As much as we may love our homes, being forced to be inside all day can be tedious. The tedium can get even worse if you’re stuck inside with your family. While everyone wishes they could spend more time with their families, most people don’t know exactly what they would do if they ever got that time.

Fortunately, there are a lot of activities you can do indoors. Most of them just take a little imagination. Even better, almost all of them are very affordable.

Play Board Games

If you’re stuck indoors, nothing makes the time pass like a good board game. While old standbys like Monopoly are fine for a while, you can find several newer games that give players more options each turn without being overly complex. Settlers of Catan, for instance, has become a new classic, while games like Codenames, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne and Forbidden Island are considered “must-haves” in many families’ game closets.

Bake Some Bread

Baking bread is a fun family activity that will have children and adults alike anticipating the result. You can even sneakily teach your children how to cook by having them help you measure the ingredients, mix the ingredients together and even knead the bread.

If you’re not in the mood for bread, you can bake cookies, pies or even pizza.

Have a Family Movie Night

You and your family probably have more time to watch television than ever before, so why not make the most of it? Select a movie or series, then get the entire family together and watch. You can enhance the experience by printing out tickets and making enough popcorn for everyone.

Make Slime

Slime is cheap, easy to make and will keep kids entertained for hours on end. Even better, children can make slime in multiple colors and even add some glitter to make it sparkly.

Download Some Coloring Pages

Coloring is a great way to pass the time for children and adults. It’s also a great way to put those boxes of crayons every family seems to have lying around to good use. You can either color separate pictures and compare results or everyone can work on the same picture.

If you don’t have a coloring book handy, don’t worry. Several websites have printable coloring sheets, and many of them even offer “adult coloring pages” with more intricate designs.

Have an Indoor Picnic

Make lunchtime an event. Instead of eating at the table, announce you’re going to have a picnic. Have your family help come up with a menu, then work as a team to make sandwiches, potato salad, and maybe even a pie.

When it’s time to eat, spread blankets out on the floor, preferably in a living room or another room with large windows to let in plenty of light. As a bonus, you won’t have to worry about any ants getting in your food.

Learn a Magic Trick

Magic tricks don’t have to involve elaborate props with secret panels. Some of the best magic tricks you can do with a little misdirection and some slight of hand.

You can either check a book on magic out of the library or visit a website that will show you how to do simple magic tricks. Have everyone in your family pick a magic trick they would like to learn, then put on a family magic show after dinner with everyone showing off the trick they learned.

Video Chat Family or Friends

One of the problems with having to stay indoors is not being able to see your friends. Fortunately, almost everyone owns a smartphone or a computer with a video camera, so take advantage of it and hold a video chat with people you know. While the iPhone comes with its Facetime app, you can also use apps like Skype, especially if you want to talk with multiple people simultaneously.

Have Family Reading Time

Smartphones, tablets, laptops and flat screen TVs are great, but books are still a wonderful way to pass the time. Tell your family that for one hour, technological devices will be set aside and everyone will read a book instead. While some children might not want to give up their hi-tech devices, you can sweeten the pot by offering some healthy snacks for them to munch on during that time.

Plan for the Future With First Alliance Credit Union

There is nothing quite as heartwarming as being able to spend some extra time with your family. The more activities you have planned, though, the more fun everyone will have and the faster time will pass.

Once you’re done with your family activities, you can use First Alliance Credit Union’s online or mobile banking to make sure you’re ready to face the outside world. You can keep track of your spending using My Money, add money to your WINcentive saving account or even contact one of our advisors to discuss setting up a CD or refinancing your loans.