100+ Fun Things to Do With Kids at Home (All Ages)

Looking for things to do with kids at home? Here are 100+ fun, easy and mostly free activities for toddlers, preschoolers, school-age kids and tweens. You’ll find indoor games, crafts, simple science experiments, cooking projects, sensory play, screen-free ideas and easy boredom-busters for rainy days, snow days, school breaks and ordinary afternoons.

Most of these activities use things you already have around the house. Some are quick boredom-busters. Some can stretch into a whole afternoon. None require you to become a camp counselor in your own living room.

New every month: We refresh this guide at the start of each month with seasonal ideas and a free printable activity card.

Is the weather nice? Check out our list of 100 outdoor activities for kids at home.

Related Article: 48 At Home Date Night Ideas for Parents

Have a fun idea to add? Email us at [email protected], and we’ll add it to our list.

Quick Navigation

• New This Month + Free Printable
• Quick Picks for Busy Parents
• 100 Things to Do With Kids at Home
• 20 Things to Do at Home With a Toddler
• How to Match Activities to Your Child’s Age
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Kids Activities

New This Month: 12 Fall and Halloween Activities to Do at Home

Updated Oct. 7, 2026. Fall break, cooler afternoons and the countdown to Halloween make October a great month for cozy projects at home. These are our favorite seasonal ideas this month, plus a free printable to keep the fun going all month long.

Free printable: Download the October At-Home Fun Bingo card (PDF). Print one for each kid and cross off a square every time you try an activity. Five in a row wins a prize you choose, like picking the next family movie or a special dessert.

1. Paint pumpkins instead of carving them. Mini pumpkins, washable paint and a paper plate are all a toddler needs. Older kids can add paint pens, stickers or googly eyes.
2. Erupt a pumpkin volcano. Have a grown-up cut open and scoop out a small pumpkin. Kids add 2 tablespoons of baking soda, a squirt of dish soap and a few drops of food coloring, then pour in vinegar and watch it foam over.
3. Roast pumpkin seeds. Rinse the seeds, pat them dry, toss them with a little oil and salt (or cinnamon sugar) and bake at 325 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden and crunchy, usually 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Make leaf rubbings. Collect leaves on a walk, place them vein-side up under thin paper and rub over them with the side of a peeled crayon. Cut out the rubbings and string them into a fall garland.
5. Boo a neighbor. Fill a bag with treats and a “You’ve Been Booed” note, leave it on a doorstep, ring the bell and run. Here’s how to boo someone this Halloween.
6. Turn a cardboard box into a costume. With paint, paper plates and duct tape, a box can become a robot, a race car or a gumball machine. Find more ideas in our DIY Halloween costume guide.
7. Have a mummy wrap race. Split into teams, give each team a roll of toilet paper and see who can wrap a teammate first. Finish with a mummy fashion show.
8. Craft toilet paper roll bats. Paint empty rolls black, add paper wings and googly eyes, and hang them by the front door. Our list of fall and Halloween crafts for toddlers and preschoolers has more ideas for little hands.
9. Fill a spooky (not scary) sensory bin. Pour dry pasta or beans into a bin and hide plastic spiders, mini pumpkins and scoops inside. Stay close with toddlers, since small pieces can be choking hazards.
10. Host a flashlight story night. Turn off the lights, build a fort and take turns telling not-so-scary stories. Little ones can make shadow puppets instead.
11. Plan a fall break “camp” at home. Give each day a theme, such as science day, art day, baking day or game day. When you’re ready to head out, our fall break guide has ideas around Indianapolis.
12. Sort and graph Halloween candy. After trick-or-treating, sort candy by color or type, make a bar graph and decide which treats are worth trading. Find 2026 trick-or-treat times around Indianapolis.

Quick Picks for Busy Parents

Need something fast? Start here.

• Five-minute activity: Play I Spy, make paper airplanes or stack plastic cups.
• Burn energy indoors: Build an obstacle course, play balloon volleyball or try The Floor is Lava.
• Quiet reset: Read together, listen to an audiobook, do a puzzle or make shadow puppets.
• For crafty kids: Make friendship bracelets, pipe cleaner creatures, paper bag puppets or a cardboard box creation.
• For kids who want a project: Try a science experiment, bake something, make a stop-motion movie or build a blanket fort.

100 Things to Do With Kids at Home

Here are 100 things to do with kids at home, loosely sorted from quick boredom-busters to bigger projects. Let your child choose two or three ideas, then rotate through them. Choice helps. So does a snack.

