Use your creativity with food and family activities during this pandemic summer. Come up with simple indoor or outdoor activities for the kids in your family. Make your kids’ (or grandkids’) day by having a picnic with them in the back yard. Bake a relative’s favorite cake recipe like this pineapple glazed cake made with a seven-minute white frosting Jump to Recipe.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you decide to make a purchase through my link, Amazon will pay me a commission for it. This doesn’t cost you anything additional. These commissions help to keep the rest of my content free, so thank you!
INDOOR ACTIVITIES
FOR KIDS
Indoor Activities for Kids During the Pandemic
- Bake a cake and make it pretty with white frosting and pineapple
- Take a kids’ art class online.
- Do story time and video it.
- Draw in a journal.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
FOR KIDS
Outdoor Activities for Kids During the Pandemic
- Play in the sandbox.
- Plan a picnic in the back yard.
- Splash in a kiddie pool.
- Hike down a trail.
- Horseshoes game
- Take a trip to the zoo.
This sandbox below (click on the picture to order on Amazon) is similar to the one my husband made for our grand-littles.
Kids and adults can all enjoy playing with this horseshoe game set. The horseshoes are lightweight, easy to throw, and safe for kids:
No little pool (or a big one)? Turn the water spigot on, and spray the kids with the water hose. That’s one of my grandchildren’s favorite outdoor activities – running through a “waterfall” from the water hose sprayer.
Summer Picnic Food for Kids During the Pandemic
Kids are easy to please when it comes to planning a summer picnic planned with simple food and family activities. Whether school starts back this September or not, summer isn’t over yet. So come up with easy-to-do fun things that will get you outside in the sun – yes, like picnics in your back yard, at the zoo, or at a park.
Look in your fridge and pantry for what you have on hand. Use healthy and simple picnic food like these ideas:
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Fruit salad (use fruit you have on hand)
- Warmed-up hamburgers
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- Goldfish crackers
- Chips
When you have picnics, a blanket is a must (last time we used a sheet – not so comfy). Quilts are nice, too. But the more comfy, the better such as this super nice PicniKing blanket:
It’s a waterproof blanket, slip resistant, machine washable, and foldable tote to boot:
But if you want one less expensive, yet waterproof and machine washable as well, this next one is a good buy on Amazon:
Three of my grand-littles have been visiting my husband and me this summer. I purchased a small pool and sprinkler for the kids to enjoy in our back yard. My granddaughter helped me spread out the sheet on the ground in the shade. She and her younger brother loved helping me pack the picnic hamper. Our picnic menu consisted of:
- warmed-up hamburgers my husband had grilled a day before
- fruit salad: blueberries, peaches, and bananas
- chips
- water
The kids kept their swimsuits on most of the day and jumped back in the pool after the picnic. We all had a blast outdoors (spent six hours in the sun – in the back yard). And all it took to generate that fun? A kiddie sprinkler and pool, water hose, and picnic.
What to do if it rains when you plan a back yard picnic
Buy umbrellas for your littles. Watch how umbrellas intrigue your children or grandchildren. Take them to the store and let them pick out an umbrella. It’s amazing how much fun the kids have with them, rain or shine.
Take a Trip to the Zoo
The zoo in our town is open during the pandemic now. Masks are not necessary, but, of course, social distancing is required. Our little city has a zoo with top-notch picnic areas along the way where you can sit, eat, and enjoy watching the animals. My grands love it.
Speaking of umbrellas, did you know that cheetahs are fascinated with rainbow-colored umbrellas? My five-year-old granddaughter insisted that I let her bring her rainbow umbrella (like the one in the Amazon link below) to the zoo. Though it wasn’t raining that day, it was hot. The umbrella came in handy, protecting her from the sun.
We went to the area where the cheetah, lion, and tiger were. My granddaughter sat down on a bench to rest a bit and was twirling her rainbow umbrella. I noticed the cheetah watching her and the umbrella. Actually, it creeped me out. Every move she made with that umbrella, the cheetah’s eyes followed every move. Quickly, we hightailed it out of there – in spite of the barriers between us and the wild zoo animals.
Bake a Pineapple Birthday Cake
The pandemic situation has truly made life challenging for people everywhere. My heart grieves for those who are not able to go anywhere. For instance, the elderly already are often lonely as it is without quarantine. A picnic may not be the thing to do. But if you have an elderly aunt, friends, or neighbors, find out what their favorite cake is and bake it as a birthday present.
I have an aunt whose birthday is the last day of July. Her favorite cake is pineapple with a pineapple glaze and seven-minute frosting.
My mom used to bake it for her, so I baked her favorite cake (pineapple) this past July 31st from the same recipe.
After my mother passed away, I was able to keep her cookbooks. She used to put a checkmark beside recipes she liked or wrote “good” and also added a note next to others. For instance, she wrote beside the seven-minute frosting for my aunt’s favorite cake, “Faye’s 56th birthday.”
Aunt Faye said she watched Mother make the cake and that it was a long process – but that it was the best cake she’d ever had. I baked the cake and delivered it to her (with my mask on and keeping six feet distance). If you’re wondering, yes, I did have a piece.
The cake was delicious, definitely sweet, and I’m adding the recipe for you in case you’d like to make it. There are several steps to it. But we are in a pandemic and have more time to do special things like baking a special cake for a beloved relative. It was worth the time, effort – and calories.
Pineapple Glazed Cake with Seven-Minute White Frosting
glazed pineapple cake with white frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup Truvia
- 4 eggs, separated
- 3 cup flour
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1-1/4 cup 2% milk
Pineapple Glaze
- 1 20-oz can crushed pineapple, drained (save the juice)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Truvia
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp butter
Seven-Minute Frosting
- 2 egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup Truvia
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/3 cup cold water
- dash of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
-
Cream the butter and salt.
-
Add beaten egg yolks.
-
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milkl.
-
Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites, then divide the mixture into three cake pans lightly oiled and lightly floiured.
-
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (or 30, depending on your oven).
Pineapple Glaze
-
Drain the pineapple, saving the juice.
-
Add sugar, flour and butter to the juice.
-
Cook until thick, then add pineapple.
-
Spread on all three hot cake layers.
Double Boiler Seven-Minute Frosting
-
Place all ingredients except vanilla in double broiler.
-
Cook mixture over boiling water, mixing with an electric mixer or rotary beater.
-
Beat until mixture forms peaks, about seven minutes.
-
Turn the burner off, and add the vanilla.
-
Beat until spreading consistency (thick peaks, easy to spread on a glazed warm cake).
Recipe Notes
The calories are estimated. Instead of using all white granulated sugar, I used half granulated and half Truvia to cut the calories.
Also, the baking time may vary, depending on your type of oven. I baked in a gas oven for 30 minutes. However, the cakes should have been taken out of the oven after 25 minutes because one of the cakes was almost burnt along the edge.
Best pineapple cake I think I’ve had before. Moist with the pineapple glaze.
And that seven-minute frosting is worth every bite.
Set aside a day that you can take time out to bake a cake from scratch like this pineapple one. Do it for someone you love to show them how much you appreciate them. Pandemic or not, people need love. They need to know somebody truly cares and thinks about them. Be that somebody.
Rather bake something that doesn’t take as long as the pineapple cake? Try my old-fashioned tea cake recipe. Easy. Doesn’t take a long time to make. They are delicious.
