It’s 9:45 in the morning. I know this because I’ve looked at the clock maybe twelve times already and we haven’t even hit double digits yet. The rain is just going sideways out there, both kids have already told me they’re bored which is wild considering they’ve only been conscious for like two hours, and somebody just asked about going to the bounce place. For the third time.
You know this feeling right?
Here’s the thing. Rainy days sound nice in theory. Cozy blankets, warm drinks, maybe everyone just chills and watches a movie together like some kind of catalog family. But actual rainy days with actual children? It’s more like constantly breaking up fights while also trying to stop someone from doing parkour off the back of the couch.
After years of this though. Rainy days, snow days, weird days where nobody can go anywhere for whatever reason. I’ve figured something out. The good activities aren’t the Pinterest ones that need like fifteen different supplies from three different stores. The good ones are the ones you can throw together in five minutes with stuff you already have sitting around somewhere.
So. Here we go.
Fort Building But Make It Competitive
Starting with this one because it literally always works. Just give each kid or each team a pile of blankets and whatever cushions you can spare and maybe drag over some chairs. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. Let them build.
The trick is making it a competition of some kind. Biggest fort wins. Or coziest. Or best secret entrance. My kids spent an entire morning doing this once. Like the whole morning. And then they played inside the forts for another hour after that which felt kind of miraculous honestly.
If you have flashlights or those little battery fairy lights throw those in there too. Suddenly it’s not just a fort it’s like… headquarters for something. Kids love headquarters.
Floor Is Lava
This requires nothing except furniture you own and being okay with your kids jumping on things you’d normally say no to. I’m not saying let them destroy everything. But maybe just this once the couch cushions can go on the floor and the ottoman is a safe zone and we just let it happen.
The nice part about floor is lava is that it wears them out naturally. All that jumping and planning their route? Basically cardio disguised as destruction. And anything that burns energy when we can’t go outside is a win honestly.
Kitchen Sink Art Situation
You probably have paper somewhere. And crayons that are like 60% broken but technically still functional. Maybe some old magazines, a glue stick from who knows when, scissors.
That’s enough. That’s actually plenty.
Set up a little station and give them a prompt so they’re not just sitting there going I don’t know what to maaaake. Draw your dream house. Make a collage of stuff you like. Design an animal that doesn’t exist yet. Prompts help, especially for the kids who freeze up with too much open choice.
And here’s the real secret. This is a great time to sit nearby with your coffee and just… exist quietly for a minute. You’re there. You’re supervising. But you’re also taking a small moment and that matters too.
Cardboard Boxes
If you have an empty box anywhere and let’s be real everyone does because online shopping, you have entertainment. Big box becomes a car or a spaceship or a house or a robot suit. Little box becomes a stuffed animal bed or a treasure chest or whatever else they decide.
Hand over some markers and walk away. My daughter once turned an Amazon box into a full restaurant and spent like two hours taking orders and serving invisible food to her stuffed animals. I didn’t plan that. I just gave her a box and some crayons and it happened on its own.
Obstacle Course Using Whatever You Have
Couch cushions to jump over. A broom balanced between two chairs to crawl under. Tape on the floor to balance walk across. Pillows to hop between.
Make it as simple or complicated as you feel like. And here’s the good part. Once it’s set up you can time them going through it. Then they want to beat their time. Then they want to rearrange the whole thing and do it again.
That’s easily thirty minutes to an hour of active play. When you’re trapped inside that feels kind of miraculous.
Dance Party With Freezing
Put on music. Whatever music honestly, kid songs or just your own playlist doesn’t really matter. Everyone dances like maniacs until you pause it. Then freeze. Anyone who moves is out.
Or don’t even do the competitive version. Sometimes we just dance because everyone needs to move around and be ridiculous for awhile. It resets moods in a way that just sitting there doesn’t. I don’t know why but it works.
House Scavenger Hunt
Write a quick list. Something soft. Something blue. Something that starts with B. Something that makes you happy. You can adjust how hard it is based on how old your kids are and it keeps them busy hunting around while you get like five minutes of actual peace.
For the little ones I’ll draw pictures instead of writing words. Works just as good and they get so proud of themselves when they find everything.
Audiobook Plus Coloring
This is my secret move for that late afternoon stretch when everyone’s getting weird. Put on a kid podcast or audiobook, set out some coloring pages or just blank paper, let everyone zone out for awhile.
It’s calm. It’s quiet. It gives everyone’s whole system a chance to settle down.
Because here’s the real thing about rainy days. The activities matter yeah but so does the pacing of everything. You can’t do high energy stuff nonstop or everyone crashes by dinner. Including you. Gotta mix it up.
Rainy days feel so long when you’re in them. Like the hours just stretch out weird and you start wondering if it’s ever going to stop. But weirdly these days end up being some of my favorite memory times with my kids? The forts. The dance parties. That time we made the hallway into a bowling alley with water bottles and a soccer ball.
You don’t need special supplies or a perfect plan. You just need some creativity and a willingness to let things get a little messy or a little loud.
So next time it starts raining and you hear that dreaded I’m booooored, take a breath. You can do this.
What’s your go to rainy day thing? I’m always looking for more ideas to add to the rotation, especially stuff that doesn’t require leaving the house. Because honestly getting everyone out the door in the rain is a whole entire situation on its own.
