Boredom Busters

By Denise Morrison Yearian

If winter weather has rained on your parade, warm up the day with these homemade games and invite friends over to play.

Sock It To ’Em

You'll need:

What to do:

Put ½ cup of dried beans into a plastic baggie. Squeeze out air, and seal the bag shut.
Place the beanbag into the bottom of a clean sock. Roll the remainder of the sock around the outside of the beanbag and secure with a rubber band.
Repeat steps one and two to create as many beanbags as you need.
Turn a large box upside down, and tape the bottom and side seams shut so the box is sturdy.
Draw four various-sized circles on the outside bottom of the box, and cut them out. (The smallest hole should be slightly larger than the stuffed sock.)
Below each hole, write one number from one to four. Make the smallest hole worth four points and the biggest hole worth one point.
To play, stand several feet away from the box and toss beanbags into the holes. Add up points using the numbers as a guide. The first person to 15 points wins.

I’ve Got You Pegged

You'll need:

What to do:

On the inside of a shoebox lid, measure and mark off ten small circles in two rows of five that are evenly spaced.
Poke holes through the circles using a nail and hammer. (Note: Put something under the box so the nail doesn’t go through the floor or table.)
Push one clothespin through each hole.
Below each clothespin, write one number from one to ten.
To play, put the box on the floor with the clothespins facing up. Stand several feet away, and toss the rubber rings around the clothespins. Add up points using the numbers as a guide. The first person to 20 points wins.

Denise Morrison Yearian is the former editor of two parenting magazines, and the mother of three children and four grandchildren.