53 Indoor Activities For Kids (Our Favorites!)

I am pretty sure we have all experienced the following: mother nature decided that today’s weather would prevent anyone from comfortably spending any time outside.  

The kids are bored and you all feel stir crazy.  

The day is too long to let the kids have screen time all day, and that means you need to find something fun that you can all do together.  

Luckily, we have come up with a list of items that will help you out!

So whether it is raining cats and dogs, or it is so hot that everything is melting outside, you are armed with a list of fun that will keep the whole family entertained all day long!

Indoor Activities For Kids

1. Do An Easy Craft

By this I mean a craft that does not take a million different ingredients and gives you grey hair!  

Strive for simple enjoyment with common materials here!  

If you are stuck, try out our free printables like our ice cream craft or our equally fun dinosaur craft.  

All it takes is a piece of paper.  

Then, let your kids get creative with whatever craft items you have.

2. Play Hide And Seek In The Dark

This is a great way to get the whole family involved in a classic game that kids of all ages can enjoy!  

Pull out the flashlights and other glow-in-the-dark accessories and have fun!  

After a few rounds of regular play, you could even encourage your kids to create new rules.  

It is also a low key way to get them to use some critical thinking skills and we all love mixing learning and fun together!

3. Learn A New Dance

Push aside the furniture in the living room and boogie down!  

Either have your kids teach you a new dance (which is sure to lead to many giggles!) or look up a dance tutorial that you can all learn.

4. Play A Board Game

Even if you only have a little space for indoor activities, a board game is the best way to make use of the space you do have.  

It will be a great way to teach your young kids that a rainy day can still be full of adventure!

5. Do A Puzzle

Everyone in the family can join in this one!  

You can get your younger children to sort the pieces by the ones that have edges and the ones that will go in the middle of the puzzle.

6. Draw

The sky is really the limit with this activity.  However, rainy days sometimes suck the inspiration out of our brains.  

If this happens to you or your child, here is a list of drawing ideas that will get those creative juices flowing.

7. Create An Indoor Obstacle Course

You can use pillows, furniture, blankets, toys, pretty much anything you do not mind moving around to create the greatest indoor obstacle course.  

Make sure to let the kids help set this one up. 

Not only will they feel like they have some ownership in the creation of the course, it also gives them some practice on their spacial awareness!

8. Have A Fitness Competition

Get those eighties sweat bands out and really go for it!  

You can have sprinting competitions, jumping jack competitions, one-legged hopping competitions, anything you can think of!

Let the kids think of some silly competition items as well.   

The sillier, the more laughter, the better!

9. Ask Would You Rather Questions

Not only can these types of questions get everyone laughing, but you may also learn new things about your children that you never knew before.  

These questions are such a great way to build your relationships. 

Feeling stuck on what questions to ask?  

We have you covered with this list of would you rather questions to help lead the way.

10. Do Kid’s Trivia

This is definitely a favorite of many kids!  

I would suggest finding trivia that your child is familiar with.  

Not only will that be more fun for your kids, but also help build their confidence at the same time!

It also goes a long way if the adults give funny answers to trivia questions every now and then to inject some extra fun.

11. Make A Fort

Not only is this a really fun activity to do as a family, but it can also be a great leadership and decision-making activity for your kids.  

While your first instinct might be to take charge of the building, it is best to be part of the crew and let your kids take the helm.  

When the fort is finished, have some sort of activity in the fort to celebrate like a little picnic or a nap!  

I realized I just said nap- obviously this would be a pretend nap! 

12. Read Together As A Family

It is really fun to take turns on different pages and create special voices for each character.  

For little ones who are not quiet at reading age, they could be tasked with acting out what is happening in the story.

13. Check Out What’s Coming To Theaters

It is so much fun to watch trailers for upcoming movies!  

You could even talk about what you think will happen next, or which characters are your favorite based on what you saw.

14. Create A House Of Cards

The fun will never end with seeing how many cards you can stack!

15. Make Slime Or Oobleck

Any chance to be messy indoors will win over any child right away.

