It’s 2 PM on a rainy Saturday, and I hear those dreaded words echo from the living room: “Mooooom, I’m bored!”
You know the scene. The weather’s terrible, you’ve already cycled through screen time, and your kids are bouncing off the walls with pent-up energy. The house suddenly feels about three sizes too small, and you’re pretty sure if you hear “there’s nothing to do” one more time, you might actually lose it.
Been there. Done that. Got the permanent marker stains on my couch to prove it.
Over the years of parenting three energetic kids (ages 5, 8, and 11), I’ve become something of an expert in indoor entertainment. Not because I’m particularly creative—trust me, I’m not—but because survival demanded it. Living in the Pacific Northwest means rainy days aren’t occasional; they’re a lifestyle. And with winters that seem to stretch on forever, I’ve had to get really good at keeping my crew engaged indoors without losing my sanity.
So grab your coffee (you’re going to need it), and let me share the indoor games and activities that have literally saved my sanity more times than I can count. These aren’t just time-fillers—they’re genuine, engaging activities that actually tire kids out, spark creativity, and sometimes even give you a few minutes of peace.
Why Indoor Games Matter More Than You Think
Before we dive into the fun stuff, let’s talk about why indoor play is actually crucial for child development—because knowing the “why” makes the chaos feel more purposeful, right?
The Science Behind Indoor Play
When kids are stuck inside, they don’t just need something to do—they need opportunities to burn energy, engage their minds, and develop important skills. Physical activity indoors helps with gross motor development, spatial awareness, and coordination. Creative play builds problem-solving skills and imagination. Social games teach cooperation, turn-taking, and emotional regulation.
I used to feel guilty about indoor days, like I was somehow depriving my kids of “real” play. But then I learned that the environment doesn’t matter as much as the quality of engagement. Indoor games can be just as beneficial as outdoor adventures—sometimes even more so because they require kids to think more creatively within limitations.
The Boredom Is Actually Good Philosophy
Here’s something I learned from my pediatrician that changed my perspective: a little boredom is actually healthy. It forces kids to tap into their creativity and figure things out for themselves. So while these games are fantastic for structured fun, don’t feel like you need to constantly entertain your children every second they’re indoors.
That said, having a arsenal of go-to activities is essential for those moments when boredom tips into chaos, or when you need them occupied while you make dinner, take a work call, or just need twenty minutes to yourself.
1: Indoor Obstacle Course (The Ultimate Energy Burner)
This is my number-one go-to when my kids are literally climbing the walls. An indoor obstacle course is exactly what it sounds like—a challenge course made from household items that gets kids moving and problem-solving.
How to Set It Up
Gather anything safe and sturdy: couch cushions, pillows, chairs, blankets, cardboard boxes, painter’s tape, and stuffed animals. Then create stations:
- Crawl under a blanket stretched between two chairs
- Jump over a line of stuffed animals
- Balance on strips of painter’s tape on the floor (lava!)
- Throw bean bags or balled-up socks into laundry baskets
- Climb over couch cushions arranged like mountains
- Zigzag through a path of plastic cups
The beauty of obstacle courses is that they’re different every time. My kids love creating them almost as much as they love running through them. I usually set a timer and see who can complete it fastest, or we do it together as a family challenge.
My Personal Twist
We created “obstacle course Friday” in our house. Every Friday after school, the kids get to design the course while I make snacks. It’s become this beloved tradition, and honestly, it tires them out so much that bedtime is a breeze.
One time, my eight-year-old created an obstacle course so elaborate it took up three rooms and involved a bucket of water (controlled chaos). Was it messy? Yes. Did she talk about it for weeks? Also yes. Those are the memories that matter.
2: Indoor Scavenger Hunt (With a Twist)
Scavenger hunts are classic for a reason—they’re endlessly adaptable and work for virtually any age group. But I’ve learned some tricks to make them extra engaging.
Different Types of Scavenger Hunts
Photo scavenger hunt: Give kids a list of things to photograph around the house (something blue, something soft, something that makes them happy). This works great for older kids with devices.
Sensory scavenger hunt: For younger children, have them find something rough, something smooth, something that smells good, something cold, etc.
Alphabet hunt: Find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet. This took my kids almost two hours once—score!
