Activities for Teens in the Cold & Wet Weather

Bring a Spa Home

• It might be cold and wet right now, but it has to get warm outside eventually. Help your teen ensure she's ready for the sand and sun with spa treatments for everything from her toes to her nose. Your teen can invite over a group of her best gal friends to indulge in some pampering together, or make it a special day for two for a little mother-daughter bonding. Take turns giving each other manicures and pedicures, and try out the facial treatment you picked up last month that's been sitting in the cupboard ever since. If you're running low on beauty supplies, make some yourself, such as an olive oil and sugar scrub for soft, moisturized skin, or an oatmeal and aloe vera facial mask to help restore the moisture the cold weather has zapped away. Complete the spa activities with a makeover and new hairstyle.

Kitchen Time

• If your teenager has a flare for cooking, a cold and wet day is an excellent opportunity to let him explore his gastronomical talents. Or, if you're not sure he knows what that hot box in the kitchen is for, now is the perfect time to get him acquainted with the stove. You never know; it might spark a lifelong relationship. You can work together to broil, saute, steam or stir fry some new concoctions, or skip meal preparation and jump right to the best part -- dessert! If you can't choose just one, mix it up by making a half or quarter batch of several delectable treats, such as gooey brownies, a chocolate chip pizza, petit fours, fudge and sponge toffee. If you're worried you'll have too much junk food in the house, invite your teenager's friends over to sample the snacks, and the goodies will be gone before you can blink.

Mall Scavenger Hunt

• If your teenager considers the mall her second home, turn a cold and wet day into the best day of the season with an entire afternoon at her shopping haven. Bring along a group of her friends to really make her day and host a scavenger hunt. Since every teenager seems to have a cell phone these days, make the event a photo scavenger hunt for an activity on a budget. Have the teens take pictures of every item on the list, and the first teen or group to photograph all the items wins the game. You can also encourage your teen to flex her resourcefulness skills and make a list of items to collect for free, such as napkins, ketchup packets, empty hangers and shopping bags. If you're willing to splurge a little on the activity, skip the list and give each teen a particular amount of money. The goal of this hunt is to make as many purchases as possible with the cash.

Lions, Tigers and Housecleaning, Oh, My!

• While it might not seem like an indoor activity that would make it to the top of your teen's bucket list, if you can find a purpose for the indoor chore, he might just get on board. Work together for a little one-on-one time and tackle the clothes overflowing his bedroom closet while jamming to his favorite tunes. Clean it out and make an inventory list to replace the clothing he's outgrown. You might be able to convince your teenager to clean that entire pigsty of a room if you work together afterward to give the room a makeover. If the bedroom is a hopeless cause, clean out an area of the basement, put your heads together and use your combined creativity to transform it into a new hangout area for your teen and his friends. Indoor cleanup also gives you an opportunity to emphasize the importance of social responsibility; pack up old clothing and childhood toys to donate to a local charity.