Regardless of whether you plan to spend your winter weekends at the cottage or at home, you’ll want to be armed with an arsenal of activity options.
Family Day may be over, but that doesn’t mean you should stop spending quality time with your loved ones. Since the family that crafts together stays together, we’ve compiled a list of 11 DIY all-age activities to help you celebrate your family.
Cottage bunting
As a design trend, bunting isn’t going away anytime soon. Add a decorative flare to your cottage’s mantle or entryway by creating personalized flags. This tutorial suggests creating a “thankful bunting,” but you can adjust the theme to any holiday or season, including springtime.
DIY paint night
“Paint nights” have been taking the country by storm—and there’s no reason not to host your own. Cheap canvases and paints can be purchased from the dollar store. The creations that you create on your own paint night can be rotated as cottage artwork throughout the year.
Recycled book envelopes and poetry
Looking to repurpose some of the old books and newspapers that you have stacked up around the cottage? The pages can be used to make one-of-a-kind envelopes. Then, use individual cut-out words to write poetry or letters to loved ones who weren’t able to join you on Family Day.
Mix-and-match painted rocks
Dip into the jar of rocks you collected from the beach for this craft, which takes “pet rocks” up a notch. These snowmen are a great example of the stackable mix-and-match figures you can paint. Looking for inspiration? Try to paint your family members, including any furry friends. Once dry, kids will love creating new characters by moving the rocks around.
Snow art
If you’d like to create a craft that’s more of a “temporary” than “permanent” installation, look no further than out your window. A Swedish snowball sculpture will light up your yard in the night, while snow paintings will brighten it up during the day.
Slime time
An activity that combines science with fun, slime has become a favourite of kids and adults alike for good reason. There are countless combinations and recipes, so make sure you’re well-equipped with colours, sparkles and other add-ins before you get started.
Recycled paper pinwheels
This activity is a perfect way to use up those magazines that have been collecting around the cottage. Once complete, the paper pinwheels will look great amongst your garden or porch plants.
Cottage shirts
Don’t wait until your next family reunion to make matching t-shirts—do it now! Plain white shirts and fabric paints will go a long way in creating “Cottage 2019” attire.
Tin can lanterns
You’ll need a drill and some patience for this craft, but the results are worth it. Let kids mark out where they’d like the holes to be with a marker, or equip older kids with a hammer and nails to punch the holes themselves.
Photo collage letters
Let your children help choose favourite family photos for printing. Then, work together to create the perfect photo collage letters that spell out something cottage-worthy, such as “family” or “beach.”
Family coat of arms
Another way to celebrate your unique family is by designing a family crest. Create a blank banner for kids, then arm them with art supplies to decorate it with symbols or pictures of things that are meaningful to your family.