They’re on a Roll Stretch out a roll of butcher paper and have kids create life-size versions of themselves by tracing the outlines of their bodies and cutting them out. Best for ages 5 and up.

• What you need: Crayons, markers, scissors, large roll of butcher or parchment paper (find at art-supply stores or discountschoolsupply.com).  
• Ready, set, play: Have one child lie on the paper while the other traces him all around; switch. each can color in his own details—face, hair and clothes. then help them cut out the self-portraits to hang in their rooms.
• Mom tip: the variations for a roll of butcher paper are endless. Roll out a bit of paper at a time and have the children create an imaginative city, a planet, a ninja training camp and so on. Keep unrolling more paper as their ideas (and the city) expand.

Think You Can Dance? Kids rock out until the music stops— then they strike a pose and hold it as long as they can. Best for ages 3 and up.

• What you need: MP3 player with speakers and a kid-friendly playlist. For recommendations by age, click here. Throw in some “instruments” (spoons and tupperware for drums, a broom guitar, a spatula as microphone) to make them feel like they’re in a real band.
• Ready, set, play: Start the music from your playlist and get the kids to hop and bob to the tunes until you hit pause. Kids should then freeze in place and see how long they can hold on until they fall or laugh. Offer simple prizes for innovative dance moves, and encourage kids to just jump around if they’re too cool or too shy to get down.

Dressed to Thrill Jump-start imagination with a box of dress-up clothes. you can go full fantasy with princess or pirate outfits. Or opt for reality programming with beauty salon props or police gear. For dress-up pros, encourage roleplaying from a favorite film. Hogwarts, anyone? Best for ages 4 and up.

• What you need: Old clothes, hats, sheets, pillowcases, Halloween costumes, wigs and dollar-store props (eye patches, magic wands, badges, boas, hair clips, play makeup). Search tag sales and thrift stores to score dress-up-box booty or, if you’re starting from scratch, get the basics at brandsonsale.com, littledressupshop.com or bestpricetoys.com.  
• Ready, set, play: Once they’ve been transformed into a fairy or firefighter and the props have been passed out, spark creativity with questions to help set the scene. Do they have any superpowers—flight? Invisibility? No need to sleep, ever? How about their supernames? What planet are they from? whom will they save? then it’s…up, up and away!

Naturally Crafty Who needs craft-store supplies when you can create a keepsake out of treasures lying around on the ground? Best for ages 3 and up.

• What you need: Paper bags to hold nature items, construction paper, glue and access to some nature. City dwellers should head for the park.  
• Ready, set, play: Have kids go outside—where, studies suggest, children learn best—to collect five to ten neat nature items, other than the neighbors’ crocuses: pebbles, acorns, leaves and pinecones. Then glue up collages or an acorn person.

Hop to It This game disguises learning and exercise as play, encouraging “bunnies” to hop their way into spelling by bouncing from rabbit hole to rabbit hole to land on different letters. Best for ages 5 and up.

• What you need: Chalk, a sidewalk or driveway and a nice day.  
• Ready, set, play: Draw 26 circles in nearby clusters and randomly write a letter inside each. Have bunnies spell their names or easy words by hopping from rabbit hole to rabbit hole. Letter too far to leap to? Kids can draw their own circle and letter.

Kid City Building a fort out of cushions can provide hours of play. But why stop there? Construct an entire town out of couch cushions, blankets and chairs. Best for ages 4 and up.

• What you need: Cushions, blankets, sheets, chairs, pillows, string, tape, construction paper, crayons, stuffed animals, cars, trucks—and nerves of steel as you watch your house get a rather messy makeover.  
• Ready, Set, Play: Have the kids draw up a plan for their city. Start by constructing a house out of cushions, streets out of sheets, a movie theater out of a blanket draped over the dining room table. Use chairs as supports for a sheet-covered school, post office, clothing store, police station, restaurant (where a snack is served) or grocery store. Use stuffed animals as other citizens, and have the kids label each building with construction paper and tape. Make stop signs, speed limit signs, signs with street names. Spread toy cars and trucks out on the streets; set up dolls in the clothing store.  
• Mom Tip: Make sure you schedule enough time for cleanup before the playdate ends.