Color hunt: Collect one item of each color of the rainbow.
Riddle hunt: Write clues in riddles that lead from one location to the next, ending with a small prize (or just a silly dance party).
Making It Special
I like to tie scavenger hunts to themes. Around holidays, we do themed hunts. On birthday mornings, I create a hunt that leads to their gift. When we’re learning about something specific, I incorporate educational elements.
The key is variety. Once a specific type of scavenger hunt becomes predictable, switch it up. Trust me, kids catch on fast, and the mystery is half the fun.
3: Fort Building Olympics
If there’s one universal truth about kids, it’s this: they love forts. But instead of just building a fort, we’ve turned it into a whole event in our house.
How Fort Building Becomes a Game
The challenge: build the best fort with limited materials in a set time period. I give my kids:
- 20 minutes on the clock
- Specific materials (sheets, pillows, clips, cardboard)
- A category to build for (coziest, most creative, biggest, best secret entrance)
Then I “judge” (very official with a clipboard and scoring system) based on criteria like stability, creativity, and functionality. The winner gets to choose the movie for family movie night.
Why This Works
Fort building taps into so many developmental skills: spatial reasoning, engineering concepts, creativity, and planning. Plus, once the fort is built, kids will actually play in it for hours. It becomes a reading nook, a secret hideout, a spaceship—whatever their imagination creates.
My middle child once built a fort that stayed up for an entire week because it became her art studio. Sure, my living room looked like a disaster zone, but she was engaged, creative, and happy. Sometimes that’s worth the mess.
4: Balloon Games (The Miracle Worker)
Can we take a moment to appreciate the simple balloon? This might be the most underrated parenting tool in existence. A pack of balloons costs less than two dollars and provides hours of entertainment.
Balloon Game Ideas
Balloon tennis: Use paper plates taped to rulers or wooden spoons as rackets. See how long you can volley without the balloon touching the ground.
Balloon races: Kids blow up balloons and release them to see whose travels the farthest. It’s hilarious and teaches them about air pressure.
Keep it up challenge: Simply don’t let the balloon touch the ground. Add multiple balloons to increase difficulty.
Balloon stomp: Tie balloons to ankles and try to pop each other’s while protecting your own.
Balloon painting: This one’s messy but amazing. Dip balloons in paint and stamp them on paper for unique art projects.
Safety and Sanity Tips
A few ground rules I’ve learned the hard way: no balloons near ceiling fans (trust me), no popping balloons near sleeping babies (learned that one at 2 AM), and always have extras because balloons pop at the most dramatic moments possible.
Also, for younger kids, supervise closely because popped balloon pieces are choking hazards. But with reasonable precautions, balloon games are absolute gold.
5: Indoor Camping Adventure
Who says you need to go outside to go camping? Indoor camping has become one of our favorite rainy day activities, and it’s surprisingly immersive.
Setting the Scene
We set up a tent (or fort) in the living room, roll out sleeping bags, and go all in on the camping experience:
- Flashlights for “campfire” stories
- Snacks that mimic camping food (trail mix, s’mores made in the microwave)
- Camping-themed activities like “fishing” with a stick and magnet
- Nature sounds playing in the background
- Star projectors for “stargazing”
Activities Within Indoor Camping
We tell stories, sing campfire songs (badly), play cards, and sometimes even sleep in the living room tent. My kids love it because it feels like an adventure without leaving home.
Last winter, we did a whole weekend of indoor camping when we were snowed in. We rotated through different camping activities, made it a screen-free zone, and honestly, it’s one of my kids’ favorite memories from that year. Sometimes the special bonding experiences we create at home are more meaningful than elaborate outings.
6: Masking Tape Games (The Parent’s Secret Weapon)
Painter’s tape or masking tape is absolutely magical. It doesn’t damage floors or walls, and the possibilities are endless.
Tape Game Ideas
Tape roads: Create a city layout on your floor with roads, parking lots, and buildings. Kids can drive toy cars around for ages.
Balance beam: Make straight or curved lines that kids have to walk without stepping off.
Shape hop: Create shapes on the floor and call out which shape to jump to. Great for toddlers learning shapes.
