During winter and rainy days, DIY games are a great opportunity for you and your kids to connect and have fun. First and foremost, your kids will have a lot of fun making those games and playing with them. They will also learn many new skills. You will fondly remember the games that you used to play when you were a kid and know that you are creating the same memories for your children. Together, you and your team will have a great time making these games and feel great when you finish your project.
DIY Foosball Table from Shoebox
This DIY project is the most complicated project on the list, but well worth it. Don’t give up before you start, I assure you it isn’t that tricky. A lot of things that you need you already have at home. For a DIY foosball table you need one cardboard box, grill rods, clothespins and straws.
- On the shorter side of the box make two bigger holes for goals.
- On the longer side of box you will need to make little holes for the rods. You only need 2 big holes and 4 small holes on each side.
- Fill straws with wooden grills and you will get rods.
- After that, glue your clothespins on rods and you have made foosball players.
- If you want to spend extra time making your DIY foosball table look nice, you can always color or paint the box, players and rods. Let your child’s creativity sore here and follow their lead on how much they want to decorate.
DIY Tic-Tac-Toe
One of the most famous and classic games ever is Tic Tac Toe. Yes, this project can be done in only 10 minutes. It is simple to make and fun to play. You need a piece of cardboard and you need to draw a 9-piece grid. That’s it. Voila. You are ready to play. For easy game pieces, use bottle caps in two different colors.
DIY Memory game
Who donesn’t like memory? This is a great game for your kids because it helps them develop cognitive thinking skills. Also this game is easy to make, so can be created in a mere matter of minutes. First, you need to cut cardboard, tag board, or construction paper to the same size. Keep in mind that you need a total number of cards in pairs. After that, give your children the blank cards and allow them to draw pairs of matching pictures. Easy suggestions include: Shapes, numbers, letters, names, or common pictures.
DIY Maze Game
A DIY Maze is another great game for your family. It is one that allows for learning new skills and some strategy. For this project, you will need a shallow cardboard box, empty toilet paper rolls, and colored construction paper or duct tape for decoration. After your kids color the tissue rolls in different colors, simply glue them to the cardboard. You will need a ball that can go through the rolls. The goal of this game is to roll the ball through the rolls continuously and watch as their strategy and patience improve. To add an element of competition, simply set a stop watch to see how long it takes to get the ball through 5 tubes.
DIY Dominos
Dominos is a another classic that most remember playing as a kid. This great game has a nostalgic element as well as pure fun. This is also another great DIY game. Using cardboard or laminated paper, draw the dominoes on your paper and cut them to size. Then, play and have fun!
AUTHOR BIO: Mark has 3 sons and they like to play games that were great even 20-30 years ago. Mark also is big fan of foosball tables and he writes a lot of about foosball on his blog. Also, he wants to suggest that all parents who are planning to buy a foosball table first to try make DIY foosball table and see how much their kids are interested in playing foosball.
What do you like to do on a rainy day? We love to have jammie days where we spend the day playing games and camping out inside. We also love to get out and seek an adventure. Check out our post on Easy Family Fun Days for more great ideas.
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Photo Credit: Mojitos and Munchkins, FoosBall Fun, One How To, FrugalFun4Boys
Love this! Thanks for the great ideas. I’m particularly impressed with your foosball table.
Hi Megan! Thanks for stopping by. I can’t take credit for the foosball table, but isn’t it SO cool!? My kids would LOVE playing!