I’m staring at my computer screen, eyes flicking up to that title I just wrote, and wondering what in the world I’m thinking. 101 ways? Christina, isn’t that a little ambitious? Can you even think of 101 things? If you nap twice in one day, can that count as two things? What about 10 things, that’d be easier? But nope, we are in the middle of a regional polar vortex, with windchills in Michigan reaching lower than negative 40. The governor has declared a state of emergency, work/school has been cancelled for all of us in the house all week, and we’re all trying not to go stir crazy. We’ve done an okay-ish job of keeping busy and having fun while on this responsibility-sabbatical, and I thought I’d share some ideas with you, my fellow freezing cold readers.

So, here are 101 ideas for what one can do if they are stuck inside for days and days to stay sane during an Arctic freeze.

Note: Some of these items pertain to anyone with or without children, some are only for you as the grown up, some are for you to do as a whole family, and some are for just the kids. In the essence of time, I just lumped them all together and in no particular order. Also, my kiddos are a little older, all are school-aged, so I understand that some of these items are not feasible for all age groups. Take what bits pertain to you in your season. I hope everyone can gain some new ideas from amongst these 101 suggestions!

Read a book. Obviously one of my favorite pastimes. Currently reading a book called Bringing up Bebe, which is a look at how the French raise their children, as observed by the author, who is an American living in Paris. Also in the middle of Spark Joy by Marie Kondo, because, #declutteralltherooms and #organizeallthethings
Binge-watch movies or TV. Obviously this is not super productive, but my best friend told me a few weeks ago that I MUST watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime and I was all “But I don’t have the time!” Except now I do. And I’m almost done with the most recent season. I love it. Check it out if you need a laugh and a story about pivoting when your life gets upended, and especially if you appreciate dreamy wardrobes from the 1950s. What are you loving/watching right now?
Puzzles. Been buying them at thrift stores lately. Semi-addicted. Can’t stop. Won’t stop.
Family reading time. #1 was more about reading a grown-up book you love, but the polar vortex is a great time to gather up beloved picture books or a classic children’s literature/novel and read aloud with everyone all snuggled up under blankets in the living room.
Try a new recipe for dinner. Uhh….as long as you already have all the ingredients. Don’t run to the store when it’s negative 35 degrees and then blame me if your toes fall off! I made something new last night and don’t know why I waited so long to wrap up a chicken breast with butter and bacon. Yum.
Bake homemade cookies. It’s a snow day tradition over here.
Bake homemade any-sweet-treat. This counts as two things on the list because there are so many possibilities.
Make homemade hot cocoa. And by homemade, it totally counts if you pour water into a mug and stir in a Swiss Miss packet. It didn’t make itself did it? I didn’t think so!
Research and plan a dream vacation to a very warm spot. Even if you don’t have the money to do it, just pretend.
Look up temperatures in northern Alaska, the Arctic, and Antarctica. Cry because you realize that it’s colder outside your front door.
Unsubscribe from the annoying emails you get. But not mine, please and thank you!
Organize the linen closet.
Make origami.
Look up How to Draw videos on YouTube. Art for Kids Hub is my favorite. Your kids and you will be amazed by all your newfound artistic talents.
Paint!
Make snow ice cream. Talk to someone who grew up in the South and they will tell you how to do this, as it was a special and momentous occasion whenever it snowed where they were from, and snow ice cream was a big deal. I grew up in the Midwest, where snow was a given, and never heard of snow ice cream until I moved to North Carolina as an adult. I still have never done it, but maybe today?
Practice a musical instrument that you’ve hidden in a closet since high school. See what you remember.
Watch a video devotional on the Right Now Media app, if you have it, or on YouTube.
Shower. It’s been a few days since you’ve left the house. Probably not a bad idea.
Try on all the fancy dresses in your closet and have a fashion show. Get your kids in on it too. Have them get out their fancy duds and try them on just for something different than the PJs you’ve all lived in all week. Have a fancy dinner night where everyone comes to the table dressed up.
Nap.
Learn to do a different hairstyle on yourself or your child(ren).
Play-doh.
If you have a child in elementary school, have them practice some skills each day, whether reading, writing, sight word practice, and/or math facts.
Word searches
Crossword puzzles
Catch up on laundry. Boring, but you can’t say that you have no time for it. It’s polar vortex season after all.
