39 fun, indoor activities to do with kids at home

With most of us choosing to stay safe at home, you might be looking for some fun, indoor activities to do with the kids.

Here are 39 easy ideas of indoor activities to do with your kids when Covid, your budget or simply bad weather keeps you from wanting to leave the house.

1. Bake cookies, cakes, mini pizzas– whatever sounds yummiest.

2. Build a giant blanket fort.

3. Gather the recyclables and craft something new.

Create a robot out of boxes, build a spaceship out of plastic bottles, paint vases and make flowers out of paper.

4. Design an indoor obstacle course.

Use pillows, toys or old boxes to create obstacles that the kids can jump over, crawl through or swerve around.

5. Dance party!

6. Work out together.

Get the kids to do some push-ups, lunges, jumping jacks, yoga or whatever you all find fun. A quick YouTube search can give you some inspiration.

7. Practice karate.

Search on YouTube for some basic moves.

8. Board games.

9. Snuggle in bed with a stack of books.

Yes, big kids still like to be read to. For little ones, makeup your own stories to go with the pictures.

10. Put on a play.

11. Make a music video.

12. Make some homemade play dough.

All you need is all-purpose flour, salt, cream of tartar, water, oil, and some food colouring. Store it in a plastic zip-seal bag for the next time.

13. Draw, color, paint (combine this with your upcycled creation).

14. Practice yoga.

Again, a quick YouTube search will give you some ideas for moves you can practice together.

15. Have an indoor picnic.

16. Play dress up.

17. Play charades.

18. Play restaurant.

19. Play hide and seek.

20. Make a scavenger hunt.

21. Play school.

22. Paint and create an art gallery/museum (add your play dough creations for sculptures).

23. Do some sponge painting.

24. Tear up some scraps of paper and make a collage.

25. Set up some empty water bottles and go bowling.

26. Play cards (go fish, war, Uno).

27. Make a noodle necklace.

28. Play freeze dance (when you stop the music, the kids have to freeze).

29. Do puzzles.

30. Make a puzzle (draw a picture on thick paper, cut it into different shapes and piece it back together).

31. Make Chinese paper lanterns.

32. Make sock puppets.

33. Sort through old toys and find ones you can give away (okay, maybe they won’t love this one…).

34. Design a long and winding car race track or train tracks around the house.

Use coloured tape to create lines on the floor or wherever.

35. Create a time capsule.

Have the kids write a letter to their future selves, or interview them and record the answers.

Pick a couple of photos or mementos and put them in an airtight container. Hide it and pick a day in the future when you’ll open it again

36. Put on or put together costumes just because.

Invite the characters to dinner or a “party” where everyone stays in character.

37. Make some music, literally.

See how many household objects can be repurposed into instruments – think chopsticks, spoons, buckets, bottles, combs, etc.

38. Try some home science experiments.

39. Or make this volcano!