16. Make A Craft For Someone In The Family

Have everyone draw names from a hat and make something small for the person they drew.

17. Tell Stories

One person starts with one sentence of a story, then the next person continues the story with one more sentence and so forth.

18. Start A New Tradition

Get your kids involved in creating new traditions.  

Need some inspiration?  We have you covered with this list of traditions for families.

19. Put On A Show

Have everyone come up with an act and put on a variety show!

20. Have Paper Airplane Races

Get folding and let the races begin!

21. Give Each Other Makeovers

This should definitely include everything from clothing to hair and makeup!

22. Do Minute-To-Win It Games

These are definitely great for a competitive family!  

If your kids are into LOL dolls, we have some great ideas for LOL doll minute-to-win-it games.

23. Have A Scavenger Hunt

24. Write A Book

Have the entire family take turns adding to the story.  

Little kids who are not able to write yet can add to the book with pictures and decorations on the outside of the book.

25. Make And Decorate Cookies

With all of the different decorations like sprinkles, frosting, candy toppings and the chance to make different shapes out of the cookie dough, this is definitely in the category of fun sensory activities!

26. Listen To An Audiobook

We love to listen on our Yoto Mini!

27. Start A Band

Challenge your child to make musical instruments out of everyday items.  

It is amazing what younger children (and older children) can create with every day household items like empty tissue paper holders, rubber bands, and egg cartons.

28. Make Collages

 You can use cut up magazine pictures and teach your kids about recycling at the same time!

29. Have A Pillow Fight

30. Color Or Paint

I think creating some Lazy Suzan spin art is so fun for kids of all ages!

31. Do A Science Experiment

32. Paint Rocks

You can make funny characters and even give them a backstory!

33. Have An Indoor Picnic

Kids love eating food in places they usually would not be allowed to and this would be a special treat for an indoor day!

34. Do A Stretch Routine

35. Create A List Of Goals

Create a map of your year that includes things people in the family want to learn, places they want to travel to, or something they want to achieve and talk about how to reach these goals.

36. Create A Playlist

With everyone adding songs, this will be a hit on your next long road trip!

37. Play Dress-Up

Get silly with this one and have everyone create a character with silly costumes. 

38. Play With Big Cardboard Boxes

You can make everything from cars to spaceships with a cardboard box.  Get everyone involved in the decorating.

39. Have A Cup Stacking Competition

40. Create A Play Based On A Favorite Movie Or Book

41. Create A New Game

I know that some of the most fun games my family has played together are ones where my son came up with a combination of rules from different games!

Let everyone add rules as you are playing for extra laughs.

42. Learn A New Skill

Pick a new skill that everyone wants to and is able to learn.  This is such a great way to bond as a family.

43. Make A Friendship Bracelet

44. Play Charades

45. Play Pictionary

46. Play Hangman

47. Play Dots And Boxes

48. Tell Jokes

In case you are at a loss, we have you covered with jokes for younger kids or if you have older children, jokes for older kids.

49. Make Gifts For Friends

This can really bring out the creativity in your kids and help them learn about showing kindness and generosity to those around them.  

It can really be something as simple as drawing a picture.

50. Choreograph A Dance Or Routine

No matter how much or little you know about dancing, a dance party can really bring the joy and laughter to any indoor day!

51. Create a sensory bin

If you have uncooked beans or lentils, you can pour them in a container and hide little items underneath for little ones to find with spoons or plastic tweezers.  

For them it is like digging for treasure from the comfort of their home!   

52.  Cook a meal together

Pick a meal that can be divided into tasks for everyone in the family and then enjoy the fruits of your collaboration!

53. Complete A Photo Challenge

Send your children on a photo challenge mission to take the best photo of a beloved toy or see who can photograph the most items starting with a certain letter.

While you may be thinking of indoor activities out of necessity, remember that this is also a really great opportunity to bond with your family.  

We are often so busy making our lists and taking care of things that these precious indoor times really give us all a chance to slow down and appreciate this special time together!

And, as always, you’ve got this!