This post is sponsored by the brands below. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Many of you know that two weeks ago, we, along with hundreds of thousands of Floridians were getting prepared for Hurricane Irma to hit us. The day before Hurricane Irma hit, the projected track of Irma’s eye was supposed to go directly over our house as a Cat 4 hurricane. To say we were overwhelmed is an understatement. We prepared as best we could, used our safe room and ended up being very lucky as Irma’s eye was east of us and only a Cat 1 when her winds were overhead. Feel free to read my blog post Lessons I Learned During Irma.

Having two little kids, one of my fears during Irma was losing electricity. We don’t watch a ton of television, but my kids would not be happy missing their daily half hour shows after naptime. And we also rely on listening to music on the radio. Without electricity, while I know my kiddos are resourceful, they are also young and thus, I wanted to find some fun toys and activities that would be fun and help distract them from the fact that we were without comfortable air conditioning and all electronics. Below are some of the our favorite activities to do as a family the past two weeks.

Find It Junior Sesame Street is the perfect game to mentally challenge your kiddos while having tons of fun! The way you play Find It Sesame Street is you shake the game up and look for hidden objects, letters and numbers. Because this game is a junior edition, it’s a bit easier to play then regular Find It games. In this junior edition, each of the 20 “Find It” items are repeated twice to reduce frustration and encourage continued game play. Also, all items are also pictured on the end cap and in the included booklet allowing non-readers to play independently. This game has been perfect for my almost 5 year old and almost 3 year old. Head HERE for more info.

Another activity that is perfect for days without electricity is arts and crafts. Crayola is the perfect accompaniment for crafts. My kiddos spent hours coloring in coloring books, drawing on construction paper and even working in their workbooks. Crayola has their well-loved markers and crayons and has also released a new line called Silly Scents.

Crayola Silly Scents pencils, crayons and markers are an essential creative tool for school projects and detailed artwork. For my family, sometimes it is hard to motivate my son to try to draw shapes or write letters. He prefers to color - and honestly, a lot of times he just prefers to play with his trucks and cars. 😉 But I’ve found that these Silly Scents pencils, crayons and markers have given him more of a motivation to try to write and draw shapes. The Silly Scents Colored Pencils and Crayons are twistable and thus, you never have to worry about sharpening them. My son has tons of fun twisting them and making the tip of his pencil or crayon perfect. Their twist-up barrels eliminate the need to sharpen tips or peel labels, making them easily portable. And, as I said, my son loved them! Head HERE for more information on Crayola Silly Scents!

I love the game Boom Blast Stix for many reasons. My main reason is that it is addictive and so much fun. My second reason is it does not require batteries! So if you are without power or conserving your batteries, you don’t have to worry about running through batteries to play this game! Boom Blast Stix is the only explosive high stakes stacking game featuring sensitive, interlocking springs that when stacked together can go-off at any time, testing players’ mental and physical skills and ultimately, their nerves. It is a suspense-filled game that the whole family can enjoy.

To play this game, each player takes a turn by locking their Stix piece, and carefully setting it down, one-by-one, to build a stack. The player that places their Stix piece down, and causes the stack to explode, loses. Head HERE for more info. If you like games requiring balance and finger dexterity, this is the game for you.

This game is so much fun. I love that children can play it at all different ages. My daughter who is almost 3 loves looking for Elmo and my son who is almost 5 doesn’t think he’s too old to play this game either! The game Elmo’s World Hide & Seek is based on the Elmo character from Elmo’s World on Sesame Street. The game includes a sturdy Elmo doll who talks, 24 location cards and game rules that grow as your child does! The only things you need to add are AAA batteries.

To play, slide the “on” button hidden in Elmo’s foot and await the first of many clues from “Elmo is so happy you want to play hide and seek!” to “Try again to find Elmo.” Part of the fun of this game is the many levels grownups can offer for babies as young as six months.

Peek-a-boo with Elmo is as simple as hiding him under a blankie or stuffed animal. It reinforces the notion that out of sight does not mean the item has disappeared. Level 2 looks like the traditional hide & seek with tots closing their eyes while someone places Elmo in a nearby spot. Babies can crawl and preschoolers can stride to the sound of Elmo’s voice. As they enter the preschool years, use the enclosed game cards with illustrated clues. Have the child count to ten as Elmo is being hidden.

If you have no power or are looking for things for your kiddos to do, this is an awesome activity that will keep them busy! Head HERE for more info.

