16+ Fun Indoor Activities on a Rainy Day
Spring is almost here! What’s that mean? For many, it means lots of new green things popping up from out of the ground and new life on trees, while others know it means tons of rain and indoor games with kids.
Wondering which are the best activities to do for children when it is raining? Kids love to play outside in the rain, but it’s important to keep them entertained inside on a rainy day so they don’t get bored and their creativity doesn’t dry up. Here are some of our favorite rainy day activities for kids!
It’s a rainy day and you’re stuck inside. Oh, man! Kids are moaning and getting bored. What should you do? Well, we’ve got 20 ways to have fun indoors on a rainy day with your kids! Don’t worry moms we’ll write one for you too.) Get your kids to try one of these activities today and let their boredom will be gone in no time. Pick a rainy day activity from the list below that you think your family will have fun with.
Play Board Games together with your family!
There are so many board games to choose from, like Munchkins, Checkers, Monopoly, Farkle, and even the game of Life. Some board games are perfect rainy day activities because they’re easy to learn how to play. Others can be played for hours or need more than two people to play. Every weekend my family plays a board game at the kitchen table, typically after dinner. Kids love to spend time with mom and dad and playing board games does just that.
Don’t feel like pulling out a board game? That’s okay, there are plenty of indoor games kids can play.
Games for Kids to play indoors:
- I Spy
- Charades
- Musical Chairs
- Indoor Scavenger List
- Bingo
- Red light, green light
- 20 Questions
- Telephone
- Hangman
- Hot Potato
- Pictionary
- Roll the Ball – Sit on the floor, put your feet touching each other and roll the ball back and forth.
- Hide & Seek
- Dance Competition – This can be done via video games or just using music and getting the kids to lay some rules and have fun.
Every Christmas I try to buy at least one board game for my kids, sometimes it is hard to keep up with what I’ve already bought so I keep this one the wall and take it with me to shop. Hopefully, this Board Game List printable can come in handy for you.
Play a Card Game with the Family or Solo
Card rainy day activities can be educational and fun at the same time! Playing cards is a game that many people know how to play, which makes it an easy rainy day activity. Playing cards can be one rainy day activity for the whole family, but it’s also fun to play on rainy days when you have friends or relatives over.
A few easy card games for families may include:
- Uno
- War
- Rummy
- Go Fish
- Solitare
- Memory
Color with Markers or Colored Pencils on a Rainy Day!
Kids love to express themselves by drawing things from their own imagination or things they see. It’s an easy rainy day activity that helps kids (and adults) relax and get their wiggles out. Grab some markers, colored pencils, construction paper, or paper and take this activity to the kitchen table or living room! Rainy day coloring pages are perfect rainy day activities that offer hours of entertainment for everyone, not just the kids. You can find them online at sites like Etsy.
Remember not everything has to be the typical coloring pages, try some experiments with markers. Have your kids ever tried a rainbow worm?
Draw with Crayons for rainy day activities
Drawing is another rainy day activity that can be done by kids and adults alike. Just grab some paper or coloring books! Draw what you see in your imagination or copy a rainy day coloring page. If you’re an artist, make a rainy day to-do list and draw something different every rainy day activity.
Learn to Paint a Picture
Can’t sit still on a rainy day? Get up and grab the family some paint! Painting rainy day activities are a great way to get your artistic juices flowing. It’s also a rainy day activity that can be done indoors or outdoors, weather permitting.
Play with Play-doh
Kids love using their imagination and creating things from play-doh, but they also like to use the playsets. Pull out a few cans of play-doh and let them have at it on the kitchen table. This can be the perfect time to reinforce learning letters, numbers, and shapes. Grab or print off a play-doh placemat and laminate it. Let your child fill the bubble letters with playdough to form the letters/numbers in front of them.
I will admit, I did not always let my kids have play-doh in the house, base housing meant white carpet sometimes and I was terrified of having to pay that price. But once we moved off base we own all types.
Rainy Day Blanket Forts are Fun!