1. Play indoor hide and seek. For a twist, try sardines: one person hides, and everyone who finds them squeezes into the hiding spot until the last seeker finds the group.
2. Conduct a simple science experiment. Try one of these 31 easy science experiments using household items.
3. Make a batch of DIY gummy bears.
4. Have a laugh with Alexa or Siri. Here are funny and kid-friendly things you can ask Alexa and Siri.
5. Turn an Amazon box into something new. Start with these 32 creative things to do with a cardboard box.
   

   

6. Ride a virtual roller coaster. Stream the video to your TV and sit inside laundry baskets for the full effect. Here are 30 virtual amusement park rides.
7. Try a new cookie or cake recipe. Set up a phone and let the kids film a cooking show.
8. Make a play kit with items from around the house. These inexpensive play kit ideas are easy to adapt.
9. Make DIY fruit roll-ups.
10. Practice a life skill together. Start with this list of essential life skills to teach kids at every age.
11. Play with blocks or try a building challenge. Set a 10-minute timer and see who can build the tallest tower, the longest bridge or a house for a stuffed animal.
12. Make a mancala counting game with an egg carton, dry beans and two small bowls.
13. Go camping in the living room with sleeping bags, flashlights and a pretend campfire.
14. Play board games. Candy Land and Hi Ho! Cherry-O work for preschoolers. School-age kids can graduate to Sorry!, Uno, Connect 4 or Ticket to Ride.
15. Make DIY strawberry Pop-Tarts.
    

    

16. Design an indoor treasure hunt. Hide a trail of clues that ends at a small prize. Use picture clues for kids who can’t read yet and riddles for older kids.
17. Plan a family garden together.
18. Make ice cream in a bag. Seal 1/2 cup half-and-half, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in a small zip-top bag. Put it inside a gallon bag with about 3 cups of ice and 1/3 cup of salt, then shake for five minutes. Mittens help.
19. Make slime. Stir together 1/2 cup white school glue and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, add a few drops of food coloring, then mix in 1 tablespoon of saline contact lens solution (look for boric acid on the label) until it pulls away from the bowl. Knead it with your hands. Grown-ups should handle the solution, and everyone should wash their hands afterward.
    

    

20. Set up an in-home nail salon and try simple nail art.
21. Dress up in your best clothes and have a fancy dinner at home.
22. Make a piñata. Cover a balloon with strips of newspaper dipped in a paste of equal parts flour and water. Add two or three layers, letting each one dry, then pop the balloon and fill the shell with treats. Plan on a few days of drying time.
23. Make friendship bracelets. Beginners can braid three strands of embroidery floss. Older kids can learn the candy stripe or chevron patterns.
24. Make and blow bubbles. Mix 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of dish soap and 1 tablespoon of light corn syrup, then bend a pipe cleaner into a wand.
25. Teach your pet a new trick.
26. Make rock candy. A grown-up dissolves about 3 cups of sugar in 1 cup of boiling water. Once it cools, kids hang a sugar-coated skewer in the jar and watch crystals grow over about a week. It doubles as a science experiment.
    

    

27. Have an indoor picnic.
28. Listen to an audiobook or podcast together.
29. Host a DIY talent show.
30. Try a kid-friendly yoga video. Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube turns poses into stories, so it works even for wiggly preschoolers.
31. Make a cardboard spinner. Cut a 3-inch circle from a cereal box, decorate both sides, poke two holes near the center and thread a loop of string through them. Wind it up and pull the ends to make it whir.
32. Create your own bingo cards and have a bingo tournament. Or print our free monthly at-home fun bingo card and play all month long.
33. Create a family tree together.
34. Let your kids write, direct and film a short movie.
35. Learn and play a new card game. Go Fish, Crazy Eights and War are easy starters. Kids 7 and up can try Spoons, Speed or Rummy.
36. Make a stop-motion video with toys. Move a Lego figure or stuffed animal a tiny bit between photos, then play them back. A free app such as Stop Motion Studio makes it easy.
37. Teach yourself to juggle. Start with scarves or rolled-up socks, which fall slowly and don’t bounce away.
38. Play indoor basketball with a laundry basket and small, soft balls.
39. Practice origami. Start with a paper cup, a jumping frog or a fortune teller (also known as a cootie catcher).
40. Play with magnets on a cookie sheet. Magnetic letters turn it into a spelling game.
41. Make a maze on the floor with painter’s tape, then drive toy cars through it or roll a ball from start to finish.
42. Play with sidewalk chalk indoors on large paper.

