Melissa & Doug has a couple of cute products for kids too young to throw around a real football (and, if you’re somewhere too cold to play outside, they’re easier on the furniture and knickknacks): Fill and Spill Sports Bag and Sports Balls in a Mesh Bag.

If you’d like the kids gathered round the table, one great activity is decorating cookies or cupcakes in team colors. The Cardinals and the Steelers are playing this year and their colors are red and white (Cardinals), and yellow and black (Steelers). Black’s kind of an icky deal for frosting though, so white and yellow, with cut up black licorice or sprinkle accents is just as good.

Both the team logos are pretty simple this year, so older kids might like trying to put the team logos on cookies. Painting the logos or key game scenes is also a fun activity.

Knowing some fun facts about the teams will also help kids take a more lasting interest. For instance, the Cardinals have been a team for more than 100 years (though not always in Arizona). In my son’s case, that’s older than great-grandma! And they’ve never been to a Super Bowl, but the Steelers have won four.

For more trivia, games and funny mascot videos, the NFL has a kids page.

One of the many activities that children love is playing with playdough. It’s the closest to baking / making bread, and there is just something about the squishiness and the ability to create various shapes (and eat it?) that appeals to kids. You can roll it, knead it, create shapes and or animals out of it. It’s so flexible (flexible, heh), versatile and fun! Our 2.5 and 4.5 yr olds are no exception and absolutely love playing with playdough, but we are very thankful that they don’t make attempts to eat them!

Our kids love to use the Shape, Model and Mold Play Set by Melissa & Doug to make little animals with the molding lids (rabbit, bear, frog, and rabbit), or knead with the various rolling pins, or cut it with the patterned wheel press. Or make patterns with the 5 various shape-makers. There The two can literally sit for an hour or more playing with playdough and this activity set.

Aside from the store-bought playdough that’s available at almost every store, there are various homemade recipes that one can use to make your own playdough at home. Some require actual boiling, while others just mix and knead.

We’ve tried several different homemade playdough recipes, and came upon this one (from our kids’ preschool bulletin board!) that works really well. It’s really easy to make and it lasts quite nicely too. The kids can be involved in making the playdough, which is half of the fun!

Homemade Play Dough Recipe – No Stirring or Boiling Required

Mix dry ingredients. Add oil to hot water and gradually pour into dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Begin kneading as soon as dough is cool enough. If too dry, add small amounts of hot water until desired consistency. If too sticky, add more flour.

Just like store-bought playdough, when not in use, the homemade playdough should be stored in zippered plastic bags such as Ziploc or Glad.