When you’re stuck at home, for whatever reason, it can be hard to know what to do to keep the kids entertained. Well look no further, because I have 41 fun things to do with kids at home that you and your little ones are sure to love.
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If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what to do at home with the kids all day, then don’t worry, you’re definitely not the only one! Coming up with activities to do every day can leave you feeling a little bit frazzled to say the least.
When you have a little person running round you in circles, screaming ‘I’m bored’, it can be hard to think, and sometimes we all need a little bit of inspiration!
Have a read of these 41 things to do with kids at home for some fun activities that you can do together.
A lot of the things in this list will probably be in your house already, but if not, it may give you some birthday or Christmas gift ideas!
Click on any activity to read more about it:
- Playdough
- Kinetic sand
- Have a read
- Baking and cooking
- Play kitchen and shop
- Origami
- Sticker books
- Play cleaning
- Painting
- Magic water painting
- Make Christmas and birthday cards
- Simple and fun learning
- Have some screen time as a treat
- Watch a film
- Make a playmat for cars
- Lego
- Create an Amazon wish list to share with family
- Make a dining table tent
- Bath time
- Duvet day
- Make your own word searches
- Teddy bears picnic
- Board games
- Puppet theatre
- Learn to knit
- Toilet roll tower
- Mini garden
- Look at objects under a microscope
- Discover different smells
- Take things apart
- Household instruments
- Sofa fort
- Face painting with make up
- I-spy
- Dressing up
- Colour sorting game
- Cornflour
- Make face masks
- Get crafty and make some decorations for the house
- Put together a ramp for balls or cars
- Chess
Playdough
Playdough is a great activity for toddlers that can keep them busy for ages. If you don’t have any, then fear not, because you can easily make playdough yourself with the things that you already have in your cupboards.
When you have your playdough ready, grab some old cutlery, cookie cutters and rolling pins and see what you can create together.
Kinetic sand
Kinetic sand is another fun activity for toddlers and older children that can last for hours. Again, you can use cutlery, cookie cutters and rolling pins with to create some different designs and textures.
Kinetic sand does tend to stick to carpets, so stick to hard floors or the table with this one!
Have a read
Grab a pile of books, snuggle up and have a read together.
Reading is a great way to spend some quality time together, and it’s also a great activity for when it’s getting close to nap time!
Check out some of our favourite books if you’re looking for some fun toddler reads:
Hurry Up and Slow Down – Layn Marlow
Tabby McTat – Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Kipper’s Snowy Day – Mick Inkpen
Baking and cooking
It’s never too early to start learning how to cook, and there are plenty of recipes that children will love getting involved in.
Have a try of these easy and yummy recipes:
Home made pizza (You can use a pre-made base, or something like toast)
Play kitchen/shop
Play kitchens and play shops are a great way for younger children to learn while having fun at the same time.
Cardboard boxes, tins and packets from the cupboard and some home made money are all great starting points for setting up your own.
Origami
Origami may be a bit advanced for the younger ones to make, but they can certainly have fun decorating it. Make some origami animals and then let them loose with the colouring pencils.
Sticker books
Sticker books are always fun whatever age you are, and there are some great ones to choose from. From trucks and nature, to fairies and doll’s houses, there’s something for everyone. You can even buy reusable sticker books too!
Play cleaning
Toddlers love to copy, and if they see you doing something , they’ll want to do it too. To keep Cupar distracted while I’m cleaning the kitchen, I’ll quite often give him a broom or a dustpan and brush, and he’ll happily ‘sweep’ the floor for me!
Hoovering with the hoover turned off and dusting coffee tables and low down surfaces work well too.
If you have older children, try giving them some chores to do with a little treat at the end of it.
Painting
Painting is one of Cupar’s favourite activities, and it’s something that he’ll sit down and do for ages. To make the clean up easier, we usually use watercolours. They’re pretty much mess free, and any paint that does get onto hand or clothes usually washes off quite easily.
Magic water painting
Magic water painting is another activity that is pretty much mess free, but so much fun to do. You can pick up the traditional magic water painting books quite cheaply which last for a little while. Or, you can pick up the new water painting books, which are a little bit more expensive, but last for a lot longer.
Make Christmas and birthday cards
Home made cards always go down really well with family, especially when the children have made and decorated them.
Paints, glitter, stickers and handprints all look really nice.
Simple and fun learning
Setting up a daily routine for learning can be so beneficial for toddlers. Things like letters, numbers, colours and shapes are always fun to do. You can make them into flash cards or stick them on the wall.
Have some screen time as a treat
This one is a little bit contraversial, but we all need a treat every now and then don’t we? Don’t be afraid to let the kids play a game or watch a TV show for half an hour if you need a bit of a break.
There are some amazing kids apps out there that you can download, and there are also lots of great shows on services like Netflix and Disney +.
Watch a film
When it’s cold and rainy outside, one of the best things to do is to curl up and watch a feel good film together. This is another activity that is a good one for nap time, because it’ll help to relax them.
Make a playmat for cars
Old sheets and tablecloths can make a great base for a car playmat. Grab your pens and try out your artistic skills.
Beach scenes, country side and cities are quite easy to draw, but can look really good with some bright colours added to them.
Lego
Lego is a great activity for kids of all ages, and there are so many things that you can do with it. You can use it for counting and learning colours with the younger ones, and building elaborate for the older ones.
