The Ultimate A to Z of Old-School Rainy Day Kids’ Activities

A is for...adventures of the indoor variety

Who says adventures need to be outside? Next time the rain sets in and you find yourself stuck inside all day, just whip out our ultimate guide to some of the simplest, yet most tried-and-tested boredom busters around.

B is for...board games

For older children, a family game of Monopoly (complete with a healthy dose of competition) can provide hours of amusement.

C is for...coloring

Crack open the crayon drawer, pick a subject (or not, abstract is good too!) and get coloring.

D is for...dancing

Make a rainy-day playlist and dance like a loon — nobody’s watching!

E is for...egg carton crafts

Egg cartons are something we always have in our recycling — who knew you could do so many things with them! Check out this list which will keep your kids occupied for a whole year’s worth of rainy days.

F is for...fancy dress

Keep aside a box of old clothes and costume jewelry for your kids to rummage through and experiment with. Make sure you take photos of the results for posterity!

G is for...gingerbread men

Baking is the ultimate rainy-day win as far as kids are concerned, and making gingerbread men has the added fun factor of being able to decorate a whole family of characters.

H is for...hide and seek

Even when all the hiding places have been exhausted, there is something about the endless repetition of hiding and then jumping out that will leave them asking to play again and again.

I is for...instruments

When a saucepan is a drum, a kitchen roll is a trumpet, and a box of rice is a maraca, pretty soon you’ll have a whole orchestra! Here are some fabulous ideas for the more ambitiously creative...

J is for...jigsaw

The ultimate rainy-day game of perseverance and satisfaction, kids will love seeing their chosen image come together piece by piece.

K is for...kicks

And there you were thinking ball games were a no-go indoors! For sports fanatics, simply blow up a balloon and have a game of balloon basketball from the comfort of your own living room — the no-injury, no-breakage alternative to playing outside.

L is for...Lego contest

Have a competition to see who can build the most impressive Lego creation — no instructions allowed!

M is for...make believe

1) Take one cardboard box.
2) Pretend it is a pirate ship/ancient castle/steam train.
3) Watch as their imaginations take flight.

N is for...noodle necklaces

Zero mess, zero expenditure, all you need is some thread and some pasta. Will go great with their fancy dress costumes!

O is for...obstacle course

Turn the living room into an indoor assault course with a tunnel under dining chairs, string laid in a straight line for tightrope walking and a long jump pit in the hallway.

P is for...play dough

Ridiculously easy to make (the Imagination Tree has the best recipe around), kids will have hours of fun rolling, kneading, cutting, and creating. Oh, and it’s pretty therapeutic for adults too!

Q is for...quiz

Compile your own ultimate rainy-day quiz, complete with bonus rounds. Where there are quizzes there are prizes, so make it exciting with a little something for the winner, plus a snack prize for participation!

R is for...race tracks

Make a racetrack worthy of Formula One for all those toy cars by laying two parallel trails of masking tape around the room, including over the sofa and under the table. Brrrrrrmmmm!

S is for...storytime

Take advantage of not being able to go outside and rediscover all your children’s favorite stories. Even better when combined with the next idea....

T is for...tent building

Building an indoor den has got to be THE original rainy-day activity. Filled with magic and wonder, kids will love draping blankets over furniture and marveling at how different the world looks from under the table!

U is for...umbrella crafts

When better to make a cardboard umbrella than on a rainy day! This great tutorial will talk you through it step by step.

V is for...vegetable prints

Splash mats at the ready, because this could get messy! Kids will love creating their own prints using almost any vegetable you can think of.

W is for...weaving

Weaving is a great, calming activity to keep little hands busy — we love this idea for using popsicle sticks as a handmade loom.

X marks the spot!

Have fun creating weathered old treasure maps by scrunching up some paper and ‘aging’ it with cold teabags.

Y is for...yellow

The brightest, happiest color around and therefore the perfect antidote to miserable weather — why not make your indoor day a yellow day by dressing all in yellow and see who can find the most yellow things around the house?

Z is for...zoo

Get all the toy animals together and section different areas of the bedroom off into
enclosures. Then have them pretend to be each animal in turn, complete with actions and sound effects!