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One of the best ways to keep busy during a rainy day is to cook. This keeps you busy and lets you use some of those ingredients in your pantry you've been wanting to try. The best part is that you end up with a tasty result at the end that everyone can enjoy!  Make comfort food like chocolate chip cookies, or try a fancy cupcake recipe you found online. Try making bread from scratch.  Find an old family recipe and try to make it. If you have kids, teach them how to make grandma's famous biscuits or your treasured apple pie recipe. Try making an ethnic dish you've never tried before. Go outside of your comfort zone and have fun in the kitchen. A rainy day is a great time to get caught up on your knitting or crocheting projects. Maybe you might also want to sew that dress or pair of pants you've been wanting.  Find a tutorial online that teaches you how to knit, crochet, or sew. Spend the day learning if you've never done these things before. Find a fun pattern and create a gift for someone. There are many things to knit or crochet: finger puppets, blankets, hats, small animals, scarves, and so much more. Spend those rainy days engrossed in a good book. Reading is a great way to go on an adventure without having to leave your house. Find a book on your bookshelf, go to the library, or download a book onto your electronic reader.  No matter what your interests, there is a book for you. Do you like western adventure novels? Romance? History? Suspense? Horror? You might have to spend a few minutes looking at dust jackets or summaries, but you can find the book for you. If you feel adventurous, just pick a random book off the shelf and start reading. You might surprise yourself with liking something you never thought you would. If you've seen a movie adaptation lately, read the book the movie was based on. Catch up on your classics. Pick up a book you've always wanted to read but never had the time to. Many classic novels can be downloaded for e-readers free of charge. Open up your imagination and write a story. Find the idea of your story and start writing. Have fun with it as you create your own world.  Write a fictionalized version of something that happened to you. Write a scary story or a romance story. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone and try to write something in a genre you've never thought about writing in before. If you're not a writer, try drawing or painting a picture instead. Cleaning is something we always promise ourselves we'll do, but sometimes we ignore that because of our busy lives. What better way to use a rainy day than by doing chores? Clean and organize the parts of your house that really need maintenance. This way, you won’t have cleaning and organizing to worry about when the sunny weather returns.  Pick one room to tackle, or go methodically from room to room. Work on some projects you never seem to have time for. Clean out your closets, organize the pantry, or clean out the garage. Gather clothes and items to donate to charity. Vacuum, wash the windows, and clean the bathtub. If you're not scared to get wet, take an umbrella with you and go for a nice long walk. Walk to a park near your house or visit a friend who doesn’t live right around the corner. Take in the different way the world looks around you in the rain. Visit a local state park or wildlife reserve. If you live in the city, take a tour around the city with an umbrella.  One advantage rainy days have is that less people will be out. You can have a nice walk and explore some local sites without crowds of people around.  Rainy days also give you an opportunity to wear your rainy day clothes. Don that trench coat you never wear and the boots gathering dust in your closet.  Being outside for a while and moving helps makes you feel like you did something useful with your day. If you're into photography, make sure to take your camera along - you might get some inspiration along the way! Gather friends and family together and host a movie marathon. Choose classics the kids haven't seen, rent a bunch of new releases, or rewatch favorites.  Have a rainy day theme with films featuring rain, storms, or the word rain, like Singing in the Rain. Choose a genre and watch a bunch of movies from it. Have an action-packed day, scare yourself with horror movies, or have a laugh with some classic comedies. Instead of a movie marathon, try a TV show marathon. Pick a TV show you've been wanting to watch, or catch up on shows you haven't had a chance to watch because you've been busy. Gather your family, invite your friends, and sit around the table to play board games and card games. This is a great way to catch up with your loved ones, talk, laugh, and enjoy being together.  Try strategy games like Risk, Settlers of Catan, or Ticket to Ride. Play classic games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, or Life. If you have enough people, play Spades, Euchre, or Whisk. For larger groups, try Poker, Phase 10, or Skip Bo. Get caught up on your video games. This is great if you are alone. Invite your best friend over and play some video games together, or get online and play with people online. Sit out on your porch or balcony with a mug of hot chocolate, tea, or coffee. Listen to the sound of the rain and watch it as it falls. Take the time to relax and focus on the weather instead of life.
Cook something. Knit, crochet, or sew. Read a book. Write a story. Clean your house. Go for a walk. Have a movie marathon. Have a game day. Enjoy the rain.