Ally P has challenged me to think of things to do when the snow (or rain) is coming down, but money is tight. (Other than watch tv/videos). Here's some of my favorties for 'boredom emergencies.'

Bake Some Bread. Flour, water, yeast, salt. Not to hard to come by

in most kitchens. If you have these you and the little can make up a loaf of bread, or a batch of dinner rolls. In fact I have a dinner roll reciepe for you here. No yeast? Try making scones with cinnamon or irish soda bread.  Kids love helping to mix and punching down yeast-raised dough is so fun! Since the dishes are already dirty, you might as well let the wee ones play with them in the sink. An added bonus? Your house will smell delicious.

Make Some Dough. This time I'm talking about playdough. You can find a reciepe easily on-line. I like the kind with alum best, but if all you've got is salt and flour, you can find reciepes for that too. Add food coloring or sparkles to make it more fun, and break out the cookie cutters and small plastic andimals/soldiers/pirates, etc to add to the imaginative play.

Go Camping. My kids love camping in doors. True, it makes a mess, but it also usually occupies the better part of the day. Pull the shades (it's grey outside anyway), push the furniture aside and break out the sleeping bags. A sheet or two over the table makes a nice 'tent', and plastic pots and plates allow for the making of camp food. If you've got a pack of jiffy pop on hand, so much the better. Light the fireplace and get shakin!  Don't for get to read and tell short stories, beat on the pans with wooden spoons to the rhythm of camp tunes, and scare the kids while they're "asleep" in the tent by being the "bear." The best part? Turning off all the lights and using the flashlights and battery operated lanterns.

Do a Toy Swap. We've only got three families with grade school kids on our block, but between us there's enough loot to fill a toy store. When your kids are bored with what they've got, call a neighbor and switch. Just make sure you don't trade a very favorite, or a thing with a million little pieces. (Somehow my daughters know if one teeny tiny Polly Pocket shoe is missing -- 'though they can't find their sneakers when they are in the middle of the living room floor!) We've traded board games (how often can you play Operation before you're sick of it?),  dress up clothes, and even odd ball things like a windup carosel and one of those 'make up' Barbie heads. After a few days the charm wears off and you can switch back. This works great with videos too -- no more trips to the rental place when your pal next door has the entire Harry Potter collection! Don't have kids on your block. Find a toy your kids haven't played with for awhile and bring it out front and center (where did you put that LiteBrite). I even plan ahead and put toys away from time to time, just to pull out on a rainy day.

Pull Out the Creation Station. There's a store here in seattle called the Creation Station that's filled with recycled products. Carpet fragments, unused tubing from hospital manufacturers, even velvet cases to hold holiday gift cards from Starbucks. For $5.95 you can create whatever you want at one of thier long tables for an hour.  After going to a birthday party there, I decided to steal the idea and save the $12 and the 30minute drive. Now we have a " Creation Station" box in one of the closests. It has all the miscellaneous stuff that seems to make it's way into the house -- a bag of purple shoe-shaped erasers from a party gift bag, a couple of oatmeal cartons, interesting stamps that I've cut off packages, bits of ribbons from gifts, old magazines, and of course, toilet paper tubes. All the kids need are thier markers, some tape, and a glue stick and they can make stuff for hours! The new favorite? Cutting tiny pictures out of magazines and gluing them into bottle caps, then making picture frames and covering those little cardboard boxes jewelery comes in to make colorful art. (They went to a Dia de Los Muertos exhibit at our local natural history museum and got inspired.)

Okay, that's five. How'd I do? You got some more?

P.s. I thought of one more...you can really get bath time to s...t...r...e...a...c...h out it you play a story tape on a portable stereo while the kids are in the tub. Tapes/CD's are another fun thing to swap, or can be easily checked out for free at the library. (Our library system even lets you order them on line and emails you when they are available at your branch.) Just make sure the stereo is out of reach of the tub, and of course, monitor your child whenever he/she is in the water. I like to put a big pillow outside the bathroom and lean against the wall to read -- out of sight but close enough to keep track of things.