When the rainy day blues have you trapped inside all day, coming up with fun new activities can be a challenge – especially if you’ve got little ones. If you’re looking for some new ideas, here are some rainy day games for kids that’ll keep the boredom at bay.
Scavenger Hunt
For a basic scavenger hunt, you’ll need a fun prize at the end to make it worth their while. If you don’t have any new toys or fun prizes on hand, you can use edible treats or an IOU for a future experience instead (movie tickets, a day at the museum, etc). Hide clues around the house and send your kids on a wild goose chase to claim their prize. The more clues you make, the longer the game will last.
Obstacle Course
Using blankets, pillows, or just about anything else sturdy enough to build with, an obstacle course is a classic way to spend the time. If your house isn’t very large, you could set up a lap system and time the participants as they navigate the course. Or, you could take a “floor is lava” approach to set up an extra challenge. Just be careful if your kids tend to get a bit rowdy!
Good Old-Fashioned Bake Off
If your kids are old enough to help out in the kitchen, why not have a bake-off? Split them into teams if necessary, and designate a judge to sample the creations and declare a winner. Then enjoy their yummy concoctions in front of a family movie. Yum!
Ring Toss
If you have pipe cleaners, you can make an exciting ring toss game from nearly anything you have lying around the house. Simply fashion some pipe cleaners into rings of various sizes (allowing players of different ages to have extra advantages or disadvantages), and toss them onto something tall and slender. During the holidays, the favorite object of choice in my house is a wooden nutcracker, but a 2-liter soda bottle, bedpost, or slender stuffed animal will work just fine!
Soda Bottle Bowling
If you have a bunch of empty bottles handy, give soda bottle bowling a try. Simply set up as many “pins” as you want, and send a ball flying. You can also use empty boxes, books, or other similarly shaped objects.
Bean Bag Toss
For this game, mark squares on the floor with some easily removable tape. Using a bean bag (or small bean-filled stuffed animal), have players stand in a designated area to try to score points. The player with the most points wins.
Teddy Bear Picnic
What’s more fun than an indoor picnic with your best friends? Set out a blanket, dinnerware, and all the fixings for a fun picnic with friends. Invite as many teddy bears or stuffed animals as you can manage. And don’t forget the tea and cookies!
Freeze Dance
Put on some tunes and have a dance party! When the music stops, everyone must *freeze* in place – or else they’re out. The last player remaining is declared the winner, and they can serve as the DJ for the next round.
Balloon Tennis
Blow up a balloon or two and use tennis rackets to keep it from touching the floor. You can use a blanket hung between a couple of chairs as a net, or just go without. The player who keeps the balloon in the air the longest is the winner.
Charades
In this classic game, players must act out the clue they’ve drawn without using words. Whichever team has the most correct guesses becomes the winner.
I Spy
This game is also handy for helping little ones identify shapes and colors. Pick an object in the room, name the color, and see if your kids can guess it on the first try.
Card Games
If you have a deck of cards handy, take this rainy day as an opportunity to play Go Fish, Crazy 8’s, Old Maid, Rummy, Spit, or Slapjack (if you have the fortitude to get slapped, that is).
Board Games
Younger children especially love Chutes and Ladders, Sorry, and Trouble. Older kids could have fun buying property in Monopoly, finding the culprit in Clue, or improving their vocabularies with Scrabble.
Follow the Leader
Designate one child to be the leader and have them navigate a parade around the house. This works best if you have multiple children, but feel free to join in on the fun yourself!
Simon Says
Participants must do whatever “Simon” says – otherwise, they’re out. Take turns acting as Simon until everyone’s had enough.
Hide-and-Seek
You can play the standard version of this game, or have the kids take turns hiding an object instead for an extra challenge!
