Keeping your kids entertained while they are stuck inside on a rainy, cold, or just plain windy day can be a pretty big challenge. You may even be wondering what the best indoor kids activities are, so I decided to make it easy for you and compile a list of some of my favorite ideas that we are trying to incorporate at my house…you know, the things to do that don’t include looking at a screen!
Being stuck indoors is hard for kids of any age.
So, finding ways to keep them entertained while you’re inside is essential…but sometimes it’s hard to know where to even start looking for ideas.
Luckily, you don’t need a ton of time or money to keep your kids happy while they’re stuck inside.
You just have to get a little bit creative! I have the perfect solution for you in this fun and easy list of boredom busters!
What are some indoor activities?
Play With Balloons
The simple act of blowing up a balloon or two can provide tons of fun for your kids when they’re stuck inside, making the one of the easiest indoor activities for kids.
Blow up a few balloons and let your kids have some fun catching, chasing, kicking, and hitting the balloons while they play inside. They could even do some type of volleyball or use permanent markers to draw faces/animals on them.
Just make sure to have enough balloons for each of your kids so they can all have fun without fighting them. Balloons are super easy and cheap to find at places such as Dollartree or Walmart, you can even get them here on Amazon, if you plan ahead of when you’ll need them.
Make Crafts Together
Crafts are a great way to get your kids to think creatively and improve their fine motor skills. Crafts will also keep them busy for a long time while they’re stuck inside.
That makes crafting one of the best indoor kids activities you can find!
Keep a few kids craft supplies on hand at home so you’re always ready to pull them out when your kids get bored.
Then, let your kids get creative with the supplies you have at home.
You could also check out some of my craft project ideas, or search online to find kids craft ideas if your kids need some inspiration for their next project.
Play Board Games
For some screen-free, interactive fun for your kids, there’s no better choice than board games! Games are a great way to get your kids playing together as a family.
Let your kids pick the game to ensure they get excited about playing.
You could even host a board game tournament and let each of your kids pick the game they want to play.
If you need some ideas for kid-friendly board games, try:
There are even a lot of fun game multi-packs you can buy that have several games in one package/box if you’re short on space to store them all.
Enjoy A Good Book
Reading is yet another simple way to keep your kids entertained throughout the day.
Your kids can each pick a book for themselves to read quietly alone , or gather up the family and read aloud to share some family time together while you read.
You could also make things easier on yourself and find a family-friendly audiobook to enjoy as you spend time together indoors.
Don’t forget that your local library is typically free to borrow books from, and many of them actually check out digital copies (for e-readers such as a Kindle) so that you don’t have to keep track of a physical book if you have anyone in your family that tends to lose things.
Have A Dance Party
Get your kids up and moving while they’re stuck inside with this fun indoor kids activity! Turn up the music, and start dancing to let loose and relax for a little while you’re inside.
Pick some of your kids’ favorite songs, or find a “Kids Bop” type of station to make the dance party even more fun for the little ones.
I especially like doing this because it tricks everyone into getting a bit of exercise…and if a happy, healthy, and fit family is one of your goals.
You just plain can’t go wrong with dancing…an added bonus is that exercise wears everyone out so it will even help with an easy bedtime/kids staying asleep.
Have Fun in the Kitchen
Teaching your kids to cook, or even just to bake, is a skill they can use throughout their entire lives.
Plus, getting your kids in the kitchen can also be so much fun!
Baking sweet treats together is a tried-and-true activity everyone in the family will love – especially when you get to enjoy your baked snacks after you’re finished cooking.
Another idea could be letting your kids help make the family lunch or dinner as another fun way to pass the time while you’re stuck indoors for whatever reason.
You could make interactive dinners such as homemade pizza, to really get the kids involved in creating dinner for the family.
Cooking and baking doesn’t just help children learn a life skill, but teaching them to clean up as you go to cut down on the mess will help them learn to be a neat and tidy adult too.
I know that I have personally struggled at learning how to be neat and tidy as a grown-up, so I figure that getting the children in the habit of being tidy as we go, on a daily basis, will help them be a more productive adult later on.
Watch A Movie Together
While avoiding screens as much as possible is a good idea for your kids, sometimes you just need a quiet activity for your kids to enjoy that will keep everyone occupied whether you want to join them or not.
Family-friendly movies are a great way to get your kids to settle down and relax, while also having a little fun.
I know that some of my favorite memories as a kid were from watching some of the classic Disney movies as a kid, so it’s an easy time to introduce them to some of your favorite child-hood shows too.
Pop some popcorn, make a little treat for everyone, then set out some snacks your kids like to eat, then find a great a kid-friendly movie to watch.
