10 awesome creative indoor activities for bored kids

We know the scene: you meant to take the kids to that new whizzy playground in town and get ice cream, but the rain just started hammering.

You know what your kids are capable of when they get bored at home and would rather not have the Lego and the saucepan used for tennis again… but you also reaaaaally don’t want them to spend the entire morning glued to a screen.

What’s a parent to do?

Fret not, kids are born creators – they just need a little inspiration sometimes.

Check out our ten boredom-beating ideas for keeping children entertained indoors.

1. Fun with Tape

A mere roll of masking tape could be your secret weapon in keeping the kids amused at home. Think of pavement chalk but for indoors – the possibilities are endless!

Use the tape to create a hopscotch grid and get the kids to toss and collect a bean bag or a stuffed toy as they hop away.

Go for a giant noughts and crosses with Xs and Os marked on paper plates or pieces of scrap paper.

Turn the living room into a race-car track for toy cars to zoom around or create a grand mansion for dolls to live in.

Just remember to test the tape doesn’t leave a sticky residue behind before letting anyone pint-sized loose with it!

2. Disco Time

Is there a better mood booster than dancing to upbeat music and busting some funny moves?

As a bonus, putting on an impromptu disco at home takes minimal prep. Got floor space? Got tunes? Then you’re good to go!

Ask the kids to teach you the latest dance craze and show them the moves that were all the rage when you were young.

For more giggles, play a few rounds of musical statues.

You know the one: everyone must stop when the music stops. If someone fails to freeze quick enough, they’ve got to… Well, maybe the kids have a creative idea for that?

3. Indoor Olympics

Indoor Olympics is a winner when the kids have a ton of excess energy to burn off and the playground isn’t an option.

Here are a few ideas:

Time them hopping, crawling or waddling from one end of the hallway to the other as different animals, test their limbo skills, or challenge them to throw balled up socks into a laundry basket from further and further away.

At the end of the games, hold an award ceremony where everyone gets a homemade medal or a certificate for a specific thing they excelled at.

4. Talent Show

Have you got star material in the house?

Kids jump at a chance to show off their talents in front of an adoring audience.

A ballet routine, singing, magic tricks and knock-knock jokes all work as solo shows. Or why not get them working together to put on a mini musical or a theatre performance complete with outfits and props?

If the ideas aren’t flowing, try improv comedy: someone shouts out a random object, a location and an emotion.

What kind of scene would take place if there was, say, a rubber duck on the moon and someone was feeling proud?

5. Pop-Up Art Gallery

Are your children (read: you) in the mood for a calmer activity?

Get your little ones to don a beret (optional) and create a masterpiece or two for the grand opening of your very own pop-up art gallery.

Happily, there’s no wrong way to do this.

Do you have a specific art project in mind? Great, go for it. Do you just want to empty your entire arts and crafts arsenal on the kitchen table and leave them to it? Also great!

When the creations are finished, display the paintings, play dough sculptures and collages in your chosen gallery space and ask the artists to say something about their work.

Don’t forget to document it all!

6. Snail Mail

In this fast-paced world of instant electronic communication, there’s something very special about sending and receiving snail mail.

Why not get the kids around a table to pen a greeting to a friend or a relative?

It doesn’t have to be a traditional letter either. Anything goes as long as it fits on a postcard or inside an envelope - think jokes, poems, mini paintings and even hand-drawn comics.

7. Pencil and Paper Games

Pencil and paper games have endured for a reason; they never stopped being fun!

Thanks to their simplicity, they’re also a great way to get collaborative with the kids.

For a non-competitive and creative activity, try drawing a picture together with each person taking turns to add a new detail to the scene.

See what story emerges.

Who are these characters and what are they up to?

And of course anything you can play on Squiggle can be played with pencil and paper. Why not try The Squiggle Game, Hangman or Noughts & Crosses.

8. What am I?

Sometimes you just need a game that requires no stuff whatsoever.

Try a guessing game where everyone takes a turn to pick an animal and others work out what it is by asking yes or no questions.

Is it small?

No.

Can it swim?

Yes.

Does it eat other animals?

Yes.

Is it a shark?

Yes!

Of course, the game doesn’t have to be about animals. You could also pick cartoon characters or pop stars – whatever appeals to your children the most.

9. Pea Fair

Do your kids love to play shop?

In this variation, everyone has a stall (a cardboard box or a folded blanket works fine) and comes up with something they want to sell. You could try to make a buck out of braiding hair, telling fortunes or selling portraits.

Only the ‘money’ in this case is dried peas (or any other dried food you have to hand; pasta, lentils, nuts)!

Everyone gets the same amount of peas in the beginning and then can choose to go on a wild spending spree or try to accumulate as many peas as they can.

Educational? Perhaps. Entertaining? Absolutely.

10. Science Experiments

Science is fun. Messy science is even more fun.

And you probably already have the stuff you need to whip up some simple but curiosity-tickling experiments at home.

For example, you could stir equal amounts of cornflour and water together to create a very strangely behaving mixture.

Or create a colourful volcanic eruption in a bottle with nothing but bicarbonate of soda, food colouring and vinegar.

Got dish soap, dry yeast and hydrogen peroxide at home? Then you can make some elephant toothpaste.

There’s plenty to discover, and even parents might learn something new!

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Any more brilliant ideas to keep kids entertained indoors? We’d love to hear!

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Photo by Kristin Brown on Unsplash