Ten of the best family rainy day activities

By now we are used to being stuck indoors after the Covid-19 pandemic but, as the days get lighter and the holidays loom getting outdoors is on top of everyones list. Then the heavens open! Don't let a rainy day stop play with these 10 great ideas on what to do when your stuck indoors. Hopefully by the time you got through a couple the clouds will disappear and you can go outside and let off some steam and of course, jump in muddy puddles!

Ten of the Best Family Rainy Day Activities

1. Body Painting

Buy a selection of bathtime body paints, then hop in the tub to paint designs on each body part, naming the body parts and the things you are drawing as you go... bees on their knees, a sweet on their feet and so on.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Munckin 5 pack Bath Crayons

>> WHY NOT TRY? Crayola Bathtub Crayons

2. Put on a Puppet Show

If you don’t have puppets to hand, then retrieve those fuzzy winter socks from the charity bag and turn them into colourful sock characters. You can do the same with paper bags and even those floppy yellow washing-up gloves. Cut out a large square from the centre of the bottom of a big cardboard box (to create a ‘proscenium arch’ for the show), put ‘curtains’ inside the box at either side, then see what the puppets have to tell you.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Peter Pan Puppets - DIY

3. Where are we Going Today?

Pull out a suitcase and have each child pack a bag – tell them not to tell you, but to choose a specific destination (the snow, the beach, a safari etc), then they can pack their bags with all the appropriate gear. When all the bags are packed, arrive at ‘the airport’ (aka your living room), then open the bags one at a time and have everyone decide where the bag was going. Everyone can then make postcards from their ‘destination’.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Oli Ella See-Ya Suitcase

>> WHY NOT TRY? Fearless Flamingo Kids Colour In Postcard Pack

4. Your Home Cinema

Set a start time, make big tubs of popcorn and ice-cream cones, then set up your comfy 'cinema' seating in rows and ‘sell’ tickets for the show. You could also make posters for the event. Winnie-The-Pooh, Babe, The Lion King, Shrek and Mary Poppins are all great ideas for a rainy-day movie.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Smartphone Projector 2.0

5. Hollywood Star

Line a kitchen tray with a layer of PlayDoh (about 2cm deep), then have your child press her hands down into the PlayDoh. Tell her to hold the pose for 30 seconds (while you take a paparazzi picture), Then help her scratch her name above the hand prints. Spray the PlayDoh with hairspray (so it will dry shiny instead of cracked) and let it dry.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Play-Doh Super Colour Kit

6. Line Dancing

Create a repeating pattern of steps (such as 4 steps left, clap, hop, jump, jump; turn around and repeat), then repeat over and over again until you all know how to do it really well. Try and come up with imaginative spins and turns to make it an even more dramatic performance.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Early Learning Centre Giant Keyboard

7. Take turns Writing a Story and Illustrating it

Get a large scrapbook and have one child write the story on each right-hand page, then switch books and the other child can draw their illustration for the story on the left-hand page. Get out the glitter, glue and colourful paper for creating the cover illustration. And have a competition to come up with the title.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Draw & Write Your Own Story Book: Create your own story book for kids- a creative draw and write journal book

8. Make a Family Tree

Give your child a big board of cardboard then show him how to ‘grow’ his family tree – starting with himself at the very bottom and with you and your partner on the next branch. The next branch will split further with each of your mothers and fathers, followed by more branches for aunts and uncles. When all the details are in place, he can draw a big tree picture over the top, using the chart’s branches to guide the drawing of his tree.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Pirouette Cacahouète Creative Kit - Family Tree

9. Get a Pen Pal

Inspire your child’s love of writing letters by setting her up with an international pen pal. Over the age of three, the excitement of getting her very own letter in the post will be inspiration enough. If you have friends living overseas who have children of a similar age, this is the perfect way to begin – for older children, remind them that they can collect stamps and postcards from another part of the world. If you are not in this situation, your child can join a letter-writing organisation like Banjo Robinson.

>> WHY NOT TRY? The Chiswick Gift Company Children's Letter Writing Gift Set

10. Start a Holiday Diary

Buy a book that you can fill with drawings, photographs, musings, poems and dried flowers – anything that reminds you of each and every day. Even toddlers can have a holiday diary – although you may have to help them quite a bit.

>> WHY NOT TRY? Take Me On Holiday by Agnes and Aubrey