43. Play indoor volleyball or soccer with balloons.
44. Have a pizza party. Try this DIY pizza bagels recipe.
    

    

45. Make paper airplanes and see whose plane flies the farthest.
46. Play dress up with grown-up clothes.
47. Create your own memory game with family photos.
48. Create a DIY aquarium with paper fish.
49. Make your own popsicles. Here is one fruit popsicle recipe to try.
50. Go outside and look for four-leaf clovers.
51. Write a secret message in invisible ink. Paint words on paper with a cotton swab dipped in lemon juice and let it dry. A grown-up can reveal the message by pressing the paper with a warm iron.
52. Play I Spy inside or out the window.
53. Sing karaoke with your favorite songs. Hairbrush microphones count.
54. Clean out closets and make a donation pile.
55. Set up a video chat with family or friends. These tips can help make video chats more meaningful for kids.
56. Have breakfast in bed.
57. Set up stations for a DIY Minute to Win It game. Try stacking pennies, moving cereal with a straw or unstacking a tower of cups one-handed. Each challenge gets 60 seconds.
    

    

58. Write a family song or rap together.
59. Have a tea party.
60. Learn a few magic tricks and put on a magic show.
61. Make a water sensory bag. Fill a zip-top bag with water or clear hair gel, add beads, buttons or small toys, then seal it with duct tape and tape it to a table or window for little hands to squish.
62. Make DIY play dough.
63. Create a nature scavenger hunt in your backyard.
64. Play The Floor is Lava.
65. Snuggle on the couch and read your favorite books.
66. Rearrange or redecorate a bedroom together.
67. Play in a bubble bath with toys and cups.
68. Have a pillow fight, with ground rules.
69. Write a short story or comic book together.
70. Try a new type of dance with a video tutorial.
71. Have a family movie night. Here are 10 family-friendly movies to stream.
72. Make an indoor obstacle course.
73. Have a family music night with instruments, pots, pans or singing.
74. Learn to code without a computer through pattern games, sequencing and obstacle-course commands.
75. Make shadow puppets and create stories on the wall.
    

    

76. Have an alphabet scavenger hunt and find one item for each letter.
77. Build a giant fort out of blankets, chairs and pillows.
78. Paint with Kool-Aid. Mix packets of unsweetened drink mix with a few teaspoons of water for paint that smells as good as it looks.
79. Put on a puppet show using socks or paper bags.
80. Set up a funny photo booth using household items as props.
81. Create a family cookbook with favorite recipes.
82. Make a family vision board.
83. Make homemade lava lamps. Fill a clear bottle about three-quarters full with vegetable oil, top it off with water and a few drops of food coloring, then drop in a piece of an effervescent tablet such as Alka-Seltzer and watch the blobs rise.
84. Make a scrapbook of memories.
85. Play marbles on the floor. Make a circle with yarn and take turns knocking marbles out of the ring. Keep marbles away from kids under 3.
86. Do a puzzle together.
87. Have a home economics day. Learn to sew on a button, iron a shirt or make a simple meal.
88. Learn basic sign language together.
89. Fold clothes together. This may or may not count as fun, but it does count as useful.
90. Create a new dessert recipe as a family.
91. Put on bathrobes and play spa day.
    

    

92. Play 20 Questions.
93. Host a lip sync battle.
94. Create creatures out of pipe cleaners.
95. Make an I Spy bottle. Fill a clear plastic bottle with rice and small toys, glue the cap shut and make a list of things to find.
96. Decorate a T-shirt with fabric markers or iron-on designs.
97. Write letters to family and friends.
98. Build a bridge or building with toothpicks, Q-tips or craft sticks.
99. Play hangman or tic-tac-toe.
100. Make a time capsule to open in a year or on a future birthday.

20 Things to Do at Home With a Toddler

Toddlers do best with short activities, movement and repetition. These ideas work for kids roughly 1 to 3 years old. Stay nearby, skip tiny pieces that could be choking hazards and expect the same activity to be fun about 14 times in a row.

