Whether it’s your child’s birthday or a day off from school, rain can spoil all the fun activities you have planned. Since you cannot control the weather, the best option is to have ready some rainy day activities for kids that can be used when those dark clouds arrive. We have rainy day crafts and rainy day games that will keep the children entertained and avoid those dreaded words, “we’re bored”.



Planning - Very Little!

You don’t need a special box full of craft supplies to keep the children from sitting in front of the TV all day. Read through our list of rainy day ideas and choose a few that will work for your kids. Sometimes all you need are a few items from the kitchen cabinet to mix up some fun!

1. Have an indoor picnic on the floor. Lay out a few blankets and serve lunch or snacks just as though you’re at a park.
2. Mix up a batch of homemade play dough with our easy recipe.
3. Organize a contest to build towers out of lego blocks.
4. Set up a water play area at the kitchen sink. Fill the sink with a few inches of warm water and let the children wash their dolls or action figures with a washcloth and some baby shampoo.
5. Turn on some lively music and have all the kids play freeze dance. This is a great way to burn off some of their energy, so plan to continue this game until the children tire of it.


6. Make a paper bead necklace. Use magazines, old sheet music, scrapbooking paper, or any colorful paper you have around the house to create the beads. You will also need string or yarn and a glue stick. Just cut long strips of paper in a triangle shape about 11 inches long. The bottom end should be about one inch wide and taper to a point at the other end. Begin with the wide end and use a pencil as a guide. Roll up the paper around the pencil and apply glue to the last inch to form the bead. Slip the bead off the pencil and let the glue dry. Continue until you have enough beads to make a necklace. String the beads onto the yarn and tie the necklace around your neck.
   
7. Make paper airplanes and fly them down the hall.
8. Have a magazine scavenger hunt. Divide the children into teams and hand each team a stack of magazines, scissors, and a list of items they must find and cut out. Items to search for could be things such as a picture of a car, an animal, a tree, someone playing sports, a sweet dessert, a bike, a baby, etc.
9. Use construction paper and our train pattern to make a paper train.
10. Let the children make rain art with paper plates and food coloring. Put drops of food coloring on a paper plate, then hold the plates out in the rain and watch the patterns that are made. You could even cut out fish shapes to paint.
11. Have a dress-up relay race. Give each team a set of oversized clothing (the funnier the better, such as adult boxers, t-shirts, funny hats, rubber gloves, snow boots, etc.) and set the items on chairs at the end of the room opposite each line of players. Each team's players take turns running to the chairs, putting on the clothing, taking it back off and running back to tag the next player in line.
12. Set up a face painting station in your kitchen with homemade face paints.
13. Have players run to the other end of the room while holding a balloon between their knees. This can be set up for individual players to run at the same time, or as a relay race.
14. Set out cups of different drinks such as apple juice, orange juice, milk, different sodas, etc. or use different flavored jelly beans. Blindfold children and have them taste each one, guessing the flavor. The child with the most correct guesses wins.
15. Play a game of soda bottle bowling in the hall.
16. You can play musical chairs using standard rules or adapt it by having children crawl through a large box, calling it "The Sea Witch's Den" or "The Brigg." When the music stops, the child who is caught in the box is out. For younger children, you can give the child who is caught a sticker or other small prize. The last child caught would get a larger prize.
17. Let the kids draw with a no-mess paint bag. Squirt at least 1½ tablespoons each of red, blue, and yellow finger paint in a Ziploc bag, one bag for each child (each bag contains all 3 colors). Remove as much air as possible and seal the bags. Ensure it stays closed by sealing the opening with tape. Give each child a bag of sealed paint and let them draw a design using their fingertip pressed against the bag.


18. Let the children make paper boats and sail them in a bathtub. Stage boat races by blowing them across the water.
19. Make a craft bag for each child by filling a paper lunch bag with various items you may have around the house. Then gather the kids around the kitchen table and let them start creating a masterpiece from the supplies in their bags. Have glue, scissors and crayons on the table to share. Some examples of craft supplies you might include in the bags are pipe cleaners, pompoms, construction paper, paper cups or bowls, stickers, fabric scraps, strips of yarn, cotton balls, and googly eyes.
20. Send the kids to build a fort with pillows and blankets draped over a table. Let them crawl into their fort and read with a flashlight.
21. Make a vase of tissue paper flowers and set it on the kitchen table.
22. Play pet store with their stuffed animals. Make price tags and use play money to purchase the pets.
23. Use leftover paper plates to create a frog or a flying robot or a fish craft.
24. Make a simple birdfeeder and hang it in the yard when the rain stops.
25. Set up a play restaurant and let the kids take turns being the waiter. Print a menu and use toy food on the plates.
26. Have a tea party with your children and their favorite stuffed animals. Fill a teapot with juice or lemonade, and serve small dishes of cheese crackers or cookies.
27. Open that puzzle sitting on a shelf and get started!


