bands lately. Pine Cones, Dinosaurs and more!

It is a lot of fun for Harper, and I am always an advocate for little kids to have access to fine motor activities. 

This one is much like the others we have done, but just a bit more magical. What little girl wouldn't love to rescue a unicorn from danger?

To set this activity up you will need:

A toy unicorn

Rainbow Loom Bands

Directions:

Trap the unicorn with bands by stretching them around the legs, tail, head, horn and body.

Offer the unicorn to your child and encourage your child to remove the bands, one by one.

Be sure to observe this activity, especially with younger kids, as these bands can be a choking risk.

Discard all bands when finished to keep kids and pets safe.

If you have older kids who want to work on this activity, add a lot more bands! For younger kids, adding 10 bands is more than enough of a challenge, but with older kids, you can really wind the bands around the unicorn, and go overboard! It will keep them entertained for a while.

Check out these other fine motor activities for more fun ideas.

Reader favorites include:

Feather Beading

Cat in the Hat Pattern Making Bin

Feather Beading Fine Motor Activity

Feather beading is a fun fine motor activity that kids will love. It is perfect busy work and offers an outlet for creative expression with essential skills. Best of all, the supplies to create this activity are affordable and easy to find.

The kids have been out of school for a long time, at least 4 months already. I have been pulling out all of the stops to keep mine entertained and ready for when they are back in a classroom. This easy fine motor feather beading activity has been a big hit with both kids. They love to make patterns and have something to tinker with.  It is ideal for preschoolers and kindergartners.

Supplies:

Craft Feathers

Pony Beads

Directions:

Give your child a few feathers and a pile of beads.

Encourage your child to thread the beads onto the feathers.

To make things more of a challenge, encourage your child to make a pattern with the beads.

If you are offering this activity to younger kids, observe them carefully as beads can pose a choking hazard.

If you are giving this activity to older kids, challenge them to make more complex patterns, with a reminder to keep beads out of the ears, nose and mouth. No matter what age you complete this with, it is a great boredom buster with some educational perks.

                                             You can find all of my fine motor activities here.

Reader favorites include:

Fine Motor Counting

Unicorn Fine Motor Bin

FREE Unicorn Coloring Page for Adults

I made a pretty to share with you! This patterned unicorn coloring page is perfect for teens and adults!

Print one or a hundred, but please, only use them for personal use. Don't sell them please!

My daughter Harp loves to color. She often grabs our dual coloring book and asks me to work on a page with her. She had a unicorn themed birthday party so we made these to share with the grown ups who patiently waited during all of the fun. 

I decided to share a little whimsical fun with you too. Harp and I have a stack of these leftover, and we like to pull them out here and there. We have quite a few coloring pages on site here. Make sure you check them out and print some for preschoolers or elementary aged kids. 

                                                Print this FREE Unicorn Coloring Page for Adults 


I don't have many printables for adults yet, but I have tons of abc themed worksheets and coloring pages to print. Find some of them here

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

Check out these unicorn fine motor bins!

Fine Motor Counting Activity

This easy activity is perfect for practicing early math while developing fine motor skills.

Before I was a mom, I was a developmental psychology major. In my studies, I was intrigued by sensory and fine motor development then. Now that I am a mom, I love setting up activities for my own kids that give them hands on fun and learning opportunities without spending a ton of money to do it.

This fine motor counting activity is perfect for preschoolers.They can work on their fine motor skills while practicing counting. You might have all the materials at home to do this, making it fuss free and frugal. If not, I have included some affiliate links you can use to get your supplies.

Supplies:
Rainbow Bands
Large Craft Sticks
Sharpies

Directions:
Write numbers on large craft sticks with sharpies.
Use the largest craft sticks you can find to make the activity challenging.
Offer your child small rubber bands, like the rainbow loom style of bands and encourage your child to count the number of bands that need to go on each craft stick and slide that number of bands on to each craft stick.

If you are looking for more fine motor activities for kids, check out these posts:
Unicorn Fine Motor Bin
Play Doh Pre Writing

Gifts for Girls

I have shopped til I dropped this Christmas to bring you some of the hottest gift ideas for girls!

From dolls to sensory toys and even more, this list has something for every girl on it!

Samples were provided for photography.

Give the gift of a classic with the 14" Cabbage Patch Kid collection. These are so much fun for both kids and parents, because many of us likely recall getting one when we were kids!  These are about $40 and are available from Wicked Cool Toys.

Thinking putty is an awesome gift for girls of all ages. You can stretch it, fold it, tear it, bounce it and more. Give a sensory delight in a can with an assortment of Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty. Order it online for about $14 for a large tin.