Make giant list of all the things you always say you need to pray about but forget.
Pray about all of them (Was it cheating to separate the two? This is getting hard!)
Take a bubble bath. A very warm one!
FaceTime friends you wish you could hang out with but can’t because no one wants to leave their house.
Clean out the fridge.
Clean out the freezer.
Clean out the pantry. (Don’t judge. I still have 66 more to come up with.)
Craft projects. I’ve never been great at craft projects myself, but if you have any good ideas, leave them in the comments. When in doubt, Pinterest will give you 50 billion ideas, many of which advertise themselves as “simple” but which really involve seven types of paper at various weights, a Cricut machine, and the tears of your firstborn, so be cautious.
Simple science experiment. See google for inspiration.
Sex. I’m just saying, I won’t be surprised if there’s a massive Midwest baby boom in late October.
Sew something
Fix something around the house you’ve been meaning to fix for years.
Go to the basement/attic/whatever storage space you have. Go through/sort/organize/throw out the contents of at least one box. Give yourself a hearty pat on the back. Tell everyone in the house what you’ve done. Expect large amounts of praise.
Call to make a doctor’s appointment that you’ve been putting off.
Watch Frozen.
Write a grocery list for all the things you will need once the frostbite-inducing weather is over.
If you have a fireplace, build a fire and just sit and watch it. I used to do that as a child when my grandpa would make a fire. How often do we just sit and observe as grown ups?
Exercise. Okay, I know our motivation might be low, but we DO have the time. I’m a little hypocritical, since I have not turned on my Beachbody OnDemand app one time this week (coughmonthcough), but I did do 100 lunges this morning because my husband was all pumped up and said we needed to start a 100 lunge daily challenge and I was being kind and humoring the idea. We’ll see whether or not we continue tomorrow. I won’t be mad if he forgets.
Dance party. Okay, that’s a form of exercise I can get behind. My 90’s pop station on Pandora never fails to disappoint. Whatever jams you prefer, turn them up loud and just go for it.
Deep clean your room.
Help the kids deep clean their rooms.
Tell the kids to deep clean the bathrooms.
Tell the maid to deep clean the kitchen. Then wake up from your dream but go ahead and still imagine how lovely this would be.
Write a story/blog post (check!)/memory/journal entry
Write poetry. Even if it’s really ridiculous haikus or cheesy rhymes with your kids. Here are some possible themes/topics: the frigid temps, dream vacations, cold drinks, the water cycle.
Watch old family videos.
Take turns telling funny or happy memories you all have about each person in the family.
Nap. Did I say that already? Shoot. Oh well, do it again.
Knit or crochet if you know how. If not, hop on over to YouTube and find a tutorial.
Write a letter to a friend. Pretend modern technology doesn’t exist and that you don’t know we’ll have temps in the mid-40s in a few days. Include phrases like “I’m not sure when—or if—I’ll ever see you again.” Mail it to them, or take a screenshot and text them. Whichever you prefer.
Polish the silver. If you don’t have silver, just polish something. Door handles. Wooden furniture. Not the windows though because they might be cold.
Look at grocery store sale ads. I know I’m not the only one who finds that fun.
Clean out your purse.
Video games.
Rearrange furniture.
Snuggle on the couch with your kids and watch whatever dumb show they want to watch and maybe sneak in another nap.
Hide and seek. This can be for just the kids, or if you want to play too, it could actually be fun. Once I hid under a pile of blankets and laundry on my bed, and my kids got tired of looking and then went and played something else. I may or may not have dozed off. A good time was had by all.
Make a fort.
Learn a random new skill: juggling anyone? Or perhaps the art of shadow puppetry?
Color. A classic favorite.
Board games.
Okay, this will not apply during these crazy-low temps, but when it’s a little warmer but still snowy, you and/or your kiddos can go outside with a camera or phone and be nature photographers. Yes, it’s cold but it sure is pretty. It’s always fun to see how kids capture their world.
Those socks that you have no mates for? You know which ones they are because you’ve been doing a lot of laundry (see #27). Well, turn them into sock puppets and have the kids put on a show.
Have the kids make videos of themselves being meteorologists, providing weather updates about how freaking cold it is, using their best weather announcer voice. Have them create good meteorologist names for themselves too, like Skip Waters or Chip Weatherspoon.
