20 rainy-day ideas for children: what to do in bad weather?

20 Rainy-Day Ideas for Children: What to Do in Bad Weather?

Rainy weather can quickly become a challenge with children. It is wet outside, the playground is no longer an option, and at home boredom can eventually set in. At the same time, rainy days do not automatically have to be stressful. With a few simple ideas, even grey days can be made beautiful, creative, and cosy.

Whether it is crafts, movement, small experiments, reading aloud, or baking together — many activities do not require much preparation. Often, a few materials you already have at home or can keep on hand are enough.

Here you will find 20 rainy-day ideas for children that work well for weekends, school holidays, or long afternoons at home.

1. Set up a craft station

A small craft station is one of the easiest ideas for rainy days. You can place paper, scissors, glue, pens, and a few materials on the table and let the children create freely.

Craft paper, child-safe scissors, glue sticks, crayons, watercolours, stickers, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, or craft kits for children work especially well.

To keep things from getting too chaotic, you can set a theme, for example: “Today we are making animals,” “We are creating a rain picture,” or “We are making window decorations.”

2. Create window pictures

Window pictures are especially fitting for rainy days because children can immediately see what they have made afterwards. In spring, they could be flowers, butterflies, or clouds. In autumn, leaves, animals, or lantern motifs work well.

Suitable materials include tissue paper, window markers, chalk markers, craft glue, or ready-made window picture craft kits.

The advantage: the home immediately looks a little brighter, even when it is grey outside.

3. Bake together

Baking is a lovely mix of activity, learning, and reward. Children can weigh ingredients, stir dough, cut out shapes, or decorate muffins.

Simple ideas include muffins, banana bread, cookies, waffles, or small pizza rolls.

Useful items include children’s baking moulds, muffin cases, cookie cutters, child-friendly rolling pins, mixing bowls, baking mats, or child-friendly aprons.

Especially with younger children, it is less about the perfect result and more about doing something together.

4. Build a blanket fort

A blanket fort is a classic — and it almost always works. With a few chairs, blankets, and pillows, you can quickly create a cosy little hideaway.

You can use the fort as a reading corner, cuddle cave, cinema, or secret children’s room. It becomes especially cosy with soft blankets, pillows, battery-powered fairy lights, children’s torches, or a play mat.

Afterwards, you can read books in the fort, listen to audiobooks, or have a small snack.

5. Set up an indoor obstacle course

When children have lots of energy, movement helps. An indoor obstacle course can be built very easily with things you already have: pillows to jump on, tape as a line on the floor, chairs to crawl under, or a target-throwing game with soft balls.

For more variety, balance stones, soft play balls, children’s tunnels, jumping mats, foam blocks, or balance boards work well.

It is important to create enough space and secure any dangerous corners beforehand.

6. Organise a treasure hunt in the apartment

A treasure hunt does not require much preparation, but it feels like a little adventure for children. You can write clues on pieces of paper, set small tasks, or draw pictures as hints.

At the end, a small treasure is waiting — for example a snack, a small toy, or a game you play together.

This can be prepared well with treasure map templates, small treasure boxes, sticker rewards, children’s stamps, or puzzle books for children.

For younger children, simple clues are enough, such as “Look under the sofa” or “The next clue is where we read books.”

7. Use playdough or modelling clay

Playdough is ideal for creative rainy days. Children can shape figures, food, animals, or fantasy worlds. At the same time, they train their fine motor skills.

Suitable options include children’s playdough, modelling clay, playdough tools, cookie cutters, playdough mats, or complete playdough sets with accessories.

A nice idea: set a theme, for example “Make your favourite animal” or “Create your own restaurant out of playdough.”

8. Host a living-room cinema

A movie afternoon can feel special if you organise it intentionally. Make tickets, build a cosy corner, and prepare small snacks.

Popcorn kernels, popcorn cups, children’s snack boxes, cosy blankets, children’s cups, or a small projector work well for this.

To make it more than just “watching TV,” you can choose the film together beforehand and talk about it afterwards: What was funny? Who was your favourite character? What could have ended differently?

9. Do a puzzle

Puzzles are calm, focused, and great for rainy days. Depending on the child’s age, you can choose simple wooden puzzles, floor puzzles, or larger family puzzles.

Good options include wooden puzzles, floor puzzles, animal puzzles, world map puzzles, magnetic puzzles, or puzzle sorting boxes.

For younger children, the images should be clear and the pieces large enough. Older children often like puzzles with animals, vehicles, space, or familiar characters.

10. Play a board game or card game

Board games are perfect when you want to do something together without much preparation. For younger children, simple colour, dice, or memory games work well. Older children can already try their first strategy games.

Possible products for affiliate links include board games for children, card games for families, memory games, travel games, dice games, or cooperative children’s games.

Cooperative games are especially pleasant when children are not yet good at losing, because everyone plays together against the game.

11. Have an afternoon of reading aloud

Rainy days are ideal for reading aloud. Get comfortable on the sofa, in bed, or in a blanket fort and choose books together.

Picture books, read-aloud books, early reader books, hidden picture books, children’s classics, or books about emotions and friendship are well suited.

A lovely idea: each child gets to choose one book. Afterwards, you can draw a picture from the story or act out a favourite scene.

