The days are long. How to beat the boredom this winter

It's not quite as dark in the morning any more. The sun is starting to come up before I leave the house to workout and it's staying out after the kids get home from school.  But we have been lucky this year.  The word on the streets is that Seattle is having their warmest winter on record.  It's been pretty amazing.  But I know not all of you have been so lucky. The Midwest and East coast seem to keep getting pelted with snow and freezing temperatures.  I hear reports of the longest winter ever.  In case you fellow moms and dads need it, last year I wrote 15 kids activities to beat cabin fever.  The one thing I would add to the list this year is something that my 9 year old son has really enjoyed this winter.  Back in November I heard about Pley.com.  Pley is a Netflix like subscription service but with Lego sets.  The initial plan starts at only $9.99 a month and you have over 270 sets to choose from.  
My son devours the sets.  We get notification that a set has shipped and it's usually here two days later.  As soon as the set arrives Owen puts it together.  We usually have the set for a few days and then Owen takes it apart, places it back in the bag and I ship it off in the postage paid envelope.  The whole cycle continues.  In a typical month we get 2-3 sets to play with. I love that we don't have any extra toys added to our already burgeoning collection and it provides Owen with something productive to do for a few hours.  It's a win win! I also have loved our Tinker Crate and Doodle Crate subscriptions {the older kids version of kiwi crate}.  The younger two {9 and 12} received a three month subscription from their grandparents and they have looked forward to their crate every month.
Last month Owen made a hydraulic crane and my daughter Isabella received a clay making kit.  Both kits come with all of the materials you need to create the projects and a booklet with project ideas is included.  There is also a small magazine inside each crate that gives you more ideas on things you can make and do.   I'm always looking for new ideas to keep my kids off of the screen.  I promise you, your kids will beat the winter blues with a monthly pley or kiwi crate subscription.  And you will keep your sanity! disclosure: this post contains affiliate links. I may get compensation if you purchase a subscription through these links. All opinions are 100% my own.  I wouldn't tell you about it if I didn't love it.