28. Make dolls out of cookie dough with these directions.
29. Stage an indoor snowball fight with no mess! You can divide the children into teams, but it isn't necessary. Just bring them a stack of newspapers and tell the kids to wad the paper into balls and throw them. Be sure to bring a trash can into the area later to have them toss all the paper balls into the can. Instead of newspaper, this game can also be played using cotton balls.
30. Let the children play with shaving cream. Cover a table with a plastic cloth and build “snow” shapes with the shaving cream. Create at least one snowdrift for each guest. The children can use their hands or popsicle sticks to play in the snow, making snowmen and all sorts of creations.
31. Provide the children with a few supplies, and let them build their own snack! All you need is a bag of marshmallows and toothpicks. Pretzel sticks will also work if you don’t have toothpicks, but they really only work well with regular sized marshmallows. Toothpicks will work with both large and mini marshmallows. Show the children how to get started by pressing a toothpick into a marshmallow to begin building something. Some suggestions to make are a snowman, a square shape, a snowflake or a family of marshmallow figures.
32. Pull out the dress-up container of clothes and let each child create a costume. When everyone is ready, let them take turns walking across the room while you describe their outfit. Better yet, tape the show with a video camera and then let the kids watch themselves on the TV.
33. Print out copies of our Rainy Day Coloring Page for everyone to decorate.
34. Set up a scavenger hunt in your home. Choose something to hide in the final location as the prize for the children to find. It can be a plate of cookies or something fun like a bag of balloons. Then print clues on separate pieces of paper and hide them around the house. Each clue should lead the children to the place where another clue is hidden. Here is a set of clues to get you started. Just make changes as necessary to fit your location. You will need to give the children the first written clue, and then let them figure out the rest.
    • A prize is missing! It's hidden from view. If you want your treat, then here's what you do: Follow the clues, they'll lead you to more; to find your next clue, look by the front door.
    • You'll have a clue to keep and to hold, if you go to the place where you keep your food cold.
    • Now quick as a wink, hurry along to the bathroom sink.
    • As fast as you can, there's no time to slouch, you'll find your next clue by the living room couch.
    • It's a clue that you want, a clue that you seek. Go to the dryer and take a peek.
    • It's a clue that you want, a clue that's not hard, so look by the door that leads to the yard.
    • The next clue is simple - it's not hard at all; look near the closet in the front hall.
    • A clue, a clue - now where can one be? I think there's one hidden near the TV.
    • If it's a clue that you want, then you had better, look where you get a special delivery letter.
    • If you want the prize, there's no time for a nap. Look where you give your food a zap.
35. Dry beans and dry pasta can be used to create a mosaic picture. Set out construction paper and some glue along with the dry food items, and let the children create a work of art.
36. Empty boxes and cartons in the recycling bin can become the supplies to build a project. For example, a box and jar lids can be made into a car, other shapes can become doll furniture, pet carriers for stuffed animals, or a mini city of skyscrapers. Children will be able to come up with a lot more creative ideas!
37. Stage a talent show and record it to watch afterwards. Encourage the children to use a variety of talents in addition to singing and playing instruments. For example, they could tell jokes, show a toy car collection, tell a story with puppets, or demonstrate a somersault.
38. Make a robot from an empty toilet paper tube.


39. Stage a music parade through a few rooms. Play some fun music and hand out musical instruments to the children. Then send them on a parade through several rooms as they make music. Let each child have a turn being the leader of the band.
40. Make a fan out of leftover wrapping paper and craft sticks with our Victorian Fan instructions.
41. Play “Bomb Squad”. You’ll need a kitchen timer and a flashlight. Set the kitchen timer for 2 minutes and hide it in a darkened room. The kids are the bomb squad and must follow the ticking sound to find the timer before it rings. Set the timer for less time as the children become better at finding the “bomb”.
42. Make puppets from paper bags or socks and put on a puppet show.
43. Use construction paper strips to make a long paper chain. Hang the paper chain as a decoration in the room for the rest of the day.
44. Make collars and nametags for stuffed animals. Pieces of ribbon or strips of colored paper can be taped together to make the collars. Children can print the animal’s name on them, too.
45. Shape play dough into a volcano and watch it erupt! Use green play dough and mold it around a small empty jar to form a mountain shape. Do this on top of a cookie sheet to make clean-up easier. The jar should be hidden except for the opening. Add a few heaping spoonfuls of baking soda to the empty jar. To make the volcano “erupt”, slowly pour vinegar into the jar until the baking soda begins to froth and the foam spills down the sides of the volcano. This will be wildly popular with kids of all ages, so be ready to make it erupt again and again!