Fun activities for a rainy day

So it's raining cats and dogs and the kids are getting bored, and worse still it's only 10 in the morning! When the weather forecast is bleak, turn the day into an adventure with these fun family activities and games for a rainy day.

Set up a camp site indoors

​Create your own indoor camp site with small pop up tents if you have them, otherwise make your own tents from sheets and blankets draped over furniture. Make the inside of the tents cosy and comfortable with sleeping bags, pillows and cushions. If you happen to have any battery operated tree lights, hang these in the tent(s) too. Finish this activity with an indoor picnic.

Treasure hunt

​Keep the family entertained with a treasure hunt! Write down a set of clues and fold the paper or pop each of the clues into separate envelopes. Mark each envelope or piece of paper with a number which will help the treasure seekers keep track of the trail. The family member who solves the clue and finds the treasure wins that piece of treasure. Alternatively the kids can play as a team and the whole team need to work together to solve the clue and find the treasure.

"Treasures can be a handwritten IOU!"

 

Make some biscuits or Victoria sponge cake

Get the recipe books out and give them a dusting! Ask the family to select a book and chose a recipe each. Then, with voting whittle it down to one recipe. Everyone can get involved in the preparation as well as baking and when the biscuits or cake are fresh out of the oven, allow to cool and enjoy with a glass of milk.

Make up your own games

Apart from using your imagination, no props are needed for this one. It's great fun to see what each family member comes up with. From sitting together in a circle making up stories with the next person finishing the story to a variation on charades!

Film festival

​Snuggle under the blankets with a bowl of popcorn and treats. Choose a mix of classic and new films to watch. After each film everyone says what they enjoyed most or least about the film.

Create your own city

This is brilliant fun especially for younger children. On a large piece of card or paper let the children run wild with their imagination and draw a city made up of roads, rivers, trees and shops. Alternatively they can create shops and buildings with wooden blocks or Lego. Come up with an imaginary scenario and let the children drive their toy cars along the roads to get from A to B.

Fun bubble bath

1. Take 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 egg white
2. Mix these together in a bowl with a good measure of liquid soap.
3. Pour the mixture under the running taps as you fill the bath.

The honey is a good moisturiser and the egg white helps make long lasting bubbles. If any family member has dry skin, add a tablespoon of sesame or almond oil.​

Make your own jigsaw puzzles

​Gather together a selection of old greetings cards, postcards or other images and stick onto card if necessary. With scissors, cut the image into shapes and share your homemade jigsaw with another family member for them to complete.

Hidden box

​Fill a box with crumpled tissue paper and in amongst the paper hide things (nothing sharp, obviously!). Blindfold the children with a scarf and one by one they have to fumble around the tissue paper to find an item and then guess what it is they are holding.

Final top tip for a rainy day

​It's a good idea, if you have the space to keep a rainy day box and fill it with used toilet roll holders, bubble wrap, cardboard, material scraps, egg cartons and literally anything that can be put to crafty use on the next rainy day. Cardboard boxes and shoe boxes make fantastic dolls houses and cardboard used toilet roll holders make a fabulous marble run course when a few rolls have been sellotaped together.