A rainy season means less outside time. For people who love the outdoors, it is hard some days to get the kids all dressed in rain gear and then do the mud cleanup afterward.
But rainy time can be the best outdoor time ever! Mud pies and puddles, snails and worms. There are so many things to enjoy in the rain. For outdoor enthusiasts, you’d want your kids outside enjoying that mud time even more than a clean house.
This is where the rainy day plan comes in.
The rainy day plan is your plan to make rainy outdoor days as easy, stress-free, and ruined carpetless as possible. Because, let’s face it, the next few months in the rainy season are going to be pretty miserable with the kids locked inside all day. So look at the plan and prepare yourself for outside adventure!
The Rainy Day Plan
The key to easy rainy day fun is a little pre-play planning.
Get the Gear
Seriously, you just need to have some kind of rain gear. Kids grow like weeds and it can be hard to keep up with boots, but the right outdoor gear makes it easy peasy to get outside.
You want:
- Rain boots
- Waterproof coat
- Umbrella
There is other fancy rain gear around but these are the basics. It is rainy every year so ideally, you should shop the end-of-season sales in anticipation of the next rainy season. Or hit thrift stores, Craigslist, local Facebook swap groups and discount outdoor stores like steepandcheap.
Designate a Muddy Shoe Space
The rule of most houses is to take the muddy shoes off outside and leave them on the porch. But if you live in an apartment complex that doesn’t have space for this or somewhere where shoes have to be inside, you may want one of these handy boot trays. Boot trays are also great to use in a car if you have been away from home for your muddy adventure.
Even without a boot tray, you should designate a mat or some kind of space for wet and muddy shoes. It’s much easier for kids to remember their shoes if there is a designated spot for them.
To-Go Rain Bag
Create a rain bag you can grab and go or leave in the car for those spur of the moment rainy fun trips. You can use a plastic bag or any other kind of waterproof bag to hold it all. This is perfect for making sure your family trips don’t turn wet and miserable after all the fun is done.
Bag suggestions:
- A few old towels
- Set of clothes for everyone (Don’t forget yours! Or you will always get wet or muddy even when you don’t plan on it)
- Extra waterproof bags for wet clothes
- Baby powder (for getting wet sand off hands)
There may be other rain bag items that you consider essential, so throw them in there.
Drying Towels
You don’t want to ruin your good towels any more than you want to ruin your carpet. Keep a stack of old bath towels handy for just such wet and muddy occasions. Then you will have no problem when they get stepped on or dragged through the mud by some little boy who has run back outside. It is easy to just hose them down and wash them later.
Warm Up
Everyone appreciates a little extra warm treat after some wet and muddy play. You may want to plan a supply of apple cider or one of these delicious homemade hot chocolate recipes. I think peanut butter hot chocolate is on the menu soon over here.
Muddy Boot Printable
Everyone is usually good at remembering to take off muddies before coming in but you can make it even easier to remember by putting a sign at your designated rain boot spot. Make a printable as an eye-catching reminder.
Now Get Out There
Have a great time. Don’t worry so much about getting muddy and wet because you have planned ahead. Just have a good time and make some memories.
