30+ Things To Do on a Rainy Day
Your kids have been “off school” for what seems like forever, and now it’s summer holidays. And to top it off it appears to be raining every few days and for a couple of days at a time. So yes, your children are driving you insane. And with this rainy day, crappy weather, the neighborhood parks, and local zoos are off-limits. I know what it is like, you are hoping to get outside and let the kids blow off some energy, but instead boredom is setting in and tempers are wearing thin!
So here are some fun and screen-free indoor activities to keep the kids busy.
#1. Hold an Indoor Scavenger Hunt
Coop up inside the house? You can still have a fun scavenger hunt adventure,
All you have to do is provide each child with their printed treasure hunt and a small box, bag or basket to collect their items. Or just have them put everything in a pile!
Click HERE for the printout. Or try this one!
#2. Create a Town in a Cardboard Box
If you have a huge cardboard box, why not draw a town on the bottom of the box, with roads, tracks, bridges, parks, car-parks, etc. Add some wooden building blocks, cars, trains, and some wooden/plastic animals. Then let your child’s imagination run wild. Older kids could help with decorating/creating the scene.
#3. Build a Fort with Blankets and Pillows
Rainy day activities don’t require a lot of time, equipment, or ‘new’ things – sometimes something simple is just what the kids need.
Build a den out of the sofa cushions, chairs, clothes rack with a blanket draped over or create a fort out of a big cardboard box with packing tape to hold the sides together.
#4. Google “How to draw…”
Visit some how-to-draw websites for kids. Get some blank sheets and let them loose to get creative.
#5. Make Some Music
#6. Play Cards
Remember the card games you used to play as a child, and how much fun that was? Why not teach your kids how to play the same great card games If you need to jog your memory on the rules, here are some fun card games for kids.
#7. Bake Something
Most kids love to bake, particularly with the promise of a sweet treat at the end!
Try my AWESOME chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe HERE!
#8. Make Special Cards or Write a Letter
Everyone loves to receive a personal letter/card in the mail these days because it is so uncommon. This would be a special gift for Grandparents, friends or cousins.
Use stamps, glitter, paints, and create a card to send or give.
#9. Have a Readathon
This is a great activity for older kids on a rainy day. Set a challenge to see how many books/chapters can be read during the day. Here a list if you need some ideas.
- Goodnight Moon and More Marvellous Moon-Themed Books for Kids
- 23 Fantastic Books Like Harry Potter Your Child Might Enjoy
- 30 Amazing Books for Kids Who Love David Walliams
- 20 Brilliant books to Celebrate Bold Girls
- Abracadabra! 12 Magic Books Your Young Magician Will Love
- 35 Exciting Books for Curious Kids to Learn about Nature
- 25 Books for Teens Guaranteed to Keep Their Nose Buried In the Book
There is also some great book ideas on this website for what is new in 2020!
“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.”
–Dr. Seuss–
#10. Throw a Party or Indoor Picnic
Spread out the picnic blanket/kids table and set out little plates with snacks and drinks and napkins, then enjoy an indoor picnic! Cuddly toys and dolls also make great guests.
#11. Have a LEGO-Building Contest
One of my boys’ favorite rainy day activities is to play with LEGO. Spend the day having a LEGO-building contest.
Check out these 50+ free LEGO instructions that will show you how to build everything from unicorns and rainbows to Minions and Yoda!
Alternatively, you could pick a theme e.g. vehicles, single-colored blocks, etc, and then see what everyone comes up with.
#12. Try a Micro Treasure Hunt
Everyone gets a matchbox (or anything about that size) to fill, and ten minutes to find and fit into their matchbox as many tiny whole objects as they can. Tiny things that would fit in the matchbox could include a paper clip, a safety pin, a pea, a button, a piece of LEGO, a bead, etc.
#13. Make a Playlist and Have a Disco
Create your own playlists of your favourite songs. Why not pick 5 songs each that you all like, to add to your playlist, then put it on shuffle and have a disco in the house?
Move back the furniture, and get moving! It’s a great way to get some physical exercise in on a rainy day, and you could also use your playlist for some limbo dancing, musical statues, best and worst dancer competitions, and lots more!
#14. Dig Out Old Photos and Albums
Kids love looking at old photos and hearing stories, so find those old photo albums and have a look at the past.
Also, you could give each child their own photo album, and let them choose their own photos for it – this is a great entertainer on a rainy day! They can get creative with their own albums, decorating the covers and pages.
#15. Make a Collage
Do you have a stack of old magazines? Get them out, along with some paper, glue and other art supplies and have a collage-making session.
