I talk a lot about doing stuff with your family and the things that work and the things that don’t work, especially during the days we are in now. Let me tell you though, I have found one of the best ways to make your children smile, and you can have fun for hours. Best of all, you can do it at home and it costs less than five dollars.
Before we get to the fun, let me tell you, I am not the one who is worried about the amount of time my children spend on screens. I’m more concerned about what is on those screens. I am a technical person, and it’s in my blood to buy gadgets, automate things, and do as much tech as I can. So, my little ones probably have more tech and automation in their lives than most. I can’t decide if this is a good or bad thing.
I told one of my boys the other day, as he was laid out on the couch watching YouTube, that he forgot to turn off the game room light and he needed to get his butt up and go turn it off. While not even moving a muscle, he lays there and yells, “Alexa, turn off the game room light,” and then looks at me and smiles before going back to watching YouTube. I don’t even know what to do with that…after all, I made both of those things.
The point I’m getting at here is, when I think back to the fun times I have had with my children, it is not really any memories of us playing video games on an iPad or making the smart home smarter. It is always things like walking along the beach or going on a bike ride as they try to pop a wheelie on their bikes, or the first time they ride with no hands. Or, it’s fishing in the lake or staying in a hotel and pushing every button on the elevator to look at every floor. To me, it is those moments when they smile ear to ear and see something for the first time. The best way I think you see this is, next time you can pop fireworks or go see them, when the big ones are popping, don’t look up at them, look down at your little ones. That’s the look I’m talking about. It makes it all worth it and that will be one of those memories.
So without further ado, here is the five dollar entertainment and lifetime memory. However, let me be clear, you have to be careful here and be safe, and it’s not my fault if you don’t follow the rules, hurt yourself, or break something.
Now with that out of the way, go to a packaging or shipping company or grocery store and buy some dry ice. Bring it home on a Friday night and get out some bowls and buckets. Fill them with water (hot is better than cold, but cold or tap works just fine) and get the children and tell them that you can make potions and do experiments. When you put the dry ice in the water, a reaction will happen that will blow their minds. If you have a pool, maybe even put some in there (we did). These boys of mine loved it. We played by the pool, on the patio, and in the kitchen, and it never got old. Trust me, I will never forget it.
Now, go find your ice.
