35 Fun Indoor Activities For Kids + Teens
This post is part of our archived content. While we’ve shifted focus, it still may be useful.
Whether you’re stuck inside because of illness or it’s a rainy day, prevent the kids going stir crazy with our list of 35 fun indoor activities for kids.
Remember that there are benefits to letting your kids feel bored.
That said, sometimes they need occupying so try one or some of the below to make staying in the new going out, child style!
35 indoor activities for kids when you’re stuck inside:
Colouring In
Sometimes the very best indoor activities for kids are old favourites.
Most children like to colour and draw but when was the last time you gave their supplies a good clean out and restocked?
Make sure they have new colouring pencils, crayons and felt tips, a good pair of child-friendly safety scissors and a large variety of different types, colours and sizes of paper.
Put some music on in the background to get the creative juices going and join in for maximum fun.
Older kids can try their hand at drawing. Portraits sounds hard but there are a myriad of resources online they can use to develop and improve their skills.
For example, did you know there’s a really simple and easy to follow step step process to learn how to draw a nose? Start at the nose and work your way around the face.
Dance Party
Close the curtains (which also means you can stay in your PJ’s all day) blast your favourite tunes as loud as they go and get your family groove on.
You can even hold a dance competition with prizes for the winners.
Dress Up
You probably already have a dress-up box of clothes that your children like to rummage through and try on but why not kill two birds with one stone and have a good clear out at the same time?
Go through your wardrobe with your children and any clothes you decide to donate can have a second short life as playthings before you bag them up.
Your little one will look hilarious in some of your old clubbing outfits!
Play Date
Call up some other mummy friends and try a virtual playdate/tea party via Zoom.
The kids will keep each other busy while the adults get a chance to catch up, have a natter and maybe even a cheeky glass of vino or two.
Indoor Obstacle Course
This activity is best set up on an evening when the kids have gone to bed.
Prepare to be woken up with squeals of delight as they find their very own indoor playground right in the living room!
Grab a few cheap hula hoops, bean bags and different size containers and small balls, as well as a few large blankets, some child-sized chairs and even some old clothes.
Lay out your course providing things to climb over, crawl under, weave around and scramble through.
Stations can also include skill testing such as balancing items on their head, standing on one leg, racing to put on silly oversized clothes and shooting balls into targets.
Face Painting
You don’t need to have special supplies to have a fun day with face paints – your own outdated makeup will do as long as it’s suitable for young skin and can be taken off easily.
If you’re up for a laugh challenge your children to make you over instead and be sure to take plenty of photos!
Science Experiments
If you are stuck for school holiday ideas to keep bored kids busy scan the internet for some simple kitchen science experiments and combine learning and fun.
Really simple investigations like adding vinegar and food colouring to baking soda provide lots of opportunities for kids to make predictions and observe and talk about reactions, all excellent early science skills.
YouTube has lots of ideas.
Games Day
Raid the local charity shop for cheap board games and puzzles, just make sure they have all the pieces first and then hold a games day.
Start with high energy games designed to wear kids out like Twister and musical chairs, before moving on to sit down board games and puzzles and keep tabs on the winners.
Even very young children can begin to understand simple games like dominos, Snakes and Ladders, or Ludo.
These games can help them develop turn-taking, sharing and maths skills.
Aeroplane Races
Create a fleet of paper aeroplanes and encourage your children to decorate them before holding paper plane races.
See which plane can go the farthest, reach a target, or just looks the best.
(Digital) Library Day
One of the easiest things to do at home is to enjoy a good book.
Pop to the library/download some books and get a bevvy of new titles and spread them out in a comfy spot in your home, with cosy blankets and pillows.
Put some relaxing music on in the background and provide drinks and snacks to enjoy an indulgent day of imagination and reading.
Later in the day, you can choose a movie inspired by literature to break it up a little.
Balloon Fun
Inflate a few balloons and tell your children that the balloons cannot touch the floor and go!
You can also have targets to direct the balloons towards or have balloon races.
Make Some Life Size Friends
Lay out a roll of craft paper on the floor and tell your child to carefully lay down on top of it as you trace around their entire body.
When they get up they will have a life-size “friend” to colour in, cut out and play with.
You could make a whole gang of them wearing different clothes and tape them up around the house, or arrange them as an audience and get the kids to put on a music or puppet show for them to enjoy.
Create a Fort
Making an indoor blanket tent is one of the most timeless indoor activities.