#16. Make Scrapbooks
Give your child some old photographs they love to make special scrapbook pages you can add to your own scrapbooks. Supplies needed include old pictures, craft paper, glue, glitter, stickers, or whatever else you have.
#17. Go Camping in the Great Indoors!
Pick a room in the house that you don’t mind being rearranged for a few hours, and use sheets and blankets and lots of pegs to secure them as a roof between tables, sofas, and chairs. Let them decorate, bring in their toys, books, and perhaps even enjoy a picnic lunch in their camp.
If you’re feeling brave, they could even sleep in their tent for the night!
#18. Set Up an Indoor Obstacle Course
Create an indoor obstacle course with plenty of climbing, crawling, hopping, jumping, falling on cushions/mattresses and let the kids go mad and try to beat each other’s times round the course.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Crawl underneath the dining room table
- Do ten jumping jacks
- Throw a sock into the laundry basket
- Walk from the kitchen to the living room with a book on your head.
- (You get the picture.)
#19. Have a Jigsaw Afternoon
Jigsaws are an activity the whole family can do, and one that can work well between differently aged siblings. Set each member of the family up with a puzzle to suit their skill level, all helping each other finish, or create teams to work on a large puzzle together.
#20. Make Sock Puppets
Gather up some of your old socks (you know those ones whose pair has gone missing from laundry day…?), and then find some household items that can be used for eyes, mouth, and nose. You could use buttons for eyes, pieces of fabric for noses, and things like string, wool, ribbon, or even cotton wool for hair.
If your kids can sew, they can add the decorations with needle and thread, but for younger kids use glue.
#21. Make Tie-Dye Clothes
If your child is tired of their boring white socks or you have some old t-shirts to hand, why not have a tie-dye day? You will need white clothing, a bucket or basin, water, various dyes, rubber bands, and rubber gloves to protect your hands. How you fold the fabric and secure it with rubber bands, helps determine the eventual tie-dye pattern.
It’s best to start with the lightest color if using more than one and follow dye instructions carefully. You can find that HERE!
Also, some pretty cool patterns (if you are feeling ambitious) HERE!
#22. Make Jewellery
If you don’t have jewellery crafts at home, you can use everyday items, like pasta, noodles, beads, paint, string, wool, bottle tops, shells and lots more to make some really fun jewellery.
#23. Explore Science
Why not have some science fun for a few hours? You don’t need to be a scientist or have a ton of unusual supplies and equipment to be able to share science with your kids.
I’ve got some of science ideas to keep you entertained:
- Simple Science Experiments for Kids to Try at Home
- 18 Easy Science Experiments Perfect for Preschoolers
- 5 Fun Science Experiments for Kids to Try at Home
Or try your hand at making some gooey, messy Oobleck – kids seem to love it!
#24. Play a Lazer Maze activity
“Happiness is a stage of activity.” – Aristotle
How about challenging your kids with a string “laser” obstacle course? Your child could burn 200 calories an hour and improve coordination and reaction times too. For more
#25. Play Balloon Ping-Pong
All you need for this are some blown up balloons, and table-tennis bats (or make your own bats using paper plates and sticks for handles). Clear some space and off they go!
#26. Make a Life-Sized Drawing
You will need a large roll of paper and measure out a piece a little longer than your child. Then put the sheet of paper on the floor, have your child lie down and draw their outline on the paper. They can then color themselves in, adding features, clothes, etc. This is also a great winner at parties!
#27. Measure Rainfall
One favorite outdoor activity to do with kids throughout the year is to measure rainfall. It helps to encourage an interest in science, weather patterns, math, and is easy enough for young children to help with.
Take a large jar or cut the top off a large plastic water bottle and put it outside in the rain. At regular intervals, or when the rain has stopped, measure the height of the rain that day (or hour) and make a chart of the rainfall over time.
#28. Head Outdoors!
Sometimes, you have just got to get out of the house – even if it’s raining! Here are lots of ideas for amusing the kids once they are out:
#29. Have a movie marathon.
Popcorn, blankets, and snuggling required. Can’t decide what to watch?
Here, 30 family films for every age.
#30. A twist on board games
This website has amusing games to do to pass the time:
“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Czech Proverb
It’s all too easy to put things off, especially when it’s outside your comfort zone. But cold, damp days are the perfect chance to try something new! So when they’re housebound on a rainy day give the kids a gentle push to take up a new project.
It could be learning to prepare a meal from start to finish. Or something creative like a photography project. What about rearranging their room? Or building a homework station? Whatever activity they choose, they’ll be learning extremely useful life skills.
Be sure to read more of my posts on Everyday Living!
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