Whether they’re caused by snow, rain, intense wind gusts, or another force of nature, power outages are a fact of life.  They may happen more often than we would like them to, but it’s always good to be prepared for them, especially if you have children.  It’s easy to get bored without modern conveniences, whether you’re a child or adult!  Next time you’re stuck at home without electricity, keep these ideas in mind so you don’t catch a case of cabin fever.

• Build a fort.  No matter how old you are, this is always a fun activity.  Grab spare sheets, pillows, chairs, and whatever else you need to make an epic fort where you can hide out for the rest of the day.
• Read a book.  Whether it’s a story for your children or you’re catching up on a novel you’ve been putting off reading because you’ve been binge watching a series on Netflix, grab a book and enjoy being unplugged for a while.
• Play a game.  Great news!  There are games outside of Candy Crush and Farmville!  Remember years ago when people used to play board games?  Pull those out from the attic and teach the kids how to play some of the old classics like Yahtzee, Sorry, Jenga, and whatever else you have in the house.  Cards are great options too!
• Bake from scratch.  How often do you take the time to actually bake something from scratch?  It’s always easy to buy the pre-boxed cookie dough or brownies, but since there isn’t much else to do why not bake it the old fashioned way?
• Have a DIY day.  Making something from scratch is always fun, not only does it keep you entertained for a good amount of time but then you get to keep your creation afterwards!
• Clean the house.  There’s always something that could be cleaned!  No better time than the midst of a blackout when there’s not much else to do.
• Build a fire.  If it’s chilly outside, this is a great way to keep your house warm and provide some light.  You may even want to break out the marshmallows and make some s’mores.
• Raid the fridge.  Since the perishable items may go bad anyway, take advantage of the situation and pig out without feeling bad about it.  Grab all the ice cream and have a sundae party!  If the weather permits invite your neighbors to come join in on the fun.
• Makeover.  Need we say more?  Ladies it’s the perfect time to try out that new makeup trick you’ve been thinking about, or test out a new hair style.  Plan out all of your outfits for the upcoming week, and try pairing new things together that you normally wouldn’t.  Who knows, you could come out of a power outage rocking a whole new look!
• Take a nap.  There’s not any better time to sleep than when you have no distractions to wake you up.  Catch up on your sleep while the lights are out so that when they come back on you’re ready to get back to business.

Now that you have some ideas to keep you from being bored to death during the next power outage, print this out and keep it on hand! We hope these ideas come in handy whether you’re stuck inside with kids or on your own, enjoy the next power outage!

Photo By: Henry Burrows