For a lot of people, the shift from summer to autumn and winter is something to be celebrated. It means that it's time to enjoy getting cosy and comfortable under a blanket every day. However, for many parents, the changing of the seasons is accompanied by a sense of dread. Of the many great things about the nice weather during the summer, one of the best is that your kids get to enjoy running around outside as a way to use up all of that energy that they have. When the weather's horrible then they can often end up getting incredibly frustrated and start acting out because of it. Of course, just because you and your kids are stuck indoors watching the rain against the window, that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of options for fun and interesting things to do. With that in mind, here are a few things that you can do in order to make sure that you and your kids have plenty of fun, even when the weather's totally miserable.

A day out the aquarium

If things are wet and miserable outside, why not go somewhere that's even wetter on the inside! There isn't a child, or an adult for that matter, who can walk into an aquarium and not feel at least some sense of awe and wonder at the incredible things there. After all, these are things that, under natural circumstances, you'd never even know about let alone get to see up close. Whether it's luminescent jellyfish, adorable penguins, or giant and imposing sharks swimming around above your heads, you and your kids are almost certain to be left speechless.

And if the kids still did not get enough of those mesmerizing aquatic animals and fishes, then you can also buy a mini aquarium with beautiful reef lighting to make their day more special.

Plus, plenty of aquariums let you get pretty involved as well. Check out the site of the SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium to see what kinds of things are on offer. A lot of the time you'll end up feeling like you've been transported to a totally new and exciting world!

A movie marathon

Of course, who said that you even need to leave the house in order to have fun? Why not take advantage of the fact that you're a little bit stuck in your house and cuddle up on the couch together for a movie marathon? You can make a big bowl of snacks and popcorn as well as drinks for everyone, and your kids can be in charge of picking the movies. Of course, if you want to avoid getting too bored, you might want to help them with that side of things as well. You might even want to take this chance to introduce your kids to some of your favourite movies, as long as they're age appropriate of course. If you want to make a game out of it, you could even have the kids make their own movie tickets so that they can get into the "theatre". Turning even the simplest thing into a game can make kids far more interested and engaged with what they're doing.

Make a blanket fort

Then again, who says that you need anything in order to have fun but the stuff that's already in your house. If you haven't made a blanket fort since you were a kid, then you might have forgotten just how fun it can be! Your kids will love getting to convert entire rooms of your home into places for them to play and explore. There's nothing wrong with turning the whole place upside down for a day in order to create a totally unique little world for you all to occupy and enjoy. You can have different rooms designed for different things, and the wonderful thing about kids' imaginations is that you'll never be stuck for inspiration for new areas to build or games to play when you're inside the fort. Just make just that anything breakable is out of the way, the last thing you want is the sound of a glass smashing bringing the whole game to a screeching halt.

Get creative

Kids love making things, and it often keeps them occupied far better than something passive like reading or watching a movie. So if the weather's horrible, then you might as well get out the art supplies and have yourselves a creative day indoors. Whether it's painting, modelling, drawing, writing stories, or anything else, there are plenty of ways to get your kid's creative juices flowing. And not only will you have an incredibly fun day together but you're even going to have something great to show for it at the end so that you can all remember the fun that you had!

Go out in the rain!

Here's a question that you might not have considered: who care's about a little bit of rain?! One of the simplest and most wonderful pleasures in life is being able to put on your waterproof clothes and galoshes and just enjoy splashing about in the rain. And if you get wet, who cares?! A little bit of water never hurt anyone and you can all go home and get warm and dry incredibly easily. Kids love playing out in the rain. Jumping in muddy puddles, making huge splashes, and getting good and soaked are all things that you might want to avoid but kids absolutely love! So embrace it, and don't let the bad weather get in the way of a good time.

The truth is that there are plenty of things that you can do when the weather's miserable, it's just a matter of thinking creatively. Sure, it might be easy and relaxing just to let the kids go out and play in the backyard while you relax, but you'll probably find that many of the activities that you can do with your kids in awful weather are a lot more interesting and fun than you give them credit for. If you want your kids to have the best time, as well as avoiding feeling bored yourself, the best thing to do is to get as stuck in as possible. The enthusiasm that you bring to anything that you do is going to have an incredibly positive impact on your kids.