1. Play I Spy around the house with simple objects.
2. Build a blanket fort using chairs, cushions and blankets.
3. Set up a pretend grocery store with empty food containers and a shopping bag.
4. Stack plastic cups or blocks to create towers.
5. Hide small toys around the room for an indoor treasure hunt.
6. Dress up in costumes or old clothing for a fashion show.
7. Create a sensory walk using soft towels, bubble wrap, pillows and other safe textures.
8. Sort and match colored objects, such as toys, socks or blocks.
9. Freeze colored water in ice cube trays for ice cube painting.
10. Set up a DIY bowling alley using empty water bottles and a soft ball.
11. Tell stories and act them out with stuffed animals or toys.
12. Turn a cardboard box into a car, train or spaceship.
13. Practice simple yoga poses or stretches.
14. Create a DIY obstacle course using pillows and couch cushions.
15. Use pipe cleaners to make bracelets or simple shapes.
16. Play Simon Says or Follow the Leader.
17. Use masking tape to create a racetrack on the floor for toy cars.
18. Play Hot Potato with a soft ball or stuffed toy.
19. Make shadow puppets on the wall with a flashlight.
20. Play animal charades. Hop like a bunny, stomp like an elephant or crawl like a bear.

How to Match Activities to Your Child’s Age

The activities that hold a child’s attention change fast, so it helps to adjust the idea instead of starting from scratch. A scavenger hunt, for example, can be picture-based for a preschooler, clue-based for a school-age child and fully kid-designed for a tween.

• Toddlers, ages 1 to 3: Sensory play, stacking cups, simple hide and seek and anything they can touch, dump, move or repeat. Keep it short and supervised.
• Preschoolers, ages 3 to 5: Pretend play, easy crafts, dress up, cooking with help, obstacle courses and beginner scavenger hunts.
• School-age kids, ages 6 to 9: Science experiments, building projects, board games, baking, stop-motion movies and longer treasure hunts.
• Tweens, ages 10 and up: Unplugged coding games, friendship bracelets, vision boards, writing and filming their own videos, more involved recipes and kid-led projects.

One thing holds across every age: kids stay engaged longer when they get a say. Let them choose a few ideas from the list and give them some ownership over how the activity works.

Frequently Asked Questions About Things to Do With Kids at Home

What can kids do at home when they are bored?

Start with something that needs almost no setup, like an indoor scavenger hunt, a blanket fort, a board game or a science experiment using items from the kitchen. If your child has a lot of energy, try an obstacle course, balloon volleyball or The Floor is Lava before moving to a quieter activity.

What are some free things to do with kids at home?

Most activities on this list cost nothing. Building forts, playing hide and seek, putting on a talent show, doing puzzles, making up scavenger hunts, reading together and writing letters all use things you already own. Many crafts and DIY recipes can be made with pantry or recycling-bin supplies.

What can kids do at home without screens?

Crafts, cooking, forts, board games, science experiments, dance parties, puppet shows, obstacle courses and sensory play are all screen-free. The list above is mostly hands-on, with only a few ideas that use a TV, tablet or phone.

What are good rainy day or snow day activities for kids?

Indoor activities that burn energy work best when kids are stuck inside. Try an indoor obstacle course, balloon volleyball, The Floor is Lava, an indoor treasure hunt or a fort-building project. Pair an active game with a quieter activity like baking, puzzles or reading.

How do I keep a toddler entertained at home?

Toddlers do best with short, hands-on activities and a lot of repetition. Sensory play, stacking cups, simple hide and seek, sorting games, dancing and pretend play all work well. The toddler list above has 20 ideas built for ages 1 to 3.

How do I keep siblings of different ages busy at the same time?

Pick activities that scale, like a scavenger hunt, fort-building, baking or a family movie night, then give older kids a bigger role. A younger child can find clues while an older child writes them. A preschooler can stir batter while a tween reads the recipe. The by-age guide above can help you adjust an activity up or down.

Keep the Fun Going

When you need more ideas, start with these guides:

• 100 outdoor activities for kids at home
• 31 easy science experiments and STEM activities
• 30 fun things to do on a snow day
• 81 essential life skills to teach kids at every age
• Realistic routines for school breaks at home

Ready to Get Out of the House?

When everyone needs a change of scenery, these Indy’s Child guides can help:

• Things to do this weekend in Indianapolis with kids
• Free things to do in Indianapolis this month
• 25 free indoor places to play in Indianapolis
• 25 best indoor playgrounds in Indianapolis
• 101 things to do in Indianapolis with kids
• The Indy’s Child family event calendar

Share your favorite at-home activity: Email [email protected].

Related Article: 55 Feel-Good Movies to Lift Your Spirits (Adults Only)