Sticky wall: Flip the tape so the sticky side faces out and create a wall where kids can throw pom-poms, crumpled paper, or lightweight toys to make them stick.
Tic-tac-toe: Create a giant tic-tac-toe board and use different colored objects as X’s and O’s.
Maze: Create a complex maze on the floor that kids navigate through.
Why I Love Tape Games
They’re quick to set up, cost essentially nothing, and the tape itself becomes the entertainment. My five-year-old will spend thirty minutes just helping me put the tape down. The peeling up afterward? That’s cleanup disguised as more fun.
Pro tip: involve kids in the creation process. Ask them what they want to build with tape. Their ideas are often way more creative than mine.
7: DIY Bowling Alley
This game emerged out of desperation during a particularly long winter, and it’s been a hit ever since.
How to Set It Up
You need:
- 10 empty water bottles or plastic cups (weighted with a bit of water or rice)
- A soft ball (or rolled-up socks)
- A hallway or clear space
- Optional: painter’s tape for lane lines
Set up the “pins” in a triangle formation, establish a starting line, and let kids bowl. Keep score to make it feel official. We’ve even made DIY scorecards that my oldest decorates.
Level Up the Fun
Create tournaments with brackets. Invent special rules like “backwards bowling” or “wrong-hand bowling.” Add obstacles that the ball must navigate around before hitting the pins.
My kids love this because it feels like a real activity, not just a made-up time-filler. We’ve had family bowling championships that lasted entire afternoons, complete with snacks and ridiculous commentary.
8: Freeze Dance and Musical Statues
Sometimes the simplest games are the best, and this classic never gets old in our house.
How We Play It
The rules are simple: play music and dance like nobody’s watching. When the music stops, freeze completely. Anyone who moves is out (or has to do something silly like spin three times or sing a line from their favorite song).
Why It Works
It’s active, it’s silly, and it’s adaptable to any age. My teenager will still play this with her younger siblings, which says something. Plus, it lets kids express themselves physically and releases all that pent-up energy.
We’ve added variations:
- Emotion freeze: You have to freeze in a specific emotion (scared, excited, silly)
- Animal freeze: Freeze as different animals
- Statue gallery: One person is the “artist” who poses the frozen people into a scene
The best part? This requires zero setup and zero materials. Just music and willing participants.
9: Indoor Treasure Hunt
Different from a scavenger hunt, a treasure hunt follows clues to find hidden “treasure” at the end.
Creating the Perfect Hunt
I write clues (rhyming ones for extra fun) that lead from location to location. The final destination has a “treasure”—sometimes candy, sometimes a small toy, sometimes just a silly prize like “one free pass to pick dinner.”
For younger kids who can’t read yet, I draw picture clues. For older kids, I make the clues harder with riddles or even require them to solve simple math problems to get the next location.
The Investment Pays Off
Yes, creating a treasure hunt takes some upfront time from you. But once they’re hunting, you get a solid 20-30 minutes of peace while they’re completely engaged. I’ve written clues while kids eat breakfast, and then launched the hunt right after to buy myself time to do dishes in peace.
Some parents save and reuse the same hunts with different endings. I know one mom who has five different hunts on rotation and her kids don’t even remember they’ve done them before.
10: Science Experiments and Kitchen Projects
Okay, this one comes with a caveat: it’s messy. But it’s also incredibly engaging and educational, which makes the cleanup worth it (usually).
Easy Indoor Experiments
Baking soda volcano: Classic for a reason. Baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, and a container. Eruption guaranteed.
Homemade slime: Countless recipes online. It keeps kids busy making it and then playing with it for hours.
Magic milk: Milk, dish soap, and food coloring create swirling patterns that look like magic. Great for younger kids.
Indoor rain cloud: Shaving cream on top of water with food coloring “rain” demonstrates weather patterns.
Sink or float: Gather objects and predict whether they’ll sink or float. Simple but endlessly fascinating to young kids.
Turning Cooking Into a Game
Baking is another form of indoor entertainment. We make cookies, pizzas, or simple recipes where kids can be genuinely helpful. Yes, it’s slower and messier, but they’re learning measurements, following instructions, and getting a snack out of it.
