72 Activities for Kids to do Indoors

72 Rainy Day Activities for Kids to do Indoors

Today we have a list of 72 activities that kids can do indoors…with items that hopefully you already have around the house!

1. Lego building contests (tallest building, only use red blocks, only use 4×4 pieces, strongest bridge, etc.)
2. Invent new rules for an existing board or card game
3. Make a homemade tv commercials…each person needs to find an item in the house and then make a commercial for it.  The best, most convincing commercial wins!
4. Read-a-thon (with blankets, pillows, and treats)
5. Conduct “feats of strength”…who can do the most push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, etc in 60 seconds or who can do the longest headstand, handstand, etc.
6. Paint along with an episode of Bob Ross
7. De-stash toys…put together a pile to donate
8. Take a virtual tour of an art museum (You can find a list of those HERE)
9. Find and try a new cookie recipe from Pinterest
10. Coloring Book Coloring Contest
11. Write letters…actual handwritten letters…and then mail them!
12. Do a few simple experiments (You can find a some easy ones HERE)
13. Play restaurant…plan a fancy dinner, set a table with your best dishes, wear nice clothes, choose background music, make a menu, etc. 
14. Movie Marathon
15. Build toothpick and gumdrop (or marshmallow) towers (You can find directions for that HERE)
16. Paint fingernails or toenails
17. Play Hide and Go Seek
18. Draw along with one of the million of tutorials on You Tube
19. Play with play dough.  Don’t have any? Make your own salt dough.  (You can find an easy recipe for it HERE)
20. Make and decorate cupcakes
21. Play Board Games
22. Make a magazine collage (or a vision board…you can find ideas for this HERE)
23. Make handmade cards to use throughout the year….thank you cards, get well cards, happy birthday cards, etc.
24. Make blanket forts (or you can sew up a “fort” for a card table with an easy tutorial that you can find HERE)
25. Have a girls day in with a homemade spa…soak feet, give facials, give each other makeovers
26. Take a virtual tour of a National Park (You can find a list of those HERE)
27. Rewrite the ending to a picture book
28. For the toddlers make a sensory bin…fill it with dried beans, rice or water.  Place it on a blanket on the floor and give them measuring cups, spoons, etc, to play in it with
29. Play the stacking game with Red Solo Cups
30. Nerf Gun Wars
31. Put together a puppet show.  No puppets? Make them out of old socks or paper sacks that you draw faces on with markers.  (Or you can find some other puppet making ideas HERE)
32. Makeover a bedroom…rearrange furniture, change up decorations, or get really ambitious and paint or clean out the closets!
33. Learn a new skill…anything from how to tie your shoes to how to crochet
34. Make gingerbread houses
35. Try folding up some origami…there are loads of instructions on the internet and YouTube
36. Find and try a new dinner recipe on Pinterest
37. Work on their Jedi Training Skills (with bubbles and light sabers…you can see how HERE)
38. Use popsicle sticks to build forts and buildings
39. Have a window washing party
40. Make a homemade movie…it can be one you make up or your own version of a family favorite…just record it on your phone!
41. Play with watercolors  (You can find a simple and fun activity HERE and HERE)
42. Watch old TV shows…The Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie, Alf, He-Man, etc
43. Pull out the flash cards…sight words, math facts, geography trivia, etc.
44. Make GIANT drawings on poster board, butcher paper, or the back side of wrapping paper…trace the outline of their bodies and let them fill in the blanks, make a landscape, design a roller coaster, etc.
45. Grab a good book and do a read aloud.  (You can find a good read aloud list HERE)
46. Play name this tune (There are lots of apps for this)
47. Make snowflakes
48. Paint rocks to put in your yard or hide around your community
49. Make “balloon friends”…blow up balloons and draw faces on them with sharpies…give them names, jobs, stories, etc  (they work great for easy puppet shows and silly videos too)
50. Play Minute to Win It Games (You can find some simple ones HERE)
51. Make friendship bracelets
52. Have an indoor picnic
53. Make slime…ok I hate slime…but kids love it and there are a million recipes out there for making it
54. Kids Sudoku
55. Download and color in famous works of art (You can do that HERE)
56. Workbooks…we all have them from school, Costco, the dollar store..let them work through them!
57. Make and record a homemade music video
58. Watch a cake decorating video and try to duplicate it
59. Play dominoes (HERE is an idea for making giant dominos)
60. Hold a dance party…teach your kids all your best moves…if you have teenagers have them show them your moves
61. Make card houses/towers
62. Write in your journal…or start a journal…(You can find some good journal prompts HERE)
63. Have a Paper Airplane Making Contest…whose looks the coolest, whose flies the farthest, etc.
64. Finger paint…no finger paint?  Use pudding or shaving cream
65. Make a downhill (or down the steps) marble obstacle course or roller coaster
66. “Visit” another country online.  Find out about foods, holidays, games, and music.
67.  Make a poster Quilt…let kids loose with glue, fabric scraps, and a poster board to create a quilt design or tapestry.
68. Take a fancy bubble bath
69. Do a word search…you can even make personalized ones (You can make your own word searches HERE)
70. Put together puzzles
71. Find old T-shirts that they can color on, stitch on, cut, parts off etc, to use as a cover up or pajamas (You can find an easy T-shirt cover up tutorial HERE)
72. Make a time capsule

We hope you liked our list of 72 Rainy Day Activities for Kids to do Indoors….and if you have other ideas that work great at your house please leave them in the comments!