Spending quality time with your children doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. What’s most important, is that you take the opportunity to bond with them. The time that you spend with your children will make them feel special and they will treasure it for a lifetime. Letting your children know that you are there for them, will create a lasting bond between you and your children. The winter months can be rather dull for children since they are cooped up in the house more than they would like to be. This is a great time for you to let your children know you feel their discomfort by giving them some one on one attention from mom. It doesn't require a great deal of money to make those boring winter days stuck indoors special. One simple and inexpensive suggestion would be to make a plan with your child to watch his or her favorite television program or video together. Too much TV is not always a good thing, however, to get through a winter day trapped indoors, it's a perfect activity. Shortly before you watch the program or movie you have selected with your children, ask them to help prepare some of their favorite snacks for the event. All children love to help mom mess up the kitchen a bit and especially if it means eating their favorite snack foods. A couple quick and easy snack suggestions would be preparing smores, which happens to be my children's favorite snack food. Not only do they like to eat them, but they love making them. Another suggestion might be what my kids like to call roller coaster snacks. Simply take a leaf of lettuce, a slice of cheese, and slice of lunch meat and layer them and then roll them up to make a healthy, but fun treat. I find that the Kraft singles work best for rolling. Usually, while my children assemble the snacks, I pour the drinks because my children tend to spill easily. While having fun in the kitchen, be sure to monitor your children closely, especially if there is any heating to be done. Most often, if things need to be warmed up a bit, I prefer to handle that task myself. Always remember, Safety First when cooking in the kitchen with children. Your children will be delighted they were able to help you prepare the snacks and you will find they take their job seriously. In order to let your kids know that this is their special time with you, take the appropriate steps to make sure it’s an uninterrupted time together. Turn off the phones, put the work away, and the cleaning can wait till after the big event. Once, the food is prepared, simply sit back and enjoy the show. A few other winter time activities for you and your children might be to go through all those photos you need to organize and place them in photo albums. Your child will love to reminisce with you and most of all, you will bond. You may also let your children help plan the dinner menu one night and let them help prepare it with you. Spending time with your child doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or be complicated. Most often just including them in a task you already have at hand is a special treat for them. For many children, it's not about what you are doing, but to know they have your attention. Take these moments to talk and most importantly, listen to your children. You might be surprised at how much your children will open up when they feel they have your undivided attention.