20 Rainy Day Ideas for Kids: What to Do in Bad Weather

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Rainy weather can quickly turn into a challenge with kids. It is wet outside, the playground is out of the question, and at some point boredom creeps in at home. At the same time, rainy days do not have to be automatically stressful. With a few simple ideas, even grey days can become lovely, creative and cosy.

Whether it is crafting, moving about, small experiments, storytime or baking together — many activities do not need much preparation at all. Often a few materials you already have at home, or can easily keep in stock, are enough.

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

1. Set up a craft station

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

This creative craft set for kids (affiliate link) comes with several materials for the craft station straight away.

Craft paper, children's scissors, glue sticks, crayons, watercolours, stickers, pompoms, pipe cleaners and craft sets for kids all work particularly well.

To keep things from getting too chaotic, you can set a theme, for example: "today we're crafting animals", "let's make a rain picture" or "let's make window decorations".

2. Make window pictures

Window pictures suit rainy days particularly well, because children can immediately see what they have made. In spring these could be flowers, butterflies or clouds. In autumn, leaves, animals or lantern motifs work well.

Transparent paper, window pens, chalk markers, craft glue or ready-made window picture craft sets are all suitable for this.

The advantage: the flat immediately looks a little friendlier afterwards, even if it is grey outside.

3. Bake together

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

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

Children's baking tins, muffin cases, cookie cutters, rolling pins for kids, mixing bowls, baking mats or child-sized aprons are all practical to have.

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

4. Build a den

A blanket den is a classic — and it works almost every time. With a few chairs, blankets and cushions, a cosy hideaway appears in no time.

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

These LED lights (affiliate link) are perfect for a cosy den.

Afterwards you can read books, listen to audio stories or have a small snack inside the den.

5. Set up an indoor obstacle course

When children have a lot of energy, movement helps. An indoor obstacle course can be built quite simply with things you already have: cushions to jump onto, tape as a line on the floor, chairs to crawl through, or a target game with soft balls.

Balance stones, soft play balls, children's tunnels, bounce mats, foam building blocks or balance boards add extra variety.

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

6. Go on a treasure hunt around the flat

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

This location-independent scavenger hunt set (affiliate link) gives you extra ideas for a hunt at home.

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

You can prepare this well with treasure map templates, small treasure chests, sticker rewards, kids' stamps or puzzle pads for children.

For younger children, simple clues like "look under the sofa" or "the next clue is where we read books" are enough.

7. Use playdough or modelling clay

Playdough is ideal for creative rainy days. Children can shape figures, food, animals or entire fantasy worlds. Along the way, they also train their fine motor skills.

Children's playdough, modelling clay, dough tools, cookie cutters, dough mats or complete playdough sets with accessories are all suitable.

A lovely idea: give a theme, for example "build your favourite animal" or "design your own restaurant out of playdough".

8. Host a living-room cinema

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

Popcorn kernels, popcorn cups, kids' snack boxes, soft blankets, children's cups or a small projector all fit nicely.

So it does not turn into "just watching TV", you can choose the film together beforehand and talk about it afterwards: what was funny? Who was the favourite character? What could have turned out differently?

9. Do a jigsaw puzzle

Puzzles are calm, focused and good for rainy days. Depending on age, you can choose simple wooden puzzles, floor puzzles or bigger family puzzles.

Wooden puzzles, floor puzzles, animal puzzles, world map puzzles, magnetic puzzles or puzzle sorting boxes are all recommended.

For younger children the pictures should be clear and the pieces big enough. Older children often like puzzles with animals, vehicles, space or well-known characters.

10. Play a board game or card game

Board games are perfect if you want to do something together without much preparation. Simple colour, dice or memory games suit younger children, while older children can already try their first strategy games.

A compact HABA family game (affiliate link) is great for a shared round.

Good options for this 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 cannot yet cope well with losing, because everyone plays together against the game itself.

11. Have a storytime afternoon

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

This children's book (affiliate link) is a great fit for shared storytime.

Picture books, storytime books, early reader books, seek-and-find books, children's classics or books about feelings and friendship all work well.

A lovely idea: let each child choose a book. Afterwards you can draw a picture of the story or act out the favourite scene.

12. Listen to audiobooks or music

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

This music set for kids (affiliate link) turns listening time into a little music break.

Children's headphones, Tonie figure accessories, audio story figures, children's CDs, Bluetooth speakers for kids or musical toys all fit here.