This past year we’ve discovered Klutz craft kits. If you haven’t heard of them yet, you must learn more. Klutz has a plethora of kits to choose from and honestly, these kits are everything I would have wanted as a child. Klutz Jr kits are for younger kiddos and then regular Klutz kits are for older kids. When we were hunkered down with no electricity after Hurricane Irma hit, the kiddos and I worked on lots of these craft kits. The kits are perfect for helping your children develop imaginations, work on fine motor skills and learn how to follow directions.

The Klutz Jr Kit My Fantastic Foam is for kids between the ages of 4 and 8. (I must say, my almost 3 year old daughter loves this kit too. I just had to help her a little bit more with the glue.) With this kit you can create colorful works of art with over 200 fantastic foam shapes. This book and craft kit includes a book of inspiration and a sketch pad full of removable pages, which make it easy for little hands to layer the foam and decorations with ease.

The Klutz Jr Kit My Pom-Pom Pet Shop gives kiddos the tools to create ten of fuzzy friends using pom-poms, paper punch-outs, and glue. Then they can assemble their own pet carrier to transport their critters. My son made the most adorable turtle and my daughter made the most adorable hamster. I love these kits because there are still enough materials to create 8 more creatures!

Klutz Jr My Little Night Light comes with four different backgrounds, five landscapes, and over fifty transparent punch-outs that can be mixed and matched to create 3D scenes that glow at night. I love this kit because my kiddos both experience a bit of fear at night and love their night lights. This kit helps empower children as they can design their own night light for their room!

Klutz Jr My Fairy Wish Kit gives children the tools to create their own fairies. The fairy wish kit has ten projects and special instructions on how to summon a visit from their favorite fairy while they are sleeping. With this Fairy Wish Kit, kids can decorate a fairy door, dress up a special fairy doll, craft a wand, and more, to turn the experience into the perfect fairy tale.

Klutz Make Your Own Bath Bombs is for kiddos between the age of 6 and 12. This Make Your Own Bath Bomb kit will transform your child’s bath with fizzy bubbles, fun color, and a fantastic fragrance. As your child creates their bath bombs, they will learn the science of bath bombs. This kit gives you the materials to make up to 12 colorful bath bombs in 5 different shapes. As your child dunks them into a bathtub full of water they will release the strawberry kiwi scent.

Klutz Stitch and Style Pouches is for kiddos between the ages of 8 and 12. This kit has 20 designs to choose from to create, stitch and style seven felt pouches with button or zipper closures. These pouches can be used to stash anything from coins to earbuds and more.

Klutz Punch Yarn Pillow is for kiddos between the ages of 10 and 12. I remember making a punch yarn rug when I was a child. My grandfather taught me how and I loved it. This kit will inspire your child to learn more about crafting with yarn! In this Punch Yarn Pillow kit, your child can choose from eight fun designs, and then use the included yarn and custom punch-needle tool to create a super-soft pillow top. Once your child adds stuffing and sews it up, they are done!

LEGO NINJAGO How to Draw Ninja, Villains, and More! is for children between the ages of 8 and 12. Using this kit your child will start with tracing and draw-in-the blank sections. Then they will sketch, ink, and color inside the book, using the included mechanical pencil, black marker, block eraser, and colored pencils. Their finished product will be LEGO NINJAGO characters.

This last item isn’t quite a toy - although it can be used as a toy. For me, it’s more practical and a necessity for getting your kiddos to pick up their toys and clear the floors. When we were without electricity, I tried to remind them that at nighttime, it would be pitch black (minus candles and flashlights) and thus, any toys they leave out on the floor will become major tripping and slipping hazards. (And let’s be honest, they are tripping hazards all.the.time.) The Play & Go is a storage bag with drawstrings and a vibrant play mat that will help reduce toy messes! When fully open the Play & Go mat measures 55” in diameter. As you can see from the picture below of my son and daughter playing on their Play & Go mat, it’s HUGE! There are many designs to choose from and you can pick one to match your house’s decor and your child’s taste! We have the Roadmap/Thunderbolt Toy Storage Bag. On one side is the road map (which my kiddos love playing with their trucks and cars on. The other side is small thunderbolts. My kiddos love to pile all of the their trucks and cars onto the mat and play on it and THEN once they are done playing, they simply pull the drawstring and carry the bag away. It’s perfect.

We also have a Mini Play & Go bag. My daughter is pictured carrying her Mini Play & Go bag below. The Mini is great for smaller toys or for travel use, or for bath toys stored in the bathroom!

Head HERE for more info on Play & Go bags.