Play that old “I’m Going on a Picnic” game. My grandma and I used to do this when we would drive up to our family’s cabin in northern Michigan when I was little. You take turns…I’m going on a picnic and bringing an apple…I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing an apple and a banana…I’m going on a picnic and bringing an apple, banana, and some cherries. For goodness sake, put some protein in that picnic basket, will ya? Man cannot live on fruit alone! But I digress…anyways, you keep taking turns and you have to remember and recite all the previous items before you say a new word for whatever letter you are on. The first person to remember incorrectly or not be able to come up with a new word is out.
Make slime. Only if you’re braver than me. We haven’t jumped on the slime bandwagon here at home, but I know kids go crazy about it and love it. So if you need an idea, it’s worth a shot.
Make something out of cardboard…a house, a robot, a boat, a car to sit in while watching a movie, etc. Bust out markers and crayons for this too.
Make paper bag puppets.
Text a friend. I’m sorry, I may have already listed this one. Did I? I don’t know. I don’t even know what day it is anymore. Send help.
Look at family photos.
If you have any really old photos, like of great-great-grandparents, get those out and teach your kids some of your family’s history.
Clean out and organize your closets.
Spa day. Use whatever you have on hand…lotions, nail polish, face masks. Get pampered. So fun for you and the kids too!
Serve lunch picnic-style on a blanket on the floor.
Play catch with balled up socks or a lightweight ball. See how many times you guys can catch it without dropping it. My kids and I did this yesterday. Our high score was like 9. We are not all stars but we did laugh so hard at our lack of skill that we all almost peed our pants.
Fold coffee filters in half again and again and make some cuts. Voila! Snowflakes!
Read more. Yes, I already listed it, but it’s getting close to the end and my brain feels mushy. Ew, I just re-read that sentence and it evoked unsettling images of my brain. Anyways, reading should be done so much during the polar vortex I feel that it warrants an additional spot.
Computer time…so many choices here and it depends on the ages of your kids, but abcya.com, starfall.com, PBSKids, and National Geographic Kids are all great choices for younger kids.
Set up empty water bottles and do some indoor bowling.
Do a Valentine’s craft or start filling out Valentine’s cards if you have them already. I’m not on-the-ball about most things, but I always buy the cards for the following year the day after Valentine’s Day and store them in a basket in my kitchen.
Have a ridiculous fashion show. Award points for craziest outfit.
Write your Christmas list. I mean who you need to buy for, but I mean, you could write a wish list too. This is your snow day after all.
Play card games. Teach some to your kids. Is it bad that I learned how to play poker when I was five? I wasn’t playing for cash or anything so I think it’s fine. I remember hours and hours at the dining room table with my grandma and my mom.
Again this might be a better activity for when it warms up a little bit, but as long as it’s below freezing, I’ve heard you can freeze bubbles, which is a big fan favorite amongst the young crowd. But I’m a grown up and I kind of want to try it too.
Try to make a list of 101 things to do during a polar vortex and curse yourself and this silly idea. Begin to fret. You’ll never get this done. This is a fail. Remind yourself that there is no way you could possible come up with nine more items. Wail. Gnash teeth. Moan. Cry.
Yahtzee!
Find a new soup recipe. Make it. Yes, this is different than my earlier suggestions to find a new recipe in general and to make a sweet treat. This is soup-specific. Totally different.
Listen to a new podcast. Jen Hatmaker’s For the Love is my favorite, and if you are a writer, I love the Beautiful Writers Podcast. What else do you love to listen to? I’m always looking for more.
Contemplate life and meaning and faith and love and what matters most to you and how you want to be remembered.
Think of the band you loved most in middle school. Google to find out what they’re up to now.
Watch footage from old Winter Olympics games.
Write a love letter to your spouse/significant other.
Gather what you need to file your taxes. Yawn. But necessary, and the sooner and more prepared you are, the better.
Nothing. Just sit. Don’t worry if the kids destroyed the house. Don’t worry if you’re all in your PJs and everyone’s dirty and the only thing you guys did was binge-watch TV. Snow days are whatever you want them to be. Nothing or everything, whatever you choose is perfect. Enjoy.

I DID IT! Okay friends, I hope this list helps you survive today and any other cold snowy weather that may come our way in the future. I’d love to know what else you would add to the list! Comment below!