Create an Amazon wish list to share with family
An Amazon wishlist makes a great alternative to a paper birthday or Christmas list. Pick a few things out together and share it with the family in time for the festive season.
Make a dining table tent
This is a Grandma recommended activity, and it’s such a lovely idea. Grab a sheet or some blankets and make the dining table into a tent. Decorate it with cushions, duvets and fairy lights and you have the perfect little reading nook.
Bath time
If you have a toddler that loves bath time, then try treating them to an early bath. Again, this one is a perfect ‘just before nap time’ activity. It might seem a bit weird to do a bath during the day, but if it keeps them entertained, then who cares!
Duvet day
A duvet day is always fun, especially in the winter. Set up the duvets on the living room floor, surround yourself with teddies and snacks and have a proper chill out day. Watch films, read books and enjoy doing nothing for a little while!
You could even carry on your duvet day into an overnight camp out in the living room.
Make your own word searches
Word searches are so easy to make, and they’re a great learning activity for children. Pick a theme for each word search and see what words you can come up with.
Teddy bears picnic
A teddy bears picnic is the classic children’s activity and always a fun one do. Sit all the teddies at the table and have lunch together, or set up a little picnic blanket in the living room.
Board games
Kids love board games, and they’re an activity that can keep them entertained for hours. Me and my brother once played a game of Monopoly that lasted for days!
Younger children can still have fun with them even if they don’t know what they’re doing. Just let them make up their own rules and see what they come up with.
Puppet theatre
Sock puppets, finger puppets, whatever kind of puppets you want. Have a go at making your own, and then make a mini theatre out of a cardboard box or a sheet.
Learn to knit
Knitting is a great activity for older kids to get into, and it’s something that isn’t too difficult to learn. Scarves or blankets are always a good project to start off with, and they can even be given as gifts to family and friends.
There are some great books on learning to knit for children, and also finger knitting too!
Toilet roll tower
This activity is a Dad recommended activity, and it’s something that will provide hours of entertainment.
Save up some old toilet rolls (around 10 would be a good starting point). Get the paints out and paint them in bright colours, or add faces or animals to them. Build them into a wall or a tower and then try to knock them over with a ball.
You could try an Angry Birds style game, or just a simple game of skittles.
Mini garden
When the weather isn’t great, the last thing any of us wants is to be out in the garden. If you’ve got a bit of a green thumb, try bringing the garden inside!
Find some big plant pots and make a mini herb garden or flower patch.
Look at objects under a microscope
Microscopes are a great learning activity for children, and they’re not too expensive to pick up either.
Try putting different fruits, vegetables and household items under it to see what they look like close up.
Discover different smells
This is an activity that we love in our house. Different herbs and spices can be really interesting for younger children to discover. And for older children, you could make it even more fun by blindfolding them and getting them to guess the smell.
Take things apart
If you have children that love seeing how things work, then this can be a great activity that will last for hours. See if you have any old electronics or toys that no longer work and take them apart together. Have a look at what’s inside and then see if you can put them back together again.
Household instruments
There are so many different objects around the home that you can make into musical instruments for the kids to enjoy. Pots, pans and wooden spoons are good for toddlers, and different sized glasses with a pencil are great for older kids.
Sofa fort
Everybody needs to make a sofa fort at least once in their childhood! Take all the cushions off the sofa, grab some blankets and make your own mini soft play in the living room.
Face painting with makeup
If you have any makeup that’s getting a bit low, especially bright colours, try using it as face paint for the kids. Eyeliner can be great for drawing with, and lipstick is good for colouring in.
Just make sure you have some facewipes or make up remover on hand.
I-spy
I-spy is a classic game, and one that never gets boring whatever age you are.
There are so many variations that you can try too:
- Pick one object in each room and move around as you do them
- Pick and object in a different room and get the kids to guess it without looking for it
- Pick a place or object anywhere in the world and see who can guess what it is
Dressing up
If you have any old clothes you want to get rid of, don’t donate them to the charity shop just yet! Have a look through them and see if there’s anything that you can make into some fancy dress.
Colour sorting game
Coloured card and different coloured household objects can make a fun game for toddlers to play. Mix it up a bit with different shades and see how they get on.
Cornflour
Cornflour is a great messy play activity that you can easily do at home. Just add water to cornflour and see what the children think of it!
I have to admit that I tried this for the first time last year with Cupar, and it is so much fun.
You could even turn this into a little science experiment, and task the kids with finding out how it works.
Make face masks
Face masks are super fun to make and great for pretend play. Create different characters or things like monsters and then use them in a play.
Get crafty and make some decorations for the house
Paper chains, paper snowflakes and painted pine cones can all look really nice dotted around the house. Home made decorations can also be a great way to brighten up the kids rooms.
Put together a ramp for balls or cars
If, like us, your house is filled with toy cars, then this could be the activity for you. Find some old wood or plastic boxes and make some stunt ramps for the cars to go up and down.
Chess
Things like chess and draughts are always good to teach to older children.
Kids spend so much time in front of technology now, and it’s nice to have a little bit of a change every now and then.
If you liked the ideas in this post, why not try printing it out and sticking it on the fridge. That way, you’ll never be stuck for something to do when you hear the inevitable ‘I’m bored’ from the next room!
What’s your favourite activity to do on a cold and rainy day at home?
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