Board games are perfect for gifting to girls this holiday season.  Amigo Games has some of my favorites for games because they are all fun and best of all they are affordable for all budgets. Titles like the L.l.a.m.a. card game and What the Heck will challenge and entertain girls for hours. without the screen! Get them online for under $10. 

If you need a gift for a girl who loves all things fancy, Get this really fun Find Your Fancy game. It is so much fun for little girls as young as 3 and brings the fun of Fancy Nancy on Disney Junior to life during family game night. Get this game from Ravensburger for about $25.

Kidi Star Dance is my favorite idea for kids this holiday season. It will keep them moving and playing hard, even on the coldest days when they are confined to the indoors. This system will teach kids dance moves and features games that can be played with a friend. It includes two motion sensored bracelets and a display for hours of dance party fun. Get this Vtech toy for about $50 from Walmart, Amazon or Target.

Chefclub brings kids into the kitchen for some early cooking lessons. This is a fun way to get kids interested in cooking in a kid safe, kid approved format.

Pound Puppies are another classic throwback gift idea for this year. I remember the year I got a little gray Pound Puppy of my own and how I screeched with happiness after opening it. If you had a similar experience, get one of these for your kids and relive a bit of your own childhood.  Get them from Amazon, Walmart or Target for about $20.

Boxy Girls make for a fun gift for girls who want to shop! You can shop and unbox with these fun friends to reveal some amazing surprises! Get  in on the fun online at the boxy girls website for about $20.

If you are shopping for a girl who loves Llama's she is going to be spitting happy with this Spitzy Llama. He is cute and he spits for a one of a kind experience. Find him at Target or Walmart for about $50 this holiday season.

Pomsies Lumies are sure to be quite the hit this year. They turn color into music for a fun, interactive play experience.  Get them from Target, Walmart or Kohl's for about $15.

Girls are going to want to collect all of the Boxy Babies this holiday. Get a few to fill her holiday with shopping and mystery surprises with these cute little ones.  Each baby comes with 2 surprises. Get them for about $20.

Fuzzikins are so much fun! You can color them again and again to make them as unique as possible. This is one of my favorite options because it goes beyond the one time use model of so many artsy toys. Get fuzzikins online for about $15 from the Play Monster website.

Turn the ceiling into a light show with this adorable Unicorn Playbrite. Featuring a sound activation feature and mix and match faces, this colorful and bright toy is a great gift idea. Get it online for about $20.

Blume dolls grow to meet you for a magical surprise. Get the Blume secret surprise garden and gift a new friend and a bunch of other surprises that will make a smile grow before your eyes! Get these cute kids toys online for about $27 from Walmart, Target or Amazon.

Vendees Atomic Rainbow Lip Balm by Horizon Group USA, gives girls a chance to mix & create their own shimmery, flavorful, layered lip balm creations. There are even some surprises included in the vendee machine. Get this from Amazon.

Cry Babies Blind Bottles are perfect for gifting this holiday season.  Each bottle has 8 accessories and a baby. Press her belly to see real tears! Get these at Target, Amazon and Walmart. Girls will want to collect them all!

Blume has a blind bag option that girls are going to love. Add a little water and see which friend will grow from the Blume pot. My 6 year old goes wild for these and naturally wants to collect them all. Priced at $10, these are a great stocking stuffer option from Skyrocket Toys.

If you need a gift for a girl that you know she is going to love, you are going to want to grab some fluffy cloudz from Compound Kings. This stuff is fantastic. It smells great and is available in several varieties, plus it is so much fun to squeeze, stretch and play with! Get it at Target, Michael's or online for about $5 a jar. Compound Kings also has some other fun slime options that girls will love this Christmas.

Girls that love unicorns are going to adore these adorable bedtime friends called Zoonicorns. They combine zoo animals with the fun of unicorns. These are a little whimsy, a little magic and a lot of fun. Kiss your zoonicorns nose and make a wish, and drift off to sleep with a cuddly friend. Order online from Wish Me for about $20.

If you need a gift for a little girl that loves babies, you are going to want to check out these adorable, collectible The Bellies babies. Each one has unique features like a bottle, a blankie and a birthmark. These are interactive and so adorable that they are sure to steal her heart on Christmas morning! Get them all online for about $30.

Flipazoo make for really fun gifts this holiday season because they are adorable, and even better than that, they are like 2 toys in one! Flip it inside out to reveal a super soft plushie. Flip it the other way to reveal a shiny and adorable friend, for those days when you need a little sparkle. Get them for $15 online at the Flipazoo site, or find them at Walmart.

Lil Shuckies are a party waiting to happen. Girls will love opening the shells and then harvesting "pearls' which they will collect to create a bracelet. These are so much fun that they are on my wish list too! Get them for about $13 a pack from Compound Kings.