You can also turn this into a small relaxation time: dim the lights, grab 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.

Experiments with water, oil, food colouring, baking soda or vinegar are popular. For more structure, science kits for kids, magnifying glasses, measuring cups, pipettes, children's microscopes or explorer sets are useful.

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

14. Start a drawing challenge

Instead of simply saying "go and draw something", you can turn it into a small drawing challenge.

A sketching and drawing set (affiliate link) gives the challenge a clear structure.

Examples:

• Draw an animal that doesn't exist yet.

• Draw your dream house.

• Draw the most beautiful rainy day.

• Draw a monster with three eyes.

• Draw a picture using only your favourite colour.

Colouring books, coloured pencils, felt-tip pens, crayons, watercolours, drawing pads or painting aprons are all suitable for this.

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

15. Cook together

Like baking, cooking is a lovely everyday activity that children can help with. They can wash vegetables, top dough, stir ingredients or take on small tasks.

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

Child-friendly kitchen knives, cutting boards for children, children's cookbooks, measuring cups, mixing bowls or lunch boxes are all practical.

Cooking with children often takes longer, but it can help them take more interest in food later on.

16. Open a dress-up box

Dressing up sparks the imagination and needs no big preparation. A box with old scarves, hats, bags, costumes or accessories is often enough.

From this a play, a restaurant, a superhero adventure or a vet's practice can emerge.

Children's costumes, dress-up sets, play doctor's kits, pretend shop accessories, children's hats, scarves or hand puppets are all suitable.

A lovely extension: the children come up with a little performance and the parents are the audience.

17. Build with building blocks

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

Ideas:

• Build a tower that doesn't fall over.

• Build a house for an animal.

• Build a city.

• Build a bridge.

• Build something using only red bricks.

Wooden building blocks, magnetic building blocks, LEGO Duplo, LEGO sets, foam building blocks or building plates all fit here.

With several children, it can help to build one big project together rather than each child building alone.

18. Do a short yoga or movement session

When children get restless, a short movement session can help. It doesn't have to be a real workout. Animal movements, stretching, jumping or a few simple yoga poses are completely enough.

Examples:

• Creep like a cat.

• Stretch like a giraffe.

• Jump like a frog.

• Curl up like a hedgehog.

• Balance like a flamingo.

Children's yoga cards, yoga mats for kids, movement cards, soft gym mats or balance toys are all useful.

Just 10 to 15 minutes can help bring a bit of calm back into the day.

19. Have a theme day

A rainy day becomes more exciting with a theme. For example:

• Jungle day

• Space day

• Dinosaur day

• Rainbow day

• Farm day

• Pirate day

To go with it, you can draw, craft, read books, listen to music or play a small game.

For a space day, this space set for kids (affiliate link) works nicely.

Themed books for children, dinosaur toys, space stickers, animal figures, pirate costumes, theme craft sets or children's posters all fit here.

A theme helps especially when you can't otherwise think of a single activity.

20. Deliberately allow for a quiet afternoon

Not every rainy day needs to be packed with activities. Sometimes children also need boredom, quiet and free space. You can lay out a few options and let the children decide for themselves.

For example:

• Book basket

• Puzzle

• Drawing pad

• Building blocks

• Audiobook

• Cosy corner

• a small snack break

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

For parents especially, it is important not to have to fill every moment perfectly. A quiet rainy day is also allowed to simply be cosy.

Handy things worth having for rainy days at home

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

Handy things include, for example:

• Craft paper

• Glue sticks

• Children's scissors

• Stickers

• Watercolours

• Colouring books

• Coloured pencils

• Playdough

• Puzzles

• Board games

• Children's books

• Audiobooks

• Building blocks

• Science kits

• Snack boxes

• Children's baking tins

• Dress-up box

• Movement cards

• Children's yoga cards

• Storage baskets

You don't need to have everything at once. Even a small selection is enough to make rainy days feel more relaxed.

Conclusion: rainy weather with kids doesn't have to be boring

Rainy weather can be tiring, but it can also be a good opportunity to spend deliberate time together. With simple ideas like crafting, baking, building a den, storytime, puzzling or small movement games, a grey day quickly turns into a cosy family afternoon.

It is important not to set your expectations too high. Not every activity has to work perfectly. Sometimes a small idea is enough to change the mood.

And if you'd rather head outside after all: soon the Unitee app will help you discover suitable family events, courses and activities for kids near you more easily — even on rainy days.