Get Indoors For Irene

With Hurricane Irene barreling up the coast, New York families should start making plans for a long weekend indoors. Once you’ve stocked up on all the essentials and safely secured your clan inside, you’ll want to have a few rainy day activities on-hand for restless little ones. Here are some suggestions for fun, family-friendly ways to ride out the storm. —   

There’s nothing quite as cozy as settling in for a nice, long movie marathon when wind and rain are howling just outside your door. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled some of the best family movies to watch this weekend. Our digging goes as far back as the 1930s, and ranges from classics like E.T.
to sing-a-longs (Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang anyone?) to modern films (have you seen Up?). All you have
to do is micro some popcorn (well, if we have power…) and settle in for a viewing from our top 50 flicks. Let the littlest viewer pick the first movie, and go from there!

When screen-time is up (more than three movies in a row may have you all cross-eyed!), pull a few children’s books off the shelves. Find old favorites or dig up ones that haven’t been read in years. You’d be surprised how the stories can take you back in time. Or, take inspiration from our summer beach reads round-up and snuggle up with a good book indoors. (Does anyone have a vitamin D lamp?)

For antsy tots who find it hard to cozy up to a colorful picture book, put their restless fingers to work with some back-to-school crafts! We can’t get enough of these 20 ideas from Disney Family Fun. Come on, how cute are these OJ carton wallets?

If you’re still hooked up to the Internet amidst the storm, let your children check out the new kid-friendly version of YouTube: KidzVuz.com. The only online destination of its kind, KidzVuz allows underagers
to safely post user-generated reviews of anything under the sun. Kids can sign up, post a review and
comment on other videos. Categories include: Tech, Toys & Games,
Movies & TV (perfect for your post-marathon evening), Books & Magazines, and Obsessions. Posting content and
rating reviews or products encourages children by helping them earn points
towards collectable badges. But rest assured: KidzVuz is entirely safe and does
not ask for any personal information. 

If (when?) the electricity goes out, one of our favorite family pastimes is bringing out the stash of board games you’ve been building up since 1985. Who doesn’t love a rollicking good round of Clue? And even the tiniest of tots can play Guess Who? Better yet, there’s still time to enter our BANANAGRAMS giveaway! The deadline is today so by the time the hurricane screams out of town, you could be adding a new game to your collection.

And just because a
storm is looming, that doesn’t mean you have to shield your kids from it
entirely. Strollerderby, with the help of the Children’s Television Workshop,
put together 10 tips to approach the conversation with your
children.