15 Exciting Indoor Activities How To Keep The Kids Busy

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I live in Colorado, and we can get some huge snowstorms. It can force you indoors and if you have kids, you know how quickly they can experience cabin fever. Finding indoor activities to engage in can be difficult.

In the season’s spirit, I would like to share some of my favorite indoor activities with you. Maybe these ideas will be new or get you thinking of some new activities to try.

It is a great time to have some fun and teach some new skills to the kids. What activities do you enjoy doing while inside?

1. Have A Movie Night

I love a good movie night.

With the digital age upon us, you never have to leave your living room to find a movie. There are so many platforms to order from.

Some examples of these platforms include:
Vudu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Redbox.

If you own a Roku or other connecting device, you can access any of those platforms.

My whole family loves getting their PJs on and bunking in for a movie night.

You can even go all out and set up a mini movie theater complete with popcorn, drinks, and candy.

If it is a stormy afternoon, I know my kiddos enjoy building forts inside and having one of their favorite movies going.

2. Play A Board Game

When I was younger, my family and I used to have a family night.

We enjoyed playing a fun board game. We had all the classics like Clue, Life, Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, and more.

When you find the right game, you can literally play for hours.

3. Build A Fort

Even as an adult, I still love building a good fort. Having kiddos gives me a good reason, but I never grow tired of fort-building.

We get a load of blankets, chairs, pillows, and sheets, and start building.

4. Work Out

I know most people do not look at working out as fun. I am one of those select few who love it.

If you get cabin fever, working out is a great release.

Fortunately, I have a set of dumbbells and a bench. Weightlifting is my favorite workout activity. You may not have any equipment to use. In that case, pop in a workout video or find a YouTube channel about fitness.

My kiddos are too young to lift weights, but we will do calisthenics and have mini-competitions. These mini-competitions include who can do the most pushups, jumping jacks, or sit-ups.

It is never too early to inspire your kiddos to enjoy the fun of exercise.

5. Clean

Cleaning is not always the most exciting or fun activity, but you can make it an enjoyable experience for the kids.

When I was younger, we had a weekly job jar. In the jar were post-it notes of various chores to do throughout our house. We assigned each chore a monetary value. For example, you could earn 50 cents for cleaning a toilet.

This is a great way to teach money management and teach the kiddos good cleaning skills.

6. Organize

Get the kiddos involved with organizing their toys, going through closets, and tidying up the rooms in the house.

Organizational skills are so important.

Get the kids involved. Make it a fun activity like anything else.

I remember my mom and dad teaching me organizational concepts when I was younger. It definitely has followed me through to adulthood.

It’s a win-win situation. You are teaching the kiddos life skills and getting your place in order.

7. Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are popular with my kids.

They like to write little directions on pieces of paper (or post-it notes) to follow a scavenger hunt around our place.

After they set everything up, my wife and I get to go through the scavenger hunt my kids create.

This is such a great activity.

It can keep everyone busy for hours on end.

8. Arts And Crafts

Arts and crafts are a great go-to activity for any family.

We have a couple of bins full of coloring books, notebooks, extra paper, markers, crayons, paint, stickers, and many other odds and ends.

If your kiddos enjoy art, this is such an awesome activity to let them imagine and create.

9. Play A Video Game

Once the young ones are old enough, video games are another fun indoor activity.

You can get an actual system like the Playstation, Xbox, or Nintendo DS. If you do not have a game system, take a look at the apps on your phone or connect with an online gaming world.

There are countless games to choose from. There is something for everyone—whatever genre you are looking for.

Nowadays, there are so many options to choose from when it comes to your kids’ gaming wants and needs.

10. Phone A Friend Or Phone A Family Member

With the digital age, it is easy to text a quick message to someone. Take some time to phone a loved one or Facetime with the grandparents.

I do not have an iPhone to Facetime. So, I use Facebook Messenger or Skype.

You can post on different social media platforms and never have an actual conversation.

Catching up with a loved one is a fantastic indoor activity.

11. Bubbles

Bubbles are cheap and an effective means of entertainment—they can keep the kids going for hours.

When I was younger, the only available option was to blow bubbles. Now, there are battery-operated gadgets that make bubbles.

12. Sidewalk Chalk

Sidewalk chalk is a great option because it is cheap and easy to clean up!

If there is an artistic gene in the family, you should take a look at sidewalk chalk. Even if no one is artistically inclined, it is a great way to get the family outside and create sidewalk masterpieces.

13. Jump Rope

A jump rope is another cost-effective piece of equipment that can keep your kids busy for hours. Not to mention, jumping rope is great exercise—for both adults and kiddos!

Your children can jump rope by themselves or in a small group. I remember some of the jump rope games when I was younger.

14. Remote Control Car

You can spend as little or as much as you would like on a remote control car.

The same goes for the size as well. Some are as small as a deck of cards and others as big as a beach ball. In addition, some are battery-powered and others have an AC adapter.

It really comes down to what fits with your budget.

15. Kindle

I think a Kindle is a fantastic investment for your child.

You can purchase a regular Kindle for yourself and create a profile for your kiddo(s). The other option is to buy a child-specific Kindle for the exclusive use of your young one.

Either way, you really cannot go wrong.

There are age-appropriate apps and you can even put a child lock on the device. You can download books, activities, movies, and music.

Last Thoughts

This list of 15 activities hardly scratches the surface of what is available out there. I hope some of these ideas are useful and you have a chance to test them out.

If you do try one of the suggestions, I would love your feedback! Do you have any suggestions you would like to share? Please comment in the space down below.