If you need a fun stocking stuffer for a Leapfrog fan, grab some of the Rock It Twist Game Pack Eggs. These add games and learning activities to the Rock It Twist game system and are perfect for kids 8 and under. The game packs cost about $8 and you can get them at retailers such as Target, Walmart or from Amazon.

The boxy girls are so much fun to play with, collect and of course, unbox! Get this Target exclusive Boxy Girls studio for a ton of fun on Christmas morning, and beyond!

Give a gift she can play with and grow herself with the My Fairy Garden Nature Cottage from Play Monster. This is the cutest gift idea that girls of all ages are going to dig. Get it online or from major retailers like Walmart or Target for $25.

These Wowzer Surprise Polar Magic from the  Orbeez Wow World line are a fun option because they are contained yet tons of fun. Add water to the globe, wave your wand over it and see what friend is included. They are so cute that girls will want to collect them all. Get them from Maya Toys for about $6.

Girls want to get out and ride! So gift a special girl the coolest scooter on the block with this Globber Primo Plus Lights. It has light up wheels to make it awesome and a little safer. Get these for younger girls. Order it online for about $70.

If you have a girl on your list that loves to take selfies the Kidizoom Pixi is the perfect gift for her. She can snap selfies or photos of friends all day long without taking over your cell and camera roll! But it for about $55 from Walmart, Target or Amazon.

Add a great educational option to the gifts under the tree with a boxed set that works with Leap Frogs Leapstart Go system. Little learners are going to love discovering how the human body works in a kid friendly presentation. Get them online or from retailers like Walmart or Amazon .

Slimy unicorn smoothies are bound to be all the rage this holiday. This is so much fun to squish, squeeze and combine that girls won't be able to keep their hands off this Slimy Goop Squuez Pop. Get this fun offering from Horizon Group for about $5 at Target or from Amazon.

What could be more fun than a cuddly little new friend this Christmas? Only one thing; that little friend wrapped up in a tortilla, like a burrito. Cutetitos are portable, adorable and totally collectible. Get them from places like Best Buy, Walmart or Amazon for about $10 this holiday season.

Minnie's Walk and Dance Unicorn is nothing short of magical fun for girls who are fans of the Happy Helpers show. This duo dances, walks and sings! Find this animated offering from Just Play for under $40. You can find it at Walmart and Target as well as online.

Sometimes all you need is a baby animal to wrap up like a burrito. These adorable little toys are plush, perfect for cuddling and totally portable. Fit one in your pocket for on the go snuggles with a Babito from the Cutetito line. Get them from Target, Walmart or Amazon for under $14 for a 2 pack.

Make your favorite girls holiay hair-mazing with Series 3 Hairdorables.  These are so much fun to collect, and I love that each package is a mystery! Get them from Walmart, Target or Amazon for about $13 for a hair raising holiday!

KidiGo Walkie Talkies are perfect for kids who love adventure! Give them a chance to get outside and explore while putting their walkie talkies to use for communication. This set is easy to use and is sure to be a lot of fun. Get this V Tech option online or at retailers like Target, Walmart or Amazon for about $30.

If you have a girl who has been asking for a phone, but you aren't sure if she is ready yet, why not give her a Vtech KidiBuzz. It looks like a real phone. It an play music, take photos and video. It has games and it can connect to wifi, but it lacks the ability to make calls. It is a great option for a starter phone. Get it for about $80.

Girls love dolls, but Cry Babies take things up a notch with a baby that can cry! These are some of the cutest dolls on the market! Get them from Walmart, Target and Amazon for about $20.

Give a cute kid some awesome all season boots that are perfect for splashing in puddles, climbing snow mounds and more with a pair from Lone Cone. They have styles for little and big feet starting around $18. Get a Mommy and Me set, or just a kids pair from Amazon.

If you have a little fashionista on your shopping list, Pediped makes some adorable options for little feet. From styles for holiday dresses to plain comfy shoes, Pediped has so many styles to choose from. Order online.

Pluffle makes for a fun way to engage kids in sensory play this holiday season. Get a 2 pack from Educational Insights and give a cute kid in your life a way to mold, squish and mix a really fun to touch material! Order online for about $17.

Brick Mates are a fun twist on building. This kit is like Legos and puzzles come together for a creativity explosion! These give girls a chance to stack up works of art! Order online for about $20.

This holiday give a gift that is less clutter and does more for turtles by giving a gift that supports the Sea Turtle Conservancy . You get a folder of info about the turtles and a too cute photo of the turtle you adopt with your support. They also give you a little plush turtle to cuddle!