10 Indoor Winter Activities for Kids ❄️

Cold winter days are upon us and with covid safety precautions many of us are staying inside this time of year. Are you looking for fun ideas and activities to do with kids?? Well, you’re in the right place! Below are 10 ideas for kids, families and heck, grown up’s too because everyone deserves to have some good old-fashioned fun without tablets or computer screens.

1. Indoor Camping

Who doesn’t love camping? Especially when you don’t need any bug spray! Setting up a tent in a bedroom, den or living area for the night is bound to be fun had by all. If you don’t own a tent you can easily find one that’s affordable in a local store nearby. Have a backyard space? Get a fire going to do a little marshmallow roast after dinner! Who doesn’t love a good s’more! Even if you have limited patio space, there is an amazing American made product you can support called City Bonfires. This company was built by two fathers who lost their jobs during this pandemic – so remember when you shop local you support actual families! You can check out their website here !

City Bonfires Photo by: Eventfully Chelsea

An indoor camp-out means you also need your sleeping bag, comfy pillows, pajamas, some books and a fun lantern. You can tell campfire stories, sing songs or to further add to the experience, get glow in the dark stars to stick all around your room/tent or buy a star projector to spend the night stargazing indoors. Imagination will provide you with unlimited possibilities✨

A few other camping ideas may include roasting hot dogs, decorating your tent with twinkle lights, planning fun crafts like your own DIY tissue paper fire-pit and grabbing a radio or listening to an audible story while stargazing for the night.

Image from Pinterest – Source not found

2. DIY Ball-Pit

Creating a ball pit for kids in your home is every kids dream come true! As long as they know the clean up song when they finish up playtime – then you are good to go on this one! It’s as easy as ordering a small inflatable kiddie pool and filling it up with balls. Now, if you have the space and really want to create something epic — there are a ton of instructions online to create your PVC ball pit too! Here is one site I found as an example: click here !

Some families even add in a Fischer-Price slide! This creative activity is absolutely something to keep in mind this winter! Your little ones will be entertained for hours on end!

Image from Pinterest

3. Make your own Play-dough

This is a great sensory activity for kids and with the right recipe, your homemade playdough can be stored in a bag for months to reuse time and time again. All you need is a few simple ingredients, some cookie cutters and a rolling pin. This was an activity I would do at my grandma’s house as a kid and would love it! I would help her make the dough and I’d be fully entertained for hours. Kids at just about every age have fun with this one!

Image by Create.Play.Travel

Here’s what you need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 salt

• 4 tsp cream of tarter

• 2 cups lukewarm water

• 2 tablespoons of oil

• food coloring

• quart sized ziplock bags

Directions: Mix flour, salt and cream of tarter in a large pot. Then mix the oil and water. Cook over a medium-heat and stir until the dough thickens and forms a ball. Once it does, transfer to wax paper to let cool and knead until smooth. If you want to have different colors divide the dough into parts. Place each divided part into its own ziplock bag with about 5 drops or more of food dye. Knead the dough while it’s in a ziplock bag so that no one gets food dye onto their hands. (less mess the better!) Once it’s mixed, the homemade play dough is ready to go. Dough can be stored for up to 3 months in the ziplock bags! Feel free to add glitter for some extra sparkle! *REMINDER* this dough should NOT be consumed. Just for play👍

4. Popsicle Stick Crafts

There are many ways to craft with popsicle sticks and it’s a cheap, easy activity. From bird feeders, to houses, to boats, stars, ornaments and more. Let your little ones imagination run wild!

Fairy Popsicle Stick House Image & Craft by Elyse Major

5. Dance Party

This is as simple as it sounds! All you need is some good music and maybe a disco party light for dramatic effects!! Dancing is known to be good for the soul. It lets out energy, laughter and good vibes! A fun way to boost that immune system too 🎶

6. Board Games

Now, board games may sound like a thing of the past but they are a great way for families to bond and spend quality time! There are countless classics like Operation, Clue, Scrabble, Twister and Monopoly. Two personal favorites of mine growing up were Kerplunk and Mouse Trap! You can also grab a pack of cards and play some go-fish or buy a bop-it or a classic Simon toy. The best part about board games is that it is fun for all members of the family.

According to New York Mag the following games are relatively new and have the most positive reviews such as Spot It, Chutes and Ladders, Double Ditto, BattleShip and Jenga just to names a few.

7. Painting Rocks

Pet Rocks were first invented in 1975 and believe it or not they are still a great hit! Can you believe an idea like a pet rock turned into a $15 million dollar business?? It goes to show any idea can be made possible!!

In modern days, rock painting kits are most popular. You can paint any kind of design you would like such as animals, inspirational quotes, make magic rocks, dinosaurs and monsters too!

Any paint project needs ample amounts of newspaper to keep things mess-free along with water, paint brushes, paints and paper plates.

8. Baking Cookies & Cakes

The best part of baking is reaping its rewards! From cookies to cakes and pies galore! You can create any treat you enjoy.

Cupcakes are great because kids can add their own frosting and toppings. Chocolate chip cookies are an easy classic and if you are not much of a baker you can simply grab a bag of cookie mix! A cookie mix is just as fun and delicious!

Considering we are currently in December it is one of the best times of the year to bake holiday cookies and create new traditions with your family. Last year I shared my 12 Days of Christmas Sweets & Treats that you can view here for inspiration!

9. Salt Dough Ornaments

In lieu of the holiday season another great activity is baking your very own ornaments for your tree. It’s a craft you will cherish for many years to come!

All you’ll need is flour, salt and water. Mix well in a bowl. Knead the dough until smooth. Once done, you can custom create shapes, beads and other festive ornaments. Preheat an oven to 225°F and bake for 2-3 hours or until dry. Let cool. Once they have cooled you can paint them and/or add glitter, too. You can also paint all your ornaments white which is the most popular, classic choice. After the paint dries it’s best to preserve your creations with an acrylic gloss.

10. Indoor Scavenger Hunt

Last but certainly not least, create your own indoor scavenger hunt! This activity is a creative way for kids to read rhymes and search for clues. There are various printables online or you can write out your own.

In order to create a scavenger hunt you need to tape clues in different places around the house or within a room and you can have as many or as little clue cards as you want. The final card uncovers a surprise which is a great opportunity to make sweet goodie bags that each contestant can win in their own time. The best way to set up this kind of game is to prepare everything and lay it out the night before while the kids are asleep.

If creating clues seems like too much you can always create a scavenger list for kids to run around and find household items for example: something red, something shiny, something to wear and so on!

I hope you have a spark of inspiration from reading these 10 indoor winter activities to do with your kids! Imagination has no bounds! ❤️

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and safe holiday season as we all await new blessings and beginnings in 2021! Thank you for reading along with me as I celebrate my one year blog anniversary for Stargazed Events today!