It’s also super handy to turn on a movie when it’s close to nap-time… a darkened room, some warm blankets, and a calming movie could be a very good way to settle them down enough to catch up a little bit on their rest.
Have Some Active Fun
When your kids are stuck inside, it’s difficult to get them up and moving sometimes. Make exercise more fun by turning it into a game.
There are a variety of great indoor games and activities your kids can play that will help them stay active, even when they’re indoors.
Try one of these activities to keep your kids moving, even when they’re forced to stay inside:
- Create an obstacle course (using masking tape and other various supplies at home)
- Wheelbarrow, bear-walk, or crab-walk races
- Freeze dance
- Jump rope
- Jumping jacks
- Headstands
- Pillow fights
- Indoor Snowball fight
Yet again, sometimes it’s smart to trick the kids into getting some exercise, so hopefully I gave you some good ideas to keep everyone moving.
Learn A Card Game
Card games have always been a classic way to stay entertained while you’re caged inside of your home.
There are a variety of fun ways to play with cards as a family or even alone. Teach your kids some classic card games to help them stay occupied while they’re indoors.
Here are some fairly easy classic card game ideas:
- Solitaire
- Slap Jack
- Rummy
- WAR
- Go Fish
- Old Maid
You could easily do a search for more easy card game ideas, but here is a fun website that will teach everyone how to play many different games.
They have far more ideas, and instructions on how to play all of the classic card games…you’re sure to find one that everyone will like.
Make Jewelry
Making your own jewelry at home is another simple way for your kids to stay busy indoors.
Since there are so many great ways to make jewelry, you can simply grab some items you already have at home for your kids to get started.
While beads and string are perfect for at-home jewelry making, they’re not the only supplies your kids can use to make necklaces and bracelets.
You can also give the pasta, like macaroni or rigatoni noodles, and yarn to use to create their own jewelry designs.
Paint, glitter, and glue are also useful for decorating the pasta for their jewelry. Even old buttons or broken jewelry can be repurposed and turned into something that is truly beautiful again.
The thing I like most about having kids make jewelry is that it helps them learn colors, patterns, to express themselves, and it helps them with developing their fine motor skills too.
Build a Fort
If you ask a kid, building a fort is one of the best indoor kids activities you can do while you’re at home.
All you need are some blankets and pillows, or even some random pieces of furniture to create an amazing fort for your kids.
Use things like the couch, a table, even stools or a broom work well in the middle of a room to create a structure for your kid’s fort, then drape blankets and sheets over to make a roof.
Finish by adding a blanket and some pillows on the floor for comfort, and let your kids have fun playing inside their homemade structure.
This is also the perfect place to get some reading done if they have a little head lamp or maybe you string some Christmas lights (away from the bedding) so that they can see while in the fort.
Play Dress-Up
Let your kids use their imagination by playing dress-up while they’re stuck at home.
You can get out old Halloween costumes for them to play with, or grab some of your own old clothes to let them use as costumes.
Then, let your kids have fun creating their own characters and enjoying imaginative playtime inside… this is idea works perfectly if you ever made the Multi-use PVC Theater that I shared.
Learn a New Skill
Being stuck inside will give your family plenty of free time, which means it’s the perfect opportunity to learn something new.
Thanks to the internet (or even just YouTube), you can find instructions and videos for just about anything you want to learn.
From learning how to code, to learning a new language or a magic trick, there are a variety of great skills your kids could learn while they’re home-bound.
Ask your kids what they want to learn how to do, then search the internet to find instructions for them to practice their new skill. It’s totally win/win if it keeps them busy AND learning!
Write a Story
Kids are great at being creative! That means they’re sure to have fun writing their own stories.
Give your kids some paper and a pencil, and let them sit down and create a story using their imagination.
If your kids need a little bit of inspiration, try using an online story starter to help them get their creative juices flowing.
After they’re finished writing their stories, let them take turns reading their story to the family so everyone can hear their tale.
Many fun memories can be made while using their imaginations…and who knows, you may discover a budding author in your midst while you’re at it.
Hopefully you were able to something for your little ones to do with all of my
Indoor kid activity ideas.
Frankly, many of these ideas/activities would be fun for tweens and teens as well, so there should be something for every single person to do to stay busy.
That’s really all that I have to share today. Hopefully you now have several easy and fun activities and ideas to keep everyone in the family busy busy busy!
If you liked this post, or want to share any of these ideas, please make sure to share this post via social media, or you could even send the direct link to your family/friends/or co-workers through email.
However you decide to share it, thanks so much for the support! ~Sarah
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Here are links to several of my other posts in my “For Kids” section of this blog:
*This post was originally published to this blog on November 7, 2020 and has since been updated to improve user experience, increase social shareablity, as well as add more ideas as they come to me.