Top 10 Indoor Winter Entertainment Activities for Kids

Winter can be a tough time for anyone, and trying to entertain young children who are stuck inside on a gloomy day doesn’t make it any easier. Keeping kids’ hands and minds occupied can be a challenge during winter, but we’re here to make it a little bit easier. Below are 10 indoor winter entertainment activities for children that will help them learn and have fun during the coldest time of year.

Top 10 Indoor Entertainment Ideas for Kids

Listen to a podcast

As more and more studies are being done on the topic, parents have become increasingly aware of the harm of too much screen time for kids. As a result, podcasts have now taken center stage as one of the best forms of screen-free entertainment for children. A recent study by Kids Listen found that the most popular podcasts include stories, and podcasts about science and history aren’t far behind. In recent years, more and more children’s podcasts have come out on multiple platforms, so there’s something for every child and their unique interests. 

If you’re not sure where to start, check out Goop Tales, a storytelling podcast featuring adorable characters with naughty habits who travel the world and learn valuable lessons around certain character traits. For example, Gablia loves to gab! This habit gets her sent over to Turkey, where she needs to avoid being seen by the rock dwellers as she explores the Turkish fairy chimneys. 

Create an art gallery

This is a great indoor activity for any little artist. Set your child up with paint, markers, or colored pencils, and tell them to make 3-6 pieces of art to create their very own gallery. If they want, they can even dig out some of their old paintings and drawings to grow their gallery. Once they’re done and have hung up all of their art, they can offer a tour to you and the rest of the family, explaining each piece they’ve created. For an added challenge, you can give them a gallery theme to work with!

Put on a puppet show

For this indoor winter activity, kids can create traditional paper bag puppets or even use old socks. Give them time to glue, cut, and decorate their puppets before they are sent off to create a full puppet show. This works great for households with multiple children or even on a cold winter’s day when your child’s friends decide to visit.

Make marshmallow monsters

All you need for this fun, hands-on activity are a bag of marshmallows, pasta, and some toothpicks. Put all of the materials on the table, and your youngster will have the best time connecting marshmallows to create their own little monsters. The best part is that the marshmallows can turn into a delicious snack once they’re done building!

Map it out

This winter entertainment activity works best with children who are at least 6 or 7 years old, as they’ll have the fine motor skills needed here. First, show your kids a few examples of maps. Have them think about their neighborhood, town, or even their favorite store to create their very own map to a special place. Once drawn, take a walk or drive to see if you can follow along (if it’s snowy outside, save this for a warmer day!).

Set up a scavenger hunt

Winter can be a more sedentary time for both adults and kids, but this indoor activity is sure to get your little ones up and moving. Write a list of 10-15 items that kids will need to find within a certain time limit. You can also try a “rainbow” scavenger hunt, where kids need to find five objects of a color that you shout out. If you have more than one child, you can even turn it into a race!

Create activity stations

This is another great indoor winter entertainment activity to keep everyone moving. Write different activities on paper and tape them throughout the room. They can be exercises (10 jumping jacks, 15 toe touches, etc.) or more general movements (jump on one leg 20 times, bounce the ball 30 times, etc.). Time your child to see how fast they can run to each station and complete the activities. Once they know what they’re doing, children can create activity stations for their siblings or friends as an extra challenge.

Make a puzzle

On a paper or poster board, let little ones use pens, colored pencils, and markers to draw a detailed and colorful picture. When it’s done, they can use scissors (if they’re too young for scissors, the adults can help with this part!) to cut the picture into pieces. Then, they’ll have a puzzle that they can put together by themselves or with family and friends.

Play Smell and Go Seek

This activity will help your child tap into their sense of smell. Start by spraying a washable object, like a clean sock or towel, with a strong scent. You can use a perfume, an essential oil, or something similar. While your child closes their eyes and counts to 30, quickly hide the object in the room and see how long it takes them to sniff it out. If you have more than one child, they can hide the object for each other and use a timer to keep score!

Construct a collage

Spread old magazines on an open surface. Have kids look through the magazines and cut out pictures or words that catch their eye. Once they have a good amount of pictures and words cut out, they should arrange them on the paper or poster board, creating a colorful collage. Once they’ve arranged everything in a way they like, help them glue everything down, one image at a time. After it has dried, hang it on a wall or the fridge for everyone to enjoy!

For more fun activities head over to Goop Tales and take the Kids Activities Quiz. It only takes three minutes to go through, and it will generate a list of 10 personalized activities that perfectly match you and your little one.