Are you looking for great indoor games for your kids? I live in Los Angeles, so it’s pretty much 70 degrees and sunny most days of the year. (I know, it sounds like I’m bragging, but we will probably run out of water and wind up perpetually thirsty so don’t be jealous.) Still, I’ve had those cold, rainy days with stir-crazy kids, so I can only imagine what it’s like for parents who deal with week-long snowstorms and freezing temps. Plus, there are those stifling hot days when all you can do is sit in the air-conditioning. Enter indoor games. Because here’s the thing: Even children who love TV and movies can only watch so many shows until they’re ready to do something, anything else. And despite the fact that your house is practically bursting with toys, toys, and more toys, it can get a little been-there, done-that after several days stuck inside.
So, the next time you’re trapped at home with nothing to do, try one of these amazingly fun and creative indoor games for kids!
Ice Tower Excavation
Freeze rainbow-colored trinkets in a long container filled with water. Then, give your kids squeezy bottles, salt, and eye droppers that they can use, with warm water, to dig out the treasures.
Get the how-to at Fun At Home With Kids
Photo: Fun At Home With Kids
Button Snake
Take a ribbon and sew a button onto one side. Then, give your kids colorful pieces of felt to string along the ribbon, creating a snake.
Get the how-to at Happy Hooligans
Photo: Happy Hooligans
DIY Milk Carton Houses
Teach your kids the importance of recycling by reusing milk cartons to create cool playhouses for small toys. When not in use, these miniature milk carton houses serve as decorative objects on a bookshelf.
Get the how-to at Momtastic
Photo: Brittni Melhoff/Momtastic
Rainbow Cake Baking
Cold days are perfect for baking, but you can draw out the activity even further by making it a rainbow swirl cake.
Get the how-to at In Katrina's Kitchen
Photo: In Katrina's Kitchen
Lowercase Letters Scavenger Hunt
Pull a bunch of long strings across the room and attach multiple clothespins. Use them to hang small colorful wood letters, then ask your kids to find as many as they can. Make it a teaching game by asking them to create words with what they've found.
Get the how-to at Hands On As We Grow
Photo: Hands On As We Grow
Shaving Cream Paint
Using shaving cream and food coloring, create foamy, fluffy paints for him to use in the bathtub.
Get the how-to at Meet the Dubiens
Photo: Meet the Dubiens
Stained Glass Art
Using cellophane shapes and soapy water, your kids can temporarily paste colors to the window, creating stained-glass designs.
Get the how-to at What Do We Do All Day
Photo: What Do We Do All Day
Sticky Spider Web
String painter's tape up in a wide doorway, creating a spider web pattern. Then, ball up pieces of paper and take turns throwing them against the web.
Get the how-to at Hands On As We Grow
Photo: Hands On As We Grow
Styrofoam Sculptures
It's not all that environmentally-friendly, but if you create a stockpile of styrofoam pieces, your kids can use them to create sculptural works of art.
Get the how-to at Artful Parent
Photo: Artful Parent
Wrist Bells
Using cotton belting, velcro, and jingle bells, you can create DIY musical instruments that your kids can shake from their wrists and ankles.
Get the how-to at Skip To My Lou
Photo: Skip To My Lou
Yarn Drawings
Indoor games don't have to be complicated or expensive! With a little sandpaper and yarn, your kids can twirl and tack shapes, letters, and drawings.
Get the how-to at Momtastic
Photo: Stephanie Morgan/Momtastic
Balloon Ping Pong
Using paper plates and some kind of stick, you can create racquets to bat a balloon back-and-forth with.
Get the how-to at The Weekend Homemaker
Photo: The Weekend Homemaker
Button Art
Paint an image like a bare tree or plant onto a stretched canvas. Then, gather up all of those loose buttons around the house (or buy them) and have your kids glue them to the design.
Get the how-to at Simply Designing
Photo: Simply Designing
Claw-Grabbing Clothespins
Strengthen your tot's fine motor skills, encouraging him to grab as many small pom-poms as he can with a clothespin.
