With schools across the country closing their doors and workers sent home early to avoid transport issues, thousands of Scots will be waking up to a snow day.

Snowball fights, sledging and snow angels may be good fun for the first few hours, but when socks become sodden and fingers become numb, it might be an idea to return indoors to see out the snowstorm.

The problem arises when both parents and children start to feel cabin fever.

If you're stuck for ideas for keeping your children entertained indoors, here's some ideas to help you get through a snow day in one piece.

Home cinema

It is unlikely that a trip to a cinema will be on the cards when some multiplexes have reported delays in getting the latest films delivered.

So why not create your very own home cinema for less than the cost of a family ticket?

Involve young children by encouraging them to design a poster detailing all the films 'Now Showing' in your living room after choosing a selection from your DVD or film collection.

Make a huge pot of popcorn with popping kernels with some unusual flavours to tuck into during the film. Why not try drizzling with melted chocolate and covering with sprinkles or create cinnamon bun popcorn by tossing in melted butter, sugar and cinnamon.

Design tickets to be handed out and ripped by the mini attendants before the showing, turning down the lights and closing the blinds.

Get creative with salt dough

While snow is fun to play and build with, after a while you may want an indoor activity that keeps small hands busy without getting chilly.

You should have everything you need to make a batch of salt dough at home without venturing to the shops, so encourage children to be creative.

Make noughts and crosses that can be painted and played with once baked, create handprint momentos for Mother's Day, try your hand at sculpting a portrait of one another or make some Easter decorations.

Once baked and cooled, you can have plenty more fun painting and varnishing your creations, all thanks to a little flour, salt and water.

Create a hot chocolate station

One of the best things to enjoy when it is snowy outside is a comforting cup of hot chocolate.

So why not involve the kids and create a fun station for them to create the most outrageous hot chocolate creations they can think of?

Children can get involved by making a big batch of the sweet stuff, learning to measure milk, carefully chop or break up chocolate to melt and keeping an eye on the pot as it warms.

Set out all the fixings you could ever want in a hot chocolate, like whipped cream, chocolate flakes, sprinkles and chocolate sauce then allow your kids to carefully pour themselves a mug and decorate it to their heart's content.

If you have any elderly neighbours nearby, set out on a expedition wrapped up from the cold and deliver some hot flasks to those in need of a little sweetness.

Design a treasure hunt

Searching for buried treasure indoors may seem a little strange when there is plenty of snow to dig through outside, but you'll enjoy the chance to stay warm and dry by staying inside.

Occupy little children for a while with a game and try out a string treasure hunt. Wrap different coloured yarn around the house or a few rooms which children have to follow to find the 'treasure' - which could be as simple as a packet of sweets.

Older children may enjoy designing their own treasure maps for siblings to follow, with rhymes or drawings leading to the hiding place of the next clue when searching for the buried treasure.

Make a den

Whether it's a sheet hanging from the back of the sofa to an intricate design mapped out on paper, a place to hide from the snow piled high with pillows is the perfect way to spend a day off.

Half the fun is building your tent, den or fort so pull out all your spare bedsheets, pillows, pegs and fairy lights and create an elaborate escape from the outside world.

Enjoy a picnic inside your new den for dinner and keep the magic alive by letting children sleep in their creation with a bundle of sleeping bags and torches.

Challenge children to an indoor obstacle course

With all the excitement of a snow day, children may have a lot of energy to burn off especially if they are cooped up indoors.

An indoor obstacle course is an ideal way of keeping kids active and hopefully tire them out too.

Just a few rolls of toilet paper wrapped around sturdy objects can create army-style nets to crawl under, spider web-like mazes to navigate and even the tape at the finish line.

Make use of tables to crawl under, buckets to run around, taped down pieces of paper as stepping stones and a pile of pillows to jump into.

Make sure to have a stopwatch ready to record their times - and to encourage them to try again to beat their record and hopefully make them weary enough for a nap.

Put on a puppet show

With a visit to the seaside likely to be put on hold, encourage your children to be a little creative and star in their own puppet show.

Decorate all those mismatched socks which have escaped from the washing machine with fabric pens, felt and craft glue or make paper puppets using card and lollipop sticks or straws as holders.

Pick an easy story to tell such as a nursery rhyme or fairytale and enjoy children performing their version of a well loved tale.

Older children can spend the day writing an original story and creating more intricate puppets.

Make magical ice cream in minutes

It may be freezing outdoors, but who can resist a bowl of ice cream, especially when it is made at home in just minutes?

Budding scientists will get a kick out of t****his alternative way to enjoy ice cream, with is made with just two ziplock food bags, cream, milk and plenty of ice and salt.

Nestling the ice cream mix into a bag filled with ice and salt makes the ice colder and in just a few moments you'll have perfectly soft ice cream to enjoy.

Get creative and make a few bags of different ice cream flavours and have a mini ice cream party as it snows outside.

Enjoy snow painting

If you're willing to brave your back garden, then a few spray bottles and food colouring will make the snow outside even more special with a colourful makeover.

Simply mix food colouring and water together in spray bottles and allow children to 'paint' the snow, taking care to only aim at the white stuff and not any fences or communal areas.

Play games such as noughts and crosses or give your snowman a makeover.

If you don't have a garden or private space to play in, you can always paint snow indoors with a large roll of cotton wool, paints and a large tray.

Simply lay the cotton wool into mounds on the tray and let little children paint the 'snow' to their hearts content.