Nothing can dampen spirits like a rainy day. Kids aren’t the only ones who get cranky when they’re cooped up inside. So to stop those rainy day doldrums before they happen, take a look at these 7 Great Rainy Day Ideas.

1. Pull Out The Board Games.

In an era where X-Box and PlayStation rule, the joy of playing board games has fallen by the wayside. These types of days are perfect for pulling out the Scrabble board, Jenga or Uno card. Everyone will get so caught up in the games that they won’t even notice the grey skies outside.

2. Have A Rainy Day Party.

Let everyone dress up in their best clothes, and serve lunch or dinner in that good china you never use. Someone can play DJ and you can all dance away your discontent. Celebrate the rain. You’ll find that you dread future rainy days less, and so will your family.

3. Walk.

Yes, outside in the rain. Everyone gets dressed in their rain gear and then it’s outside for a tour of the neighbourhood. Puddle splashing is allowed! Getting wet won’t hurt anyone–unless they’re that witch from the Wizard of Oz–and it will be a great stress reliever. Actually, your kids will be so shocked, they’ll probably look at you with awe for the rest of the day–and even better, forget to whine about being bored.

4. Create A Family Time Capsule.

Putting together a time capsule is always a big hit with family members of all ages. Even teenagers will put their iPods down and get into the fun of making a time capsule. Set the time for pulling it out to be same time, next year–or even a rainy day a month from now. You’ll have to help younger children, of course, but imagine their excitement when they see the time capsule in a year!

5. Start A Rainy Day Scrapbook.

Let everyone design and create their own pages. Drawings, magazine cut-outs and photos will fill the pages. It can be an ongoing scrapbook or simply one for this particular rainy day. An ongoing rainy day scrapbook has the advantage of being a rainy day activity you won’t have to plan for again and will give everyone in the family something to look forward to doing the next time it rains.

6. Visit A Museum. Museums offer a wide variety of activities for people of all ages.

They’re generally reasonable in cost to begin with, and charge less for weekdays. They’re also great learning experiences and something your family doesn’t do every day, so they’re something special.

7. Give Each Family Member An Hour To Be In Charge.

For one hour, they get to be king or queen of the rainy day and chose an activity for everyone else. This lets everyone in the family feel important and get to do what they enjoy most. You’ll have to lay down some ground rules, of course, but letting everyone have an hour to be in charge will keep them busy not just for the hour, but for a lot longer as they make their plans.

Have any tips? Please share in the comments for our Design My Days Member, so we can all have fun on rainy days.