August 26, 2011 Allie

Hurricane Irene Survival Kit

The last major hurricane to hit New England was the great New England hurricane of 1938 (before they even started using the alphabetical naming system). Of course, since 1938, there have been a number of significant hurricanes in the Northeast, but this weekend the entire New England coast is set to receive the highest storm surge in 50 years from the gloomy Hurricane Irene. So, we’ve put together some hurricane survival essentials for families, so that the rain wont spoil your weekend fun!

Lets go over the fundamentals. First, you need activities that everyone can enjoy.

Think of activities that take a while to finish from start to end, so that no one’s staring out the window mourning the beach and barbecue adventures they could be having. Instead, everyone’s occupied and bonding!

Sculpey is perfect for rainy days. It’s a ton of fun getting to use your hands to mold your own characters, jewelry, animals… the possibilities are endless. But what’s even more fun is that once everyone has crafted their masterpiece, Sculpey gets placed in the oven to bake into a hard solid that can then be painted or hung or, if you make dolls or animals, played with.

All of that concentrated craft time might make everyone a little antsy. Remedy: Kids On A Stage Charades by University Games. While your Sculpey creations bake, get everyone together for a classic game of charades. Let the kids jump like rabbits, fly like planes, and get all their jitters out. This particular version has a spinner to pick your category, a game board to keep score, and best of all, easy-to-understand picture cards so that even pre-readers can play.

For more activities, check out our selection on mbeans.com.

Next up: snacks.

The ultimate indoor rainy day snack: popcorn. Get your favorite popcorn, whether it’s stove-top or microwave. Let the kids watch the corn as it pops. Then, set up a popcorn bar with individual bowls filled with things like pretzels, dried cranberries or other dried fruit, chocolate morsels, almonds, marshmallows, or anything else you can dream up. Then, everyone can create their own mix with their favorite toppings. Just fill a bowl with popcorn, put the toppings on top, and use your hands to mix everything together.

For an even sweeter treat, try making some S’mores indoors. Just heat the oven to 400 degrees or use your toaster to melt a marshmallow over 1/2 square of graham cracker (3-5 minutes), place a piece of chocolate on top of the melted marshmallow (or try a peanut butter cup if you’re feeling fancy), and finish with another graham cracker. Yum!

Finally, when it’s dark outside, create a nice atmosphere inside.

After all the crafts and fun, reading some cool books and telling ghost stories with dim lighting creates a campfire setting that’s warm and comforting. This OXO Tooli Night Light Set by OXO Tot is perfect. Once you charge them up, they last for 8 hours, so if the storm cuts your lights out, you’ll be comforted by their soothing glow (and you’ll be able to find your way to the bathroom).