Doesn’t every kid dream of building their own fort? Now, this is the rainy day activity to make those dreams come true! Gather up all those pillows, blankets, and chairs to build a cozy fort that you and your family can enjoy. This is one of those things the whole family can take part in, just the kids or by themselves. Once the fort is made have an opening so everyone can watch a movie from the fort.
Host an Indoor Tea Party!
Who doesn’t like being invited to a Tea Party? My little girls always loved a good tea party, in fact, so did their brothers. Have them make invitations for each other or even include the neighborhood kids and invite them over for an afternoon tea. Have your kids help make the finger foods, punch, hot teas and have fun with it.
Read a Book
Rainy day activities don’t have to be loud and messy! Sit down with your kids and read a book together. Take turns reading out loud or just have everyone reading their own books in the living room. Have everyone grab pillows, blankets, or their favorite spot and just hang out together. The quiet times reading for hours have been one we have all enjoyed, plus it encourages reading.
Build a City with LEGO
LEGO isn’t just for rainy days when you can’t go out to play outside. You can build cities, spaceships or even create your favorite movie characters. LEGO rainy day activities are perfect for rainy days when you want your kids to learn while having fun.
When we use to live in hotels we would build forts and save some legoes off to the side and toss them (taking turns) at each other’s masterpieces and see who’s town survived the longest. These are still fond memories the kids have, I have a feeling once we have grandkids we’ll be making these a lot.
Build a House of Cards
Playing cards are a lot of fun, but have you ever tried building a house out of them? It’s one rainy day activity that will entertain your kids for hours! Pick up some playing cards, split into two even piles and see who can build the highest house.
Watch rainy day movies
It’s rainy day activities time! Pick your family’s favorite rainy day movies and pop some popcorn. Gather in front of the TV for rainy days when you don’t want to go out in the rain, but still want to have fun.
List of Rainy Day Movies:
- Frozen
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- The Lion King
- Inside Out
- Moana
- Encanto (my kids are obsessed with this one now)
DIY crafts for kids
Craft rainy day activities are perfect rainy day activities for rainy days when you want everyone to have a good time. Crafts can be messy, but they’re also lots of fun! Make a rainy day craft that’s in your home or create one that you’ll take outdoors if it doesn’t start raining.
Make a rainy day playlist and dance around the house
With today’s technology is has never been easier to make any rainy day activity into a party. Make your rainy day playlist on Spotify, Pandora, or even iTunes and let everyone know that it’s time to dance! You could even do a dance-off or karaoke with the kids.
Read the Newspaper and talk about it with your family
Rainy days are perfect for rainy day activities like reading the newspaper. Reading the weather report is a rainy day activity that can be done by all ages, and it’s an activity that will help you stay informed. If the newspaper is too heavy for rainy day activities, read your favorite news website or blog instead!
A few newspaper educational games might include:
- Recognize the letter (or number)- Giving the child a red pen have them circle all the “A”s on the front page, etc.
- Favorite words- have your child cut out or circle their favorite words from the newspaper and write why or what is special about that word.
- Tell the story – Have your child read the story out loud or summarize it for the family.
- Write an opinion piece- Have everyone read the opinion page and write a response to the one they read.
Instead of tossing that newspaper in the trash think about ways you can recycle it? You could turn that newspaper into a paper mache, stuff it with candy, add a string and it becomes a pinata. Or you could make a mask with it and have the kids paint it. There are so many ways you can recycle a newspaper.
Work on homework or chores on a Rainy Day
One rainy day activity would be to force yourself to work on homework or a task you’d normally wait until the last moment, even if it takes you the whole rainy day. Sometimes we tend to forget tasks because we don’t have reminders. Consider placing an item that reminds you of what you are working on every time you see it.
You may even try the reward system to help motivate someone to complete the work by getting a reward once you complete so many minutes on the task or after it is done. Once the chores/homework tasks are complete make sure the rewards are given, even if it is going outside and doing some rainy day activities outside, like jumping in the puddles.
Rainy days can be a bore if you don’t prepare for them, but there are so many rainy day activities that can make it fun! If you’re trying rainy day activities for rainy days with the kids there are plenty of things to do no matter what. Get creative and enjoy these rainy days!
