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TV-Free!

Here are 20 ideas to entertain you and your family when the TV is off doing it the old-fashioned way.

1. Have a tickle party. Wrestle and roll around with your kids.
2. Blow the dust off those board games. When was the last time you played Monopoly anyway?
3. Have some friends over --
4. Let the kids take every cushion off the sofa and build a fort. Crawl through once or twice yourself.
5. Read! Dr. Suess, Mother Goose, Jungle Book - new or old, funny or not!
6. Share a skill with your kids -- Spend some time passing your knowledge on. Try knitting,, woodworking, gardening - whatever you like to do!
7. Take a class together. Isn't there something you'd both like to learn to do?
8. Go fly a kite.
9. Get to know the museums and historical societies in your town.
10. Stock up on books and stories on tape.
11. Have a family letter writing party. And no, not using e-mail, but pens, paper, markers --
12. Set out a lot of good dress-up stuff and let your kids play with each other --
13. Have a dance party in the living room.
14. Teach the kids all the card games you know.
15. Bake something -- even the youngest can help with simple cookie recipes.
16. Get crafty -- get some felt and get to work. Make a scrapbook together fill your picture album.
17. Do something for someone else --
18. Can we fix it? Fix that leaky faucet, sew those ripped pants.
19. Play outside. Even if it's cold outside, bundle up and go for a walk.
20. Laugh more, talk more, enjoy each other more --

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