Rainy day activities

“Oh no, not another rainy day!” If your plans have been hijacked by a never-ending downpour and you’re dreading another round of “Muuum, I’m bored,” we’ve got just the solution. What if, instead of dreading the rain, you could turn it into a chance for non-stop fun? No soggy clothes, no muddy mess—just hours of laughter and creativity.

Here are our favourite rainy day ideas for you to have on hand, just in case.

Just a heads up! This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links—at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely love and think you will too. Thank you for your support!

Let’s Get Physical

Just because you’re stuck inside, doesn’t mean the kids have to blob out and do nothing. In fact if one rainy day rolls into the next, they’ll be itching to move about and use up some energy. Try some of these ideas to get active while you’re stuck indoors:

• Make your own Ten Pin bowling alley by using plastic soft drink bottles and a rubber ball. Put a cup of sand or gravel in the bottom of each bottle to give them a bit of weight, and then arrange the ‘pins’ into a triangle shape at the end of the hallway. Children stand at the other end of the hall and take turns to bowl. Use your Ten Pin alley to fill in half an hour here and there, or arrange a whole tournament to take place amongst your children and their friends.

• Create an obstacle course that traipses through the whole house. I know it sounds like a nightmare to clean up, but it will keep the kids occupied for ages. Not only do they get to create the course, they then get to do it over and over. They can time each other to see who can do it the fastest, or experiment running the course backwards, blindfolded, or with their hands behind their backs. You’ll need to make sure the course is safe, so check it out before they launch into their races.

• Dancing is a great way to burn off some energy, so turn on some music and start moving that body. If you have a house full of kids, you could play musical games like statues or musical chairs.

Create your Own Board Games

Board games are a great way to while away a few hours, but if your children are tired of the games you have at home, why not get them to make their own. Give them a large sheet of poster card, some felt pens, old magazines, scissors and glue, and let them go to it.

They’ll need to create their own rules, cards, counters and dice, and trust me – you’ll be amazed by what they come up with. The whole family can take turns playing each other’s games.

“Imagine” Activity Cards

photo by Andrea

How to Play It

Imagine Activity Cards offer 24 mindfulness and guided imagery scripts for children. Here’s how to use them:

• Begin by having the students engage in a mindfulness breathing exercise, which is included in the deck, to help them relax and focus.
• Choose a card from the deck, each with its own theme, guided imagery, and illustration. Read the mindfulness script aloud, guiding students through visualisation and meditation.
• Students are encouraged to sit comfortably, close their eyes, and imagine the peaceful scenes described on the cards.
• After the meditation, invite students to share how they felt, what they visualised, or how the exercise helped them relax.
• There are also two DIY cards included, where students can create their own mindfulness stories or visualisations, encouraging creativity and personal connection to the practice.

When to Use It

This game is ideal for calming your children at the start or end of the day, during stressful moments, like a rainy day. It’s particularly a great resource for promoting emotional regulation, self-awareness, and relaxation, making it great for mental health breaks, mindfulness sessions, or before tests.

Game Variations

1. Create Your Own Script: Use the DIY cards to let students create their own guided imagery meditations. This empowers them to connect with their imagination while taking ownership of their mindfulness practice.

Oh, So Beautiful!

Rummage through your makeup drawer to find some bits and pieces you’re happy to let go, and then set up a beauty salon for your children. You can be the stylist, or let them take turns putting on make-up, nail polish, and doing each other’s hair. Before you know it they will have created a whole game complete with a receptionist and a diary for bookings.

Out & About

There are plenty of places you can visit on a rainy day, and most are advertised in the newspaper leading up to the holiday break. Rainy days are a good chance to check out Indoor Playgrounds, Ten Pin Bowling Alleys, Hot Pools, Museums, and of course – the movies!

Make a Hut

Children of all ages love making huts, and the older they get, the more elaborate they become. Pull out sheets and blankets from the linen cupboard, and let them use the kitchen table, lounge furniture or a clothes horse as a base. Once the hut is made, they can spend time inside playing games, reading, or just hanging out.

Bake a Cake or some Biscuits

Let your child loose in the kitchen to bake a cake or biscuits, or spend some time baking together.

Go through your recipe books and make something you haven’t baked for ages, or see how clever you can be at creating something straight out of your head. Find out more about baking with kids here.

What-a-Puzzle?!

Find-a-words, crosswords, word jumbles, mazes, connect-the-dots – they’re all things that keep kids entertained, so it doesn’t hurt to have a few puzzle books on hand for a rainy day.

Better still, have your child create their own puzzle book by downloading puzzle sheets off the internet, or cutting out puzzles from magazines. If they’re feeling really inspired, they could create their own puzzles for the rest of the family to solve.

Charades for Kids – ‘No Reading Required’

photo by Jess S.

How to Play

Charades for Kids – is the perfect indoor game for children. With picture-based clues, it’s designed for non-readers but also reinforces early reading skills.

• Set Up Teams: Divide family into two or more teams.
• Draw a Card: A player from the first team draws a card, which includes a picture clue (helpful for non-readers) and a word or phrase to act out. The player cannot talk but must act out the clue using gestures, movements, or expressions.
• Guess the Clue: The team has a limited amount of time (e.g., 1 minute) to guess the correct word or action. If they guess correctly, the team earns a point. If not, the turn passes to the other team.
• Repeat the Process: Continue rotating players and rounds between teams, with each player having a chance to act out a clue. After several rounds, the team with the most points wins.
• Adjust Difficulty Levels: The game comes with three levels of play, allowing younger players to take on simpler clues while older players can challenge themselves with more difficult cards.

Game Variations

1. Team Play with a Twist: Instead of one person acting out a clue, allow two family members from the same team to act it out together, using teamwork to communicate the action. This adds a fun, collaborative element to the game.
2. Timed Relay: Add a time limit for each team to guess as many clues as possible in 2 or 3 minutes. This speeds up the game and adds a sense of urgency, keeping everyone on their toes.

Spring Clean

Rainy days are a great time to get stuck in and clean out the kids bedrooms. I know it doesn’t sound like much fun, but it has to be done, so you might as well enjoy it. Tempt the kids to get involved by letting them decide what happens to the stuff they no longer want.

Maybe you could have a garage sale or list the items on an auction site to make a few dollars. They may also choose to donate some items to charity.

Get Creative

Any day is a good day to get creative, but rainy days are perfect. Pull out the paint, felt pens, scissors, glue and crafty scraps, and then let your child use their imagination. You could work on a specific project, or just go wild.

Write a Letter

Grandparents love getting letters! Have your child write a letter to Gran and Grandad, or even a friend from school. If you have friends or family in another town, you could set up a pen pal system, so that writing letters becomes something your child does every rainy day.

Go Puddle Jumping

Just because it’s raining, doesn’t mean you have to stay inside. Wrap up in coats and gumboots, and head out into the rain. You could count raindrops in puddles, catch drops on your tongue, or see who can make the biggest splash. Why not leave a tin can outside and measure how much rain falls overnight?

Still looking for ideas?

Our Art and Craft articles have heaps of ideas for things to make and do. You should also check out some of our Crayon Craft Ideas or our Reading and Storytime Activities.

You might like to read our Movie Maker Activities or, for even more activities, see our School Holidays Activities section.