Housebound, bored kids and wet weather can make for a heady mix of mayhem and mess. Parents and carers sometimes feel they need to have an arsenal of ideas to placate kids and keep them occupied. There is a school of thought that encourages boredom in kids so they can use their imagination and stop being bored. There is another argument that advises kids to get wrapped up, get outside and play in the rain. However, having a few suggestions that kids can take on inside and make their own fun is not a bad idea and can buy you some time or create memorable, quality family time.
Here at PopKit, we’ve come up with our Top 10 ideas to bust kids’ rainy day boredom.
Got a blank wall and some eager creative spirits? Good. Add in some disposable gloves, a blank canvas, a palette knife, polyfiller, some paint and a well ventilated room, and you now have a plan. Slap the polyfiller onto the canvas and create interesting shapes or swirls with the palette knife to make a unique piece of wall art that can be painted when dry to suit a room colour scheme or just for fun! Take a look at this video to help you get a sense of how brilliant this rainy day activity can be.
Who doesn’t love to build a den? A few chairs, a couple of bedsheets, a torch and some snacks can make for a fun few hours in a den. Kids can make their dens cosy with cushions, blankets and fairy lights. A few pegs to keep the sheets in position will help along with a broom as this can act as an extra roof support. Avid readers can use their dens as a secret library and film watchers can transform their den into a mini cinema. For those that want something ready made, try this kids teepee tent for an instant den experience. A more affordable option is this colour in cardboard castle playhouse from Hobbycraft at £18. And best of all, when the kids are done with making dens, it can be recycled.
This cost effective rainy day activity idea is simple to make, but here at POP, we’ve gone one step further and made up one you can download and print! Get the rainy day indoor scavenger hunt activity by clicking this link.
Kids love making these super simple pizza muffins from Pure Wow and with only 5 ingredients, you will too!
Ingredients to make 12 pizza muffins:
3 pounds of pizza dough (store-bought or homemade)
1½ cups marinara sauce, plus more for serving
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Olive oil, as needed for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the cavities of a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Divide the pizza dough into 12 even pieces. Use your hands and a lightly floured surface to pull each piece of dough into a ¼-inch-thick, 2-by-4-inch rectangle.
- Working one at a time, spread 2 tablespoons marinara sauce on the surface of the dough. Sprinkle ⅛ teaspoon oregano over the surface and then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cheese on top.
- Starting at one of the longer sides, roll the dough into a spiral. Fold the spiral in half and place it in one of the prepared muffin cups (ends facing up).
- Repeat with the remaining dough and fillings. Brush the surface of each muffin with the olive oil and then bake until the dough is golden and the cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool slightly and then serve warm (or at room temperature) with a side of warm marinara sauce for dipping.
This one is a great activity for kids to get their colouring pencils out and get creative. All they need to do is take a book they are reading or have enjoyed in the past and re-design the front cover. For some inspiration, check out Han O’Reily’s Pinterest board showing a selection of amazingly creative children’s book covers.
Not hard to imagine or play, balloon badminton is mess free and unlike ball games, won’t smash any vases or hurt when it hits someone! Take a look at a video explaining the set up and rules of balloon badminton here.
Would you rather is a fun game for all ages, but how about one specifically for kids. The selection of ‘Would you rather’ questions is taken from Mommy Poppins. Check out their site for more ideas:
Would you rather travel back in time to the year your parents were born or travel 20 years into the future?
Would you rather surf a 100-foot wave or scuba dive 100 feet under the ocean?
Would you rather be 1 year old forever or 100 years old forever?
Would you rather stay overnight in a tree house or submarine?
Set your child a challenge by asking them to build the tallest tower, the most colourful shape, a rocket, castle, house, car….the list goes on. You can add in a timed element and if you have more than one child, make it a competition to see who can build the item the fastest. Write ideas for items to build on little pieces of paper and add them to a jar, each child could select a piece of paper so they can self manage this rainy day activity. Try this website for more ideas and tutorials for rainy day lego activities for all ages.
Who doesn’t love a wordsearch: simple and frustrating in equal measure! No need to spend time making your own with paper and a pencil because there are websites that help you make your own digitally. You can then print them out for your child to have a go. Because you can add your own words to include, you can make it personalised and this will help to engage your child in this rainy day activity. Check out this website to get started making yoru own wordsearch. Just type a list of words that interest your child: their favourite sports, foods, places, colours, animals, etc and let the software work its magic in super fast time.
And now for the ultimate rainy day activity for kids aged between 3 and 11: our own creative fashion design PopKits. Our mess free kits help to keep kids occupied and allow them to develop their confidence and creativity. We have lots of designs to choose from, from unicorns to dinosaurs and pattern making kits so that your child can express their individuality with ease. All you need to do is run an iron over their finished design to fix it in place and let their personality and design POP! Check out our latest fashion design kits for kids in our online shop here.