It's not always easy to think up fun indoor games for kids. Here are a few new options!
Are your grandchildren glued to their electronics when they come to visit? When it's gloomy outside, it can be difficult to come up with ways to connect indoors. It's time to tell them to put down the iPad, cell phones, and Nintendo 3DS. You can create dozens of fun indoor games for kids when it’s raining outside.
At any age, the following activities are creative ways to pass time and interact with your grandchildren.
Fun indoor games for kids that are creative
- Create soap art. Take a bar of white hand soap and draw with it on the bathroom mirror. Create a mural or outline your own reflection. This wipes off easily and is lots of fun.
- A roll of parchment paper goes a long way. If you have fingerpaint or washable paint, roll the parchment paper along the bathroom floor, then sit on the toilet or tub and paint the bottom of your feet. While the paint is wet, walk along the paper to leave a footprint trail. Little kids love this, and tile bathrooms are easy to clean afterward. Rinse off all feet in the tub when done.
- Plan a treasure hunt. Hide a small object in the house somewhere and have the kids find it using a treasure map you draw. Then, go in reverse and let the child hide something and draw the map. This game is even more fun if you hide a treat they can eat once found. Hiding quarters or dollars is another option.
- Roll a lucky strike. Bowling is an active indoor game that can be done in a hallway. Fill up water bottles with an inch or two of water and use any ball you have on hand.
- Make a fort. Use blankets and safety pins or couch cushions to build a fort. Have a tea party inside with teddy bears, or bring in flashlights and tell stories.
- Time to jump. Masking tape can turn your floor into one of the best indoor games for kids who happen to love hopscotch. You can use beanbags or pennies for tossing.
- Be a builder. Keep and collect empty cereal boxes, shoe boxes, and packages. Tape them closed and start to stack. You can make all sorts of things from castles to rocket ships. Or set up a tower and try to knock it over with a rolled up athletic sock.
Props help pass the time when it's raining
- Keep a bag of balloons on hand. Blow them up and use a badminton racket, a ping pong paddle, or your hands to keep the balloon off the ground. Or make balloon animals! Use markers to draw faces on round balloons.
- Blow bubbles. It sounds silly, but bubbles can be fun inside if you stay in the bathroom where they won’t damage carpets or hardwood floors.
- Dice can be found in most board games. All you need is one pair to play the following fun indoor games for kids:
- Be the first player to throw all the numbers from 1 to 12 in order.
- Throw the dice and add them. The highest number wins.
- Lucky 7: see who can be first to throw the number 7, seven times.
4. KNOT your average fun indoor game for kids. With a length of rope, go online and learn different sailor knots and how to tie them
5. Put on a show. Puppet shows are perfect for indoor play, whether you make your own from a sock or have some on hand.
Tried and true indoor games for kids that don’t involve crafts or props
- Charades. Act out movies, book titles, and video game characters. For younger kids, play “guess what I am” and act out an animal.
- Name as many as possible. Play list games and think of fun prizes for the winner: maybe an extra cookie for desert or even being able to choose the next game. Go back and forth and list as many things as you can. Here's a list example: kinds of fish, cartoon characters, fruits, etc. Whoever is last to list an answer, wins.
- Create a menu. Let your grandchildren play restaurant by perusing your cabinets and planning your next meal. They can design a menu, set the table, and serve the food they choose from what you have on hand. Hopefully, they'll participate in the food preparation, too.
- Rhyming fun. Write a poem or song lyrics where every other sentence rhymes. For younger kids, simply see if they can think of words that rhyme with what you say. See who can create the silliest rhyme. This is a fabulous way to practice word skills while having fun.
There are so many fun indoor games to be played with a little ingenuity and a lot of love.
The most important part of indoor games with kids is simply joining in, taking part, and being present. Make sure the kids help you clean up afterward. Even the activity of cleaning up can be made into a game and result in more quality time spent together.
Enjoy making memories with your loved ones, but don't forget about planning for the future. No one wants to leave their family with the burden of debt and funeral expenses. After you've conquered playing games, make it easier for your family by investing in Funeral Preplanning.
What fond memories of indoor games do you have from your childhood?