12. Listen to audiobooks or music

Not every child wants to craft or play when it rains. Sometimes a calm activity is exactly right. Audiobooks, music, or children’s podcasts can help bring some quiet into the day.

Children’s headphones, Toniebox accessories, audiobook figures, children’s CDs, child-friendly Bluetooth speakers, or music toys work well for this.

You can also turn it into a small relaxation time: dim the lights, get a blanket, and simply listen.

13. Do a small experiment

Children love experiments, especially when something foams, bubbles, or changes colour. Many simple experiments work with things from the kitchen.

Popular experiments use water, oil, food colouring, baking soda, or vinegar. For more structure, children’s experiment kits, magnifying glasses, measuring cups, pipettes, children’s microscopes, or science kits are useful.

Important: experiments should always be age-appropriate and supervised by adults.

14. Start a drawing challenge

Instead of simply saying “Draw something,” you can turn it into a small drawing challenge.

Examples:

• Draw an animal that does not exist.

• Draw your dream house.

• Draw the most beautiful rainy day.

• Draw a monster with three eyes.

• Draw a picture using only your favourite colour.

Suitable materials include colouring books, coloured pencils, felt-tip pens, crayons, watercolours, drawing pads, or painting aprons.

For younger children, it can help if you draw along with them.

15. Cook together

Cooking, like baking, is a lovely everyday activity where children can help. They can wash vegetables, add toppings to dough, stir ingredients, or take on small tasks.

Simple ideas include pizza, wraps, pasta salad, vegetable sticks with dip, pancakes, or fruit skewers.

Useful items include child-friendly kitchen knives, cutting boards for children, children’s cookbooks, measuring cups, mixing bowls, or lunch boxes.

Cooking with children often takes longer, but it can help children become more interested in food afterwards.

16. Open a dress-up box

Dressing up stimulates imagination and does not require much preparation. A box with old scarves, hats, bags, costumes, or accessories is often enough.

This can turn into a theatre performance, a restaurant, a superhero adventure, or a vet’s practice.

Suitable items include children’s costumes, dress-up sets, toy doctor kits, play shop accessories, children’s hats, scarves, or hand puppets.

A nice extension: the children come up with a small performance and the parents are the audience.

17. Build with blocks

Building blocks keep many children occupied for a long time and support creativity, concentration, and spatial thinking. You can let children build freely or set a task.

Ideas:

• Build a tower that does not fall over.

• Build a house for an animal.

• Build a city.

• Build a bridge.

• Build something using only red blocks.

Suitable materials include wooden blocks, magnetic tiles, LEGO Duplo, LEGO sets, foam blocks, or building plates.

For several children, it can help to build one large project together instead of everyone building separately.

18. Do a small yoga or movement session

When children become restless, a short movement session can help. It does not have to be a real workout. Animal movements, stretching, jumping, or small yoga exercises are completely enough.

Examples:

• Sneak like a cat.

• Stretch like a giraffe.

• Jump like a frog.

• Curl up like a hedgehog.

• Balance like a flamingo.

Useful items include children’s yoga cards, yoga mats for children, movement cards, soft gym mats, or balance toys.

Even 10 to 15 minutes can help bring a little calm back into the day.

19. Have a themed day

A rainy day becomes more exciting when it has a theme. For example:

• Jungle day

• Space day

• Dinosaur day

• Rainbow day

• Farm day

• Pirate day

To match the theme, you can draw, craft, read books, listen to music, or play a small game.

Suitable items include themed children’s books, dinosaur toys, space stickers, animal figures, pirate costumes, themed craft kits, or children’s posters.

A theme is especially helpful when you cannot think of one single activity.

20. Intentionally allow a quiet afternoon

Not every rainy day has to be full of activities. Sometimes children also need boredom, quiet, and free space. You can set out a few options and let the children choose for themselves.

For example:

• book basket

• puzzle

• drawing pad

• building blocks

• audiobook

• cosy corner

• small snack break

Storage baskets, children’s shelves, toy boxes, book crates, or activity cards can be helpful so children can see for themselves what options they have.

Especially for parents, it is important not to feel the need to fill every moment perfectly. A quiet rainy day is allowed to simply be cosy.

Practical things worth having at home for rainy days

If you regularly spend rainy days at home with children, it can help to keep a few simple things in stock. That way, you do not have to think of something new every time.

Practical items include:

• craft paper

• glue sticks

• child-safe scissors

• stickers

• watercolours

• colouring books

• coloured pencils

• playdough

• puzzles

• board games

• children’s books

• audiobooks

• building blocks

• experiment kits

• snack boxes

• children’s baking moulds

• dress-up box

• movement cards

• children’s yoga cards

• storage baskets

You do not need to have everything at once. Even a small selection is enough to make rainy days more relaxed.

Conclusion: Rainy weather with children does not have to be boring

Rainy weather can be tiring, but it can also be a good opportunity to intentionally spend time together. With simple ideas like crafting, baking, building blanket forts, reading aloud, doing puzzles, or small movement games, a grey day can quickly become a cosy family afternoon.

The important thing is not to set expectations too high. Not every activity has to work perfectly. Sometimes one small idea is enough to change the mood.

And if you would rather go out after all: soon, the Unitee app will help you discover suitable family events, classes, and children’s activities near you more easily — even on rainy days.

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