Rainy Day? 15 Fun Ideas to Keep the Kids Busy Indoors

By Tamara Rahoumi
Aaron Dyer
Stuck inside on a rainy day? Help kids beat the weather-induced boredom by having a few simple rainy day crafts and games at the ready, including toys, activities, and make-your-own candy.
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Supersize Your Coloring

Aaron Dyer

Coloring is always fun for little kids, but you can put a twist on the usual coloring books and pages by thinking bigger. A supersize coloring page adds a sense of novelty to the activity while making for a bigger project for your kid to tackle.

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Grow Crystal Egg Geodes

Get the Crystal Egg Geodes How-To

Take a closer look at these glittery geodes: they're not rocks at all -- they're eggs! It's an easy science project that will make the kids say, "Wow!"

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Pull Out a Dress-Up Box

Keeping a box of costumes and props (anything from old clothes and costume jewelry to Halloween costumes) stocked for impromptu dress-up sessions is a surefire way to keep kids busy for hours on end. 

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Play Indoor Hopscotch

When rain gets in the way of having fun outdoors, bring outdoor fun... indoors! A hopscotch mat brings the popular sidewalk game into the house, and is a great way to keep kids moving and a bit active without going outside. 

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Get Messy with DIY Playdough

All you need to do is raid your kitchen pantry for the household ingredients needed to whip up your own batch of playtime clay. The rest is in their hands (literally).

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Get Wild with Animal Masks

Gather up an empty cereal box or two and some assorted papers (patterend or solid) and help kids make cool animal masks that make playing pretend way more exciting.

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Eat This Edible Art

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Playing with your food, encouraged! Whip up some sugar cookies to give kids a canvas for food-coloring artwork that they can (briefly) marvel at, before munching on it. 

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Make Memory Jars

That memorabilia piled up from your last family trip? Collect everything -- ticket stubs, photos, small souvenirs, etc. -- and curate them into a small handheld jar. The jar, which kids can decorate, will serve as a sweet souvenir of its own. 

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Create a New Rock Collection

This is a bit of a two-parter: On a day when it's not raining, go on an adventure with your kids and have them pick out different rocks and stones that they like, and tell them that you're going to save the rocks for a rainy day. When that day comes, pull out the rocks, craft paint, glue, and any other supplies, and let kids come up with their own stone creations. 

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Color with Crazy Crayons

Get the Crazy Crayons How-To

Shake up an afternoon of coloring by having kids make their own fun, multi-colored crayons using bits of old crayons. Use tin pans with fun shapes for a finished product that won't just help kids color in their masterpieces, but that might as well be a masterpiece itself!

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