A Guide to Surviving a Rainy Weekend Indoors

We've all been through those long, rainy weekends that trap us indoors
for hours on end. Two days cooped up in a house watching
whatever's on TV can turn the most skilled couch potato into an
anxious, restless bundle of nerves. But rainy weekends don't have
to be havens of boredom. With a little planning, you can equip
your house with all of the necessary items to provide entertainment,
learning and perhaps even a little bonding over
the longest of rainy weekends.

Movies

The first thing you need to create is a personal library ofmovies. Do not hold yourself (or your family) hostage to what the
networks have decided to put on TV on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Instead, stock up on DVDs (new movies orused!) to utilize on just these
occasions. Make sure you don't just purchase movies that you have
already seen a hundred times (although the ability to quote every line
in The Princess Bride is an impressive feat, it just may not do the
trick on that 5th rainy Sunday of the season). Branch out and
pepper your DVD collection with classics from various genres (thinkAction and Adventure,geedy,Foreign,Musicals, and so on). If
you have kids, make sure to acquire someAnimated Favorites too!
And if there is a particularTV show that you and your family love, it
doesn't hurt to have a season or two available at your fingertips to
pop in when that 7th re-run of Matlock just isn't doing it for you
anymore.

Books

Reading is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Whether you
decide to sit down with the entire family and read something out loud,
or whether you tuck yourself into a blanket on the couch and get lost
in the pages of yourbook, it is far more beneficial than staring
mindlessly at the TV all weekend long (and don't get me wrong, spending
some time staring at the TV is definitely on my agenda...just not the
WHOLE weekend!)Fictional books can transport you into another
world and stimulate your imagination, whilenon-fiction titles can
educate you in an area you've been meaning to explore. And if you
choose to make the reading time a group activity; consideraudio-books
orchildren's books so that everyone can be involved. If you or
someone in your family has trouble getting into books, have a variety
ofmagazines available as an alternative (choose magazines that aren't
'time sensitive' but can be kept around long-term). Magazines
span all topics, from home