My kids love “Chopped” challenges where I give them random ingredients and they have to create something edible. Spoiler: it’s not always successful, but it’s always entertaining.
Making Indoor Games Actually Work (The Real Talk)
Let me be honest: not every activity goes smoothly. Sometimes kids fight over who gets to go first. Sometimes the obstacle course turns into a wrestling match. Sometimes the experiment explodes and you find baking soda in weird places for weeks.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
Establish ground rules first: Before starting any game, make the rules crystal clear. Physical games can escalate quickly without boundaries.
Rotate favorites: Keep a mental list (or actual list) of what works for your kids and rotate through them. Too much repetition kills the magic.
Know when to quit: If a game is causing more chaos than joy, it’s okay to stop. Not every activity will work for every kid or every day.
Involve them in cleanup: Make cleanup part of the game. Race to see who can collect cushions fastest, or sing a cleanup song. Don’t shoulder all the mess yourself.
Keep supplies accessible: I have an “indoor play bin” with basics like tape, balloons, bean bags, and scarves. When boredom strikes, I can grab it quickly.
Managing Energy Levels
I try to alternate high-energy games with calmer activities. After an obstacle course, we might do a scavenger hunt or puzzle. It’s all about flow and reading your kids’ energy.
Also, timing matters. I save high-energy games for mornings when kids have the most energy, and save quieter activities for late afternoons when everyone’s winding down.
When Nothing Seems to Work
There are days when none of these games will cut it. When kids are overtired, overstimulated, or just in that mood where nothing satisfies them.
On those days? It’s okay to lower your expectations. Screen time exists for a reason. Sometimes a movie and quiet time is exactly what everyone needs. Don’t beat yourself up about not being a Pinterest-perfect parent every single day.
I’ve learned that forcing fun when nobody’s feeling it just makes everyone miserable. Sometimes the best indoor activity is just being together, even if that means parallel play while you read a book and they color.
The Long Game: Building Independent Play Skills
Here’s my ultimate goal with all these indoor games: teaching my kids to eventually entertain themselves. These structured activities are training wheels. They show kids what’s possible, spark their creativity, and give them tools for independent play.
Now when my kids say they’re bored, I might suggest one of these activities, but I also encourage them to come up with their own. My eight-year-old recently invented a game involving her stuffed animals, an elaborate point system, and rules I still don’t fully understand. It kept her busy for two hours. That’s the end game—kids who can create their own fun.
Creating Memories, One Rainy Day at a Time
Years from now, your kids probably won’t remember every single indoor game you played. But they’ll remember the feeling of connection, the laughter, the special attention, and the creativity you encouraged.
They’ll remember that when they were stuck inside feeling bored and restless, you helped them discover that fun doesn’t require perfect weather or expensive outings. They’ll remember that home was a place where imagination thrived and where even ordinary days could become adventures.
Some of my children’s favorite memories aren’t from elaborate vacations—they’re from the fort that stayed up all week, the bowling tournament where Dad won by one point, or the treasure hunt that ended with everyone getting ice cream.
Indoor days don’t have to be endurance tests. With a little creativity, some preparation, and a willingness to embrace controlled chaos, they can become opportunities for connection, learning, and genuine joy.
Your Indoor Adventure Starts Now
So the next time you hear “I’m bored” or see dark clouds rolling in, take a deep breath. You’ve got this. You’ve got ten different game ideas, countless variations, and the knowledge that keeping kids busy indoors is both possible and potentially even fun for you too.
Start with one game. See what resonates with your kids. Build from there. Let them add their own ideas. Make it your own family tradition.
The house might get a little messy. You might find cushions in weird places later. There might be tape residue on your floor. But there will also be laughter, creativity, and connection.
And on those inevitable days when none of this works and everyone’s climbing the walls? That’s what screen time and delivery pizza are for. We’re all doing the best we can.
As Fred Rogers wisely said, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
So go ahead—set up that obstacle course, blow up those balloons, and watch your kids’ imaginations soar. The dishes can wait. The laundry will still be there. But this moment, this indoor adventure with your kids? That’s happening right now.
What’s your move? Pick one game from this list and try it this week. And hey, if you discover your own awesome indoor game, I’d love to hear about it. We parents need to stick together and share our best survival strategies.
