10 Stay at Home Activities for Kids

It can sometimes be difficult to have fun activities ready children to play indoors at the last minute, especially if you need to buy supplies. On a day you had planned to take your kids out for fun, it could be stormy or way too hot outside. Now you’re left with kids who were ready for an exciting activity and now you’re looking for something entertaining for them to do indoors.

Luckily, there are plenty of fun activities to do last-minute in the comfort of your home! Not only are these simple for you to put together, but all you’ll need are common household products to create these unique activities your kids will love. So pick one (or more) of these 10 indoor activities for kids and get ready to play!

Bowling Alley

It may be too stormy, too hot out, or maybe you’re snowed in and there’s no chance you’re going to make it to the bowling alley. The good news is you can make a DIY bowling alley for your kids! There’s no need to make lanes and gutters, just grab a ball and find or make something can can serve as pins, such as a few empty 2-liter bottles, then bowl away!

Putt Putt Course

Another fun DIY project parents can make for their kids is a putt putt course! This might require more work than a bowling alley, but it all depends on how you decide to make it.

There are several different ways you can go about making a putt putt course. You could invest time and money by purchasing supplies such as wood, fake grass, miniature golf clubs and golf balls. Or you could make do with what you have and use a little imagination. To DIY, lay out a large blanket as the course, set up obstacles made from objects around your house, use a piece of paper or cup to aim for, tin foil for a golf ball, and make your own golf clubs!

I Spy

Not only is I Spy a fun indoor game that can be played no matter the weather, but it’s a game that can be played absolutely anywhere! It’s also fun for all ages and easy to play. Players simply take turns spying something around them by saying, for example, “I spy something blue.” The other players try to guess what it is. Whoever guesses correctly gets to spy next!

Theater

What kid doesn’t love putting on a play or puppet show for their parents? Luckily, making a DIY theater is very simple and easy. All you need is a giant box (one your kid can fit inside), scissors, spare fabric (maybe an old T-shirt), and glue.

Use scissors to cut a large hole in the upper third of the box. This will be the hole where your child performs the play. Cut up the spare fabric to make a set of curtains big enough to cover the hole in the box. Glue the top of the curtains down on the inside of the box directly above the hole, and – voila – a DIY theater for your child to perform plays in!

Cardboard “Guitars”

What kid doesn’t love playing instruments or “air” guitar? Luckily, you can make an easy and cute cardboard guitar for all of your kids! This is a very fun activity that will require some help from parents

All you need for this activity is a box (like a shoebox) for each guitar you plan on making, a tube (like a paper towel tube) for each box, four large rubber bands for each box, glue, and scissors.

Parents should cut out a circle in the center of the top of each box. The circle shouldn’t be too big, but big enough to fit your fist through it. Let your kids decorate their boxes if they want. Next, wrap around 4 rubber bands on each box so that all four rubber bands are equally spaced out over the hole you cut out. Glue a tube on one side of the box (if the box is square, it doesn’t matter which size. If the box is a rectangle, glue it on one of the shorter sides). Once the glue has dried, your kids are ready to rock out!

Telephone

Telephone is another great game to play indoors and always ends in a roar of giggles!

The game is simple and kids typically 3 and up can play. Sit in a circle and choose a player to start. The starting player thinks of a sentence to say – it can be anything such as “the blue cow jumps over the moon”. Then the starting player whispers it into the ear of the person on their right. That person then whispers what they think was said to them, into the ear of the person on their right. This continues until you reach the last person.

The last person then says what they think they heard out loud. Usually, the sentence will get mixed up along the way. For example, it may start off as “The monkey eats the banana every night,” but could end as “The mummy eats the bandana every night.” The kids will be laughing at what their phrases end up as at the end!

“Air” Hockey

Make your kids something they’d never expect – a hockey rink! This DIY project requires very little work and can supply hours of fun.

To make a hockey rink all you need is 4 household items: painter’s tape, jar caps, paint brushes, and Tupperware (rectangular would be best). Using the tape, cut strips to tape on the floor to create an air hockey sized rink. Set up two Tupperware containers on each end to serve as goals. Jar caps are the pucks and the paint brushes are the hockey stick. Let your children play against each other with this easy DIY “air” hockey that’s safe too!

Pen and Paper Games

Pen and paper, or pencil and paper, games are a classic. You can play these once, twice, or even 20 times and they’ll never get old. Another great thing about them is that there are so many options to choose from!

A classic pen and paper game is Tic-Tac-Toe. It’s a very easy game to play. For Tic-Tac-Toe set up the game by drawing a 3×3 grid. One player will be “x” and the other “o.” Players take turns placing their letter (either “x” or “o”) in a box on the grid. The object of the game is to get three in a row with your letter.

Card Games

Grab a deck of cards and let the games begin! Just like pen and paper games, there are so many options with cards. You could even have your kids make up their own card game to add a little extra fun!

Some classic card games for kids are Crazy Eights, Go Fish, and Slapjack.

Pop-Up Playhouse

Lastly, a great DIY project that you can make for your kids is a pop-up playhouse, and yes, it is just as fun as it sounds. Kids will love this project, because you give them their very own mini house. Much like many other DIY projects, there are very few supplies for this project, and most you probably already have.

To make a pop-up playhouse, use cardboard (from boxes), glue, tape, and scissors to build a small house big enough for your child to fit it. Even give it a door that opens and shuts for added fun! After you assemble the house however you want, you can let your kid decorate it with you with pain, stickers, glitter – whatever decorating supplies you have on hand! Then watch as they spend hours of fun in their pop-up playhouse!

Next time you and your kids are cooped up in your house, try out one of these fun and simple indoor activities for kids. They’re all easy to make or play and the best part is that most of the supplies needed are something you should already have in your house. So, what are you waiting for? Let your kids pick out what activity they want to play next and get started!

To learn more about our fun indoor activities your kids will enjoy outside the house, check our online calendar for upcoming special events and Open Bounces.