Listen, I love my kids. Deeply. But when it’s been raining for hours (or days), everyone’s stuck inside, and the energy level is out of control, things can go downhill fast. If you’ve ever looked around your house at 2:30 pm and thought, “We are not going to survive this,” this post is for you.
Table of Contents
I’m not going to give you a list of complicated crafts that require 47 supplies you don’t own. These are my realistic, low-prep, low-stress activities that I keep in my back pocket for rainy days with a house full of kids!
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1. Build a Fort
Not just a little blanket fort, but a full blown fort that requires couch cushions and every blanket and pillow you own.
Then, if you’re really committed to making this awesome, consider making it a “yes fort.”
We don’t let our kids eat anywhere except for the dining table, but on really crazy weather days, we’ll make a “yes fort.” On those days, our kids are allowed to take snacks and even fun drinks in their water bottles into their fort.
I kind of resign myself to the fact that this will be slightly messy and will require some cleanup, but it will save your sanity and buy you AT LEAST an hour of peace!
2. Movie Day…But Make It An Experience
Don’t just turn on a movie and plant your kids on the couch (although, no judgement if this becomes your go-to on super hard days) but let’s turn this into a whole experience.
Let your kids “buy” tickets with Monopoly money or some other play money, make popcorn, turn off the lights, and sell snacks from your kitchen.
These super simple changes will turn a normal movie into a fun experience your kids will always remember!
3. Tape Game Olympics
I always keep blue painter’s tape on hand for this. We seem to always be in the middle of a home project anyway, so this is kind of a win-win!
We make hopscotch games on the floor, make fun games with ping pong balls on the dining room table, and I make a race track for little Hot Wheels cars for my littlest kids.
It’s simple, but it’s out of the norm for us. That’s what makes it feel special on rainy days.
4. Bake Something Easy Together
You don’t need a complicated recipe.
You just pick something simple that you have all of the ingredients for. It’s a little messier with kids helping, but it fills time, keeps little hands busy, and you get to lick a bowl clean when the kids leave the room.
One of our favorites in our house is similar to Rice Krispy treats, but with Cheerios instead. Cheerios, marshmallows, butter, and a few tablespoons of peanut butter make a yummy no-bake treat that we call “stickies” in our house.
It’s one of our favorite bad weather traditions!
5. Try a Scavenger Hunt
I’m still nursing our youngest, so I need activities that don’t take much time or effort.
This one takes almost no prep at all.
While I’m nursing our baby on the couch, I give them a list of things like “something soft, something red, something you can wear, something that makes noise”, etc.
If you have a little more bandwidth, you can hide a few items and give clues.
It keeps your kids moving and focused and gives you a break from the constant moaning of “I’m bored” and pleas for more screentime.
6. Rotate Toys
This one is just a way of life in our house, but it will save you on rainy days.
Spend a few hours on a weekend and separate toys into 3 or 4 bins. Only let your kids choose one bin to keep in their bedroom/playroom.
Everything else goes to the garage or basement.
When they get bored with the toys they have available to them, have them pack all of their current toys back into a bin and trade it in for one that is in your garage or basement.
Suddenly, those old toys feel new again and will keep your kids busy for hours!
The best part is that your home feels WAY less cluttered!
While this is a great strategy for rainy days, you will reap the rewards every single day!
7. Have a Dance Party!
When things start getting loud in a not-so-good way, don’t even address it.
Instead, turn music up uncomfortably loud (we love our Alexa for this) and start dancing around the house.
Yes, you’ll look like a goofball, but your kids will have no choice but to notice.
Soon they’ll stop fighting and join in!
It usually resets the mood way faster than trying to calm everyone down!
8. Give Them a Cardboard Box
When all else fails, just add a cardboard box.
This is honestly one of the easiest wins.
You know that frustration from Christmas morning when your kids are only interested in playing with the cardboard boxes that all of those expensive toys came in?
Use that to your advantage on rainy days!
A plain cardboard box just somehow sparks the creativity in kids like few other things can.
Add markers, tape, and let them figure it out.
Kids don’t need perfect, they just need something to create with.
9. Read Aloud (Even If They’re Older)
We homeschool so I am always reading to our kids anyway.
When the day feels chaotic, whether it’s a homeschool day that’s just not going to plan or a rainy day when everyone is bored, I sit them down and read to them.
This usually resets the mood enough on busy weekdays for me to redirect everyone to something educational afterward.
It works just as well on rainy days when everyone is going a little stir crazy.
My Personal Favorite
I absolutely loved “the floor is lava” as a kid and now my kids do too!
Our kids jump from the couch to the coffee table to a pillow on the floor…
You get the picture.
The last kid that hasn’t touched the floor wins!
You can also set up an indoor obstacle course…army crawling under the coffee table, walking one foot in front of the other down a taped line on the floor (painter’s tape for the win, again!).
There are so many ways to burn physical energy when you’re stuck inside if you just use your imagination!
Let Them Be Bored
This one is hard to do and super painful when you’re being complained at all day, but hear me out.
You don’t have to fill every second.
In fact, having kids that need to be entertained constantly is so exhausting for you in the long run.
If you try some of these options and your kids are still complaining that they’re bored, start telling them that being bored is a good thing.
It gives their little brains room to get creative and make fun where they didn’t know it existed.
The best thing you can do for your kids is to let them be bored sometimes and to let them figure it out on their own.
You don’t even have to make rainy days magical.
If your kids are safe and fed, you’re doing enough. Some days will feel smooth, others will feel like you are in survival mode. Both are normal.
Honestly, these are the days your kids will remember anyway, even if you’re just trying to make it to bedtime. Do what you can, keep it simple, and soak it up. These are the days you’ll wish you could get back!
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