Since we live in such an electricity-driven society, everyone freaks when the power goes out. No TV, computers, or video games to entertain the troops! No fear. I’ve got a tried and true list that will add a little fun to your darkness! And just in time, since it seems to be the fall/winter that our power goes out most!
Build Forts: I don’t care how old you are, turning your living room into a massive fort is just plain fun. Having the power go out gives you just the excuse you need to build on! grab blankets, chairs, couch cushions and go to town. Many of the activities below can be done while lounging in your new little fort city!
Tell Childhood Stories: My kids LOVE to hear about their childhoods and my childhood. They like to hear the story of their birth and what funny things they did when they were kids. They love to hear about my most embarrassing moments and all the places we lived and traveled before they can remember. Perfect time to talk to your kids/spouse/neighbors! There’s also a great game that is fun to play called….
Play “So There I Was”: This is such a fun get-to-know-ya game. Life events (ie. night of my senior prom, when my husband first told me he loved me, when I was most proud of myself, my first vacation, etc.) are written on pieces of paper and placed in a bowl. The bowl is passed around, a life event is drawn and then everyone goes around the circle and answers in this fashion: So There I Was… The Day I Met My Husband (or fill in the blank with life event plucked from the bowl). Everyone learns a little about each other in a pretty fun way.
Blind Art: Place an old tablecloth over the table and whip out the markers, paint {washable will be helpful here} and colored pencils, and make some art in the dark. The rule is that you can use flashlights to locate your utensils, but not to view what you’re painting/coloring. Makes for some super fun art projects when the lights come on! Or, you can just let the kids draw on themselves. That works too.
Raid the Popsicles and Ice Cream: Since your frozen items might not stay frozen for long, take advantage and have yourself a little sweet treat. Ice cream is the first thing to melt, so grab it out of the freezer quickly {keeping that door shut during a power outage is key to hopefully saving some frozen goods!} and enjoy.
Play Charades: It’s a classic and it can easily be played with a flashlight spotlight!
Tell Ghost Stories: What better time to breakout the old spooky story?! You can adapt them to the age of your audience. We don’t suggest super duper scary ones for youngins, or you might be dealing with nightmares in addition to a power outage!
Read Books: This can be done by the light of a flashlight or candle. Find a book that’s appropriate for your kids or that you and your friends or spouse might enjoy, and take turn reading it out loud.
Play Hide and Seek: Such a fun game to play in the dark, just be careful and make sure everyone is armed with a flashlight while they are trying to navigate in the dark {make sure to flip those lights off or you’ll be spotted right away!}.
Stargaze: If weather permits, take a blanket out into the backyard and watch the beautiful sky. Look for the brightest, the North star, the Big Dipper. The pitch black from the power outage will make for perfect stargazing because you’ll have limited light pollution!!
What do you do when the power goes out {once you’ve gathered your candles and flashlights, of course!}?
~Mavis
Rosaleen says
I figure power outages are a good time to catch up on sleep, of which I usually am behind. It is also a good time to listen to my Audible stash. If there is light, I can do some sorting, cleaning w/o electrical tools, maybe some hand sewing or crafting, but much of that is heavily light dependent. Even phones take electricity, but at least cell phones might be charged in one’s automobile.
For those of us who have cable or other non-antenna television, sometimes that service does not return with power. Keep a spare antenna around, because your genius guys may forget that the airwaves may still work, That includes your TV/electronic gurus. Guess how I know!
Sakura says
We lost power a couple of years ago in early december for 3 days. We had a blast playing board games with head lamps on!!! We still do that every once in a while.
Darla says
When the power went off at Grandma’s, grandsons (3 and 6) were scared at first. We made shadow animals on the wall and I am so bad at it, that they were soon laughing. They are teenagers now, but still remember that fun night.
gina says
Yep. Shadow puppets. So fun!
mandy says
Our electric goes out during storms. When my sony was young, we loved playing dominoes, some card games and reading books together. One year, I was on my own and the electric was out for many days. I played cribbage with myself. I got alot of exercise too, as I had to keep changing seats to keep track of which player I was 🙂
Julia says
Reading and playing games until it’s dark, then got t to be early!!!
Chloe says
We’re about to get hit by hurricane Irma and our power will probably be out for a couple of days. Reading, writing, playing hide and seek in the dark, and mad libs are all fun things to do during that time!
Mavis Butterfield says
Stay safe Chloe!