Get the how-to at Hands On As We Grow
Photo: Hands On As We Grow
DIY Playhouse
Indoor playhouses can be incredibly expensive, with some costing several hundreds of dollars. With cardboard boxes, decorative paper, and some imagination, you and your kids can create cool indoor playhouses on the cheap!
Get the how-to at A Beautiful Mess
Photo: A Beautiful Mess
Exploding Car Wash
Throw baking soda into a tray, and have your kids use it as a snowy track or construction site for their cars. Then, when they're finished, dump in some vinegar and watch the whole thing bubble over.
Get the how-to at What Do We Do All Day
Photo: What Do We Do All Day
Float or Sink Experiment
Fill a tub with water. Gather up objects from around the house and ask your kid to guess if it will float or sink. Then put each one to the test.
Get the how-to at Hands On As We Grow
Photo: Hands On As We Grow
Matching Pairs Hide-and-Seek Game
Fill a tub with rice, and then hide matching pairs of everyday items inside, instructing your preschooler to find each set.
Get the how-to at The Imagination Tree
Photo: The Imagination Tree
Homemade Playdough
With flour, water, cream of tartar, and food coloring, you can easily make your own dough.
Get the how-to at Musings from a Stay at Home Mom
Photo: Musings from a Stay at Home Mom
DIY Twister
You may not own the game but, as long as you have construction paper and tape, you can create your own Twister board.
Get the how-to at Paging Super Mom
Photo: Paging Super Mom
String Lazer Maze
All you need is some yarn and some tape to create a Mission-Impossible maze in your house. Have the kids crawl over and through, without touching the string, to retrieve a prize at the end.
Get the how-to at My Kids' Adventures
Photo: My Kids' Adventures
Measuring the House
Work on your children's math skills with these printable worksheets that encourage kids to measure everyday items and rooms in their house.
Get the how-to at Let's Explore
Photo: Let's Explore
Masking Tape Speedway
For this indoor game, have your kid create his own racetrack -- over and under furniture, down stairs -- using masking tape. He can make a speedway that spans the whole house if he feels like it.
Get the how-to at Kids Activities Blog
Photo: Kids Activities Blog
Nerf Target Practice
Set up a tower using plastic cups and figurines. Then have your kids take turns knocking them down using Nerf guns or just soft balls.
Get the how-to at Busy Kids Happy Mom
Photo: Busy Kids Happy Mom
Newspaper Forts
If you still get newspapers delivered to your house, consider saving them to use on a rainy day. By rolling up the paper, your kid can create the frame for a cool fort.
Get the how-to at Modern Parents Messy Kids
Photo: Modern Parents Messy Kids
Paper Collages
Cut out scraps of paper in various shapes and use them to create colorful collages.
Get the how-to at Artsy Craftsy Mom
Photo: Artsy Craftsy Mom
Pipe Cleaner Play
Get out your colander and put your kids to work sticking pipe cleaners inside the holes.
Get the how-to at Toddler Approved!
Photo: Toddler Approved!
Racing Pom-Poms
For this indoor kid's game, create a track out of masking tape. Then give each of your kids a straw and encourage a race where they blow small pom-poms down the course.
Get the how-to at Frugal Fun 4 Boys
Photo: Frugal Fun 4 Boys
Pretend Play Campfire
This indoor game is both a craft and imagination game -- first, she can make a "campfire" out of cellophane and a long paper roll. Then, you can pitch a tent in your playroom, pack snacks, and pretend you're camping.
Get the how-to at No Time For Flashcards
Photo: No Time For Flashcards
More Indoor Games & Other Ideas to Entertain Kids:
Fun Car Games That Will Entertain Your Kids for Hours
Amazing Sensory Play Ideas (& How Sensory Play Benefits Kids)
13 Obsessively Fun Dollar Tree Toys for Kids
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