Winter Blues? Make a Digital Escape.
If you were listening carefully, you probably heard a collective “yee-haw” from parents across the country as kids returned to school following a long holiday break. During warmer weather, when tensions get high or boredom sets it, parents can send their kids outside, but in the winter that gets a bit more difficult. Sure you can dream of sipping drinks on a beautiful beach, but eventually the chill in the air will snap you back to reality.
A lot of times, it comes down to kids grabbing their phones or tablets then hiding in their room watching videos. As we demonstrated a few weeks ago when we shared our list of top hobby board game apps, there are many more ways to get use out of your device! We were obviously right on target with that since a U.S. Cellular survey recently indicated that 61% of smartphone owners use their device to play games.
I use my iPhone 6s as well as my iPad to play Splendor, Ticket to Ride and Star Realms. The girls play some of these along with a variety of other games on their smartphones. Whether you are looking for a hobby game app or something classic like Monopoly, Scrabble or Yahtzee, there are plenty of options available on both iTunes as well as Google Play.
Of course, life isn’t all about play. Even if you’re stuck in the house, you still need to eat. My girls have taken an interest in helping in the kitchen and I’m thrilled that they are utilizing downtime to be creative at a skill they can use for a lifetime. There are recipe apps that they can search to find appropriate things to cook. A few examples of apps to inspire them are Food Network On the Road and Just Recipes while a few examples of specialized apps are Epicurious and Italian Recipes. We have an under-counter “cookbook” stand to keep our device handy during recipe preparation.
If someone needs to get up and moving, there are several fitness apps available. Turn on Spotify and dance, dance, dance or hit the ground and do some pushups. Find a digital fitness coach, fitness videos or apps that help you burn the energy until you’re able to get back outside.
Winter can be tough, but thankfully there are a lot of ways to digitally escape from the cold and winter blues. What do you do when you get stir crazy from being cooped up?
When i go really stir crazy I get myself dressed and go out for a ride–to the supermarket or anywhere-just to get out! Other then that I will hunker down with either a paperback book or an e-book. I do play a couple of games on my computer from Facebook.
I love netflix through winter, while im closed in and shut off from the world with the nearest heater and blanket! I love the way winter looks, but have no desire to be out there in the cold!
It is truly amazing how much we can do on phones and tablets! Thanks for letting me know that Ticket to Ride is available as an app – far easier to invest 2.99 than $40-$50 😉
I love baking almost as much as I love eating baked goods–LOL! But when I have time to kill, I like to pass the time playing online mahjongg or solitaire. Or reading blogs!
We will binge watch a show on Netflix usually. Sometimes I’ll knit my way through a season, too 🙂
Funny how the internet can change your mood. Great ideas to knock the blues away.