Welcome to a place where we can share ideas about grandparenting, especially ways to pass spiritual values and family stories to the next generation.

Mary is the co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart.
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Co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart

Friday, April 26, 2013

Let's have an indoor picnic


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Friday's Grand Connection Fun
by Mary May Larmoyeux

When the grands come over for the weekend, Pops and I look very forward to spending time with them! But sometimes there's a problem: rain allllllll weekend.

On a rainy weekend when we had planned to have an outdoor picnic, I googled "indoor picnic" to see if there were any ideas out there that could give a little life to a blanket on the floor, a picnic basket and paper plates. Well, cyberspace didn't disappoint me:

Make a big sun out of yellow construction paper and hang it from the ceiling or on the wall. Hang a few white, puffy paper clouds from the ceiling, too. ... Cut some ants out of black construction paper and scatter them around the edges of the blanket. ... Lie on the blanket on your backs and watch your clouds and dream about real sunny days. (www.ehow.com)

To make the indoor picnic seem more authentic, put up a toy tent and let the children sit in there. If the weather is wet, get the children to wear their rubber boots. When the sun comes out, they can all go outside and splash in the puddles. (www. picnic-basket.com)

Start the fun by setting the scene. Will the setting be a picnic on the beach or a family picnic in the park? The choice is yours. ... At the beach you have sand and umbrellas and bathing suits. Since you are indoors, participants may want to opt for shorts instead of swimsuits, but you can still have the rest more or less. Spread plastic seashells, buckets, and shovels around the room. Attach big colorful sun pictures to the walls on a rainy day to liven up the picnic. (www.mommyland.com)

Indoor picnics can be a lot of fun!

Do you have any picnic tips?

Have a great weekend,
Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
  
© by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

4 comments:

Karen Jordan said...

Great idea! I may try that some rainy day, even if the grandkids aren't here.

Unknown said...

An indoor picnic, how fun! What a great way for your grandkids to play and use their imaginations. (Imagination is so lacking in activities these days).

Mary May Larmoyeux said...

Hi, Karen and Sharon! It's good to hear from both of you. You know, an indoor picnic could even be fun for Grandpa and Grandma. :)

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! When my single granddaughter was snowed in this past winter in Colorado, she turned it into a game. She and her two children cut the firewood, built a fire in the hearth and pretended they were on a journey through the snow storm. Because the house was cold they wore their jackets and gloves, cooked over the fireplace and slept in bedrolls beside one another. She said the children loved it and called it a magical snowstorm. Blessings, Rita