It is inevitable that at some point this coming school year I am going to get sick — sick enough that I will want to take the day off from being a mom. We all know that taking the day off isn’t going to happen, hence my sick-day-in-a-box.

I made one of these boxes last year and it worked out really well for me. Between the stuff in the box and watching more TV than usual, we all survived.

The idea behind a sick-day-in-a-box is to have a bin full of activities or toys the kids can use by themselves. I only get it out when I feel really bad and need to lay on the couch.

To create your own sick-day-in-a-box, you simply need an empty bin or box and some toys or activities to put in it. I found random stuff in our house and then spent $10 on some craft stuff. I am also thinking about printing out some paper craft projects that the kids can cut up and work on then.

My box this year has Mr. Potato Head,  a paint-with-water book, Playfoam, wiki sticks, model magic, magnetic play sets, and Lincoln Logs. Anything that will entertain the kids with minimal mess works!

Another thing that also works for sick days in our house is Netflix. We don’t normally have Netflix or cable, so our kids watch Amazon Prime TV shows and movies. When sickness hits, I usually subscribe to Netflix. The kids are thrilled by the new choices and I am thrilled by the quietness!

Lastly, if you haven’t already checked out Go Noodle, now is the time to do it! It is a free site full of short and sometimes silly videos to get kids active. It is made for schools, but anyone can sign up for a free account. We use Go Noodle often in the winter when the kids need to get energy out, but it is so helpful on a sick day!