We all know that it happens – the perfect vacation is upstaged by unpredictable weather. That doesn’t mean that all the fun has to end! Whether you’re stuck indoors with energetic kids or looking for a way to entertain your friends in the midst of the downpour, we’ve got options for you.
Treasure Hunt Indoors
Kids can get antsy when locked inside for too long, but luckily, there are plenty of options for letting off some steam and having fun at the same time! Maybe start with a treasure hunt. Hide a few toys around the house (or sweets, if you feel like spoiling them) and have them search for them. Come up with a story to walk them through to take up a little more time and feel like you’re searching for an old mine that has a buried treasure. Make the most of your surroundings!
Camping Indoors
Though camping may generally be more fun outside of the house rather than in it, but here’s an idea. Turn your living room or loft area into a campsite! Pitch a tent with sheets, layer up the blankets, and read a few books together. The atmosphere may be slightly warmed (and far less damp) than it would be outside, but it’s sure to be a wonderful bonding experience with more than a few memories they’ll cherish forever.
Creative Bowling
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle by collecting all the plastic bottles you can find in the house and setting up your very own plastic bowling alley. All you need is a small ball and a notepad to turn the hallway of your rental into your very own bowling lane. If you don’t have a ball, no worries! Take a lot of aluminum foil and scrunch it up into a ball. Make it as big as you like, providing how much foil you have.
Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
For dinner, serve up some wonderful, homemade chicken and dumplings soup. The warmth will burn away the rainy day blues, and the dumplings create the perfect opportunity to involve the kids in dinner preparations. You can find the perfect southern dumplings recipe here!
Games for Adults
If your rainy vacation doesn’t include children but instead a group of your closest friends, try your hand at a few adult games! Charades is our favorite! But if charades is not your kind of fun, try True American.
True American, the game that viewers get to learn and love on the hit TV show New Girl, gets the whole group together for a fun, boozy adventure. It involves the use of the entire living room, the floor is lava, and a challenge of wits, all at once. Complete rules can be found here – there’s no reason for a rainy day to be boring!
True American can be a difficult game to master, and the game may not speak to all, so why not try your luck at cards? Rummy is the perfect game for a group, and the natural length of the game guarantees a few hours of fun and laughter.
Dinner can still be a group affair with a deliciously creamy tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons. Gather an assembly line and work together to whip up this homemade soup with a fun topping that everyone is sure to love. Burn away the chill that rainy days can bring with a soul-warming mug of Damp Pavement. This drink combines ginger syrup and lemon juice with Scotch, guaranteed to leave you warm from top to bottom. Find the recipe for the soup here, and the drink here! Vacations are all about making the most of the time that you have with the people you’re with – don’t let a little rain stop your parade in its tracks, and always remember that Reservations Unlimited will be around to welcome you back for your next Red River adventure!