In fact, you probably made one on rainy days when you were little!
Use some sturdy chairs or a clothes horse and drape sheets or blankets over the top to create secret little caves.
Join a few of them together to create a whole world, then crawl inside with a torch, a storybook and a plate of biscuits to create some warm memories.
Pen + Paper Games
Keep it old school with some good old fashion pen and paper games.
We’ve rounded up 16 easy pencil and paper games to play and the only supplies you need are pencils and paper.
Go Outside
Although it might feel like British weather is, well, unpredictable it’s not actually as bad as you might think.
London typically gets less rain than a lot of other cities around the world, despite the myth of soggy old London.
So be brave, put on your wellies and grab an umbrella and go for a walk or, if the kids are contagious, spend some time in your garden if you have one.
Once you get outside, have fun jumping in puddles before warming up with a cuddle and a nice mug of hot chocolate.
The Museum of London temporarily renamed itself as the Museum for London as part of a mission to bring first-class online content to us all at home while the museum’s physical doors were closed.
They’ve now launched the Museum of Fundon; a new platform with a range of exciting online and offline activities from the Museum of London and the Museum of London Docklands for families to take part in at home.
Would you like to become a puppeteer, test your memory skills, discover more about the Great Fire of London or just get crafty?
Then the MuseumofFundon is the place to go for all of that and more with content that educates and intrigues.
Not as fancy as it sounds, the British Film Institute has put together short films for kids aged five and under.
Their catalogue goes back to the late 1800s so once your kids have exhausted Netflix and CBeebies, head to the BFI website for a selection of shows completely new to them (and you).
Roald Dahl’s Things To Do Indoors
Get the kids to read (or re-read) their favourite Roald Dahl book and then head to the Dahl website for a list of book-related activities.
The Disney store has lots of free downloadable activity booklets with colouring sheets as well as ‘how to draw’ pages featuring characters from Frozen, Marvel and more.
Cards Against Humanity Family Edition
Cards Against Humanity are hilarious but completely not child-friendly.
The team there has created Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition.
It’s a fill-in-the-blank comedy game that’s just like Cards Against Humanity, but it’s written for kids and adults to play together.
The cards were put together with child development experts and psychologists and they’re available for free.
Simply print off at home and play with your bored family.
Free Kids’ TV Shows From Amazon
Take out a Amazon Prime account and watch their selection of shows for children.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter to receive home learning lessons in Maths, English and more inspired by the Premier League.
Online courses for children in subjects like animation, Minecraft, Roblox and photography.
Grayson Perry, Antony Gormley and Gillian Wearing are creating free at-home packs for budding artists.
Apple’s 30 Creative Activities
Apple Education has put together an activity sheet with 30 fun and creative thing for kids to try at home with a phone or tablet.
Take out a 30 trial and enjoy classics for kids of all ages including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Age of Innocence, Winnie the Pooh and Pride and Prejudice.
Scrabble is an absolute classic and for good reason; it helps your kids improve their vocabulary and spelling.
Plus there’s the thrill that comes with using all your letters (50 extra points please!) and the elusive triple word score.
Another oldie but goodie, Rummikub helps teach patterns, sequence, and numbers.
Perfect for younger kids, Connect 4 helps improve strategy skills and competition.
Best for kids age 8 and over, The Game Of Life will show them how expensive they really are!
Hours can be spent strategizing on Monopoly but beware things can go south quickly!
Try and put someone honest in charge of the bank to keep tears and tantrums to a minimum.
There’s a Peppa Pig version for younger kids and both versions help build vocabulary and strengthen problem-solving skills.
Kids age 12+ will enjoy this one; pick teams and try to describe as many card entries as possible within 30 seconds. No “rhymes with” or “sounds like” allowed!
History Heroes Downloads + Activity Sheets
Grab your colouring pencils and create your own History Heroes masterpieces with educational colouring sheets.
Test your History knowledge by playing the Timelines games – can you work out who are the four History Heroes and put them in birth date order?
How many do you know?
Find out more about the ones you don’t already know.
The History word search sheets contain 12 famous History Heroes – can you find them all?
Hundreds of videos from experts in everything from algebra to zoology.
Headspace and Calm Apps
They’re not totally free but both have released free content to deal with mental health issues brought about by these unique times.
There’s a ‘calm kids’ resource that was developed especially with kids in mind.
Lots of content for kids.
Take out a free seven-day trial and see if your kids like what they have to offer.
What are your favourite indoor activities for kids?