Cheap Entertainment

Here are a few ways to entertain your Petite Monstre, without breaking the bank.

Flour & Water finger paint.

1 c. flour

1 c. water

2 tsp. salt

Dash of food coloring.

This recipe had saved me, many, many rainy days. It's easy to make, you can throw it away later and not feel guilty and it cleans up easily.

I used to give her a couple of cream cheese containers full of this (Good way to store it also.) and let her wreak havoc on my kitchen table.

Sheet Tent.

This one was a favorite while my daughter was growing up.

Take the biggest sheet you have and stretch it from the dresser, where you shut it in one of the middle drawers, the the bed where you tuck it between the matress and the boxspring.

BAM!

It's an instant fort.

Heart Shaped Food.

This was another one my daughter loved.

If you don't have a heart shaped cookie cutter, don't worry, seriously. Just cut the food with a knife to the best of your ability. At 4 years old, they could care less if their heat shaped grilled cheese is a little lop sided.

Good foods to try this on are sandwiches, pancakes, waffles, even pop tarts.

Dye Eggs.

Believe me, it's not just for Easter anymore. Again, at 4 years old, they have no idea about systems and holidays and all that stuff. We used to dye eggs regularly, sometimes using crayons to make crazy designs, sometimes double dipping to make an egg two different colors, etc. It's cheap and it has never failed me to keep my monster entertained for an hour or so.

Vinegar

Food Coloring

Play Dress Up.

If it's that time of year that you are wanting to clean out your closets, maybe see if those jeans from high school still fit... take the kid with you. EVERY child loves to dress in mommy's or daddy's clothes. And you can make it a double affair, clean & play at the same time. How cool is that?