10 Screen-Free Indoor Winter Activities for Kids

It is officially winter here, and it’s very cold outside. The ground is either frozen, covered in snow, or wet all day, every day until spring. Which means kids do not spend much time outside. If you have kids, you know how cooped up they can get. So I have compiled a list of 10 (screen-free!) indoor winter activities for kids to keep them entertained this winter! These activities require very little to no prep. I have also included links to all the supplies!

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Indoor Winter Activities for Kids Idea #1: Build with Play-Doh, Spaghetti, & Cheerios

This activity lets little imaginations run wild! There are so many things they can build with a few simple household items. Play-Doh works great for keeping spaghetti stabilized, and Cheerios or Froot Loops are fun to decorate with.

Beyond keeping kids busy, it encourages creativity, fine motor skills, and problem-solving as they experiment with different shapes and ways to build. It’s an easy, low-prep way to keep them entertained on long winter days!

Idea #2: Balloon Games

There are so many fun things you can do with balloons! Here are just a few:

Balloon Tennis – Tape a plate to a stick and use it as a tennis racquet. Tell them to keep the balloon off the floor. They can hit the balloon however they want as long as it doesn’t touch the ground.

Balloon Funnel Catch – Don’t have a funnel? Make one with a piece of paper. Tell them to throw the balloon up and try to catch it with the funnel! You can make the balloon as big or small as you want.

Balloon Pop – This one is hit or miss, depending on whether they are scared of balloons popping, and if you want to blow up a bunch of balloons.

Hanging Balloons – Attach a string to the balloon and hang it from the ceiling. They can punch, hit it, or kick it as much as they want! Let them get their energy and anger out doing this!

Frozen Ice Balloons – Put some little toys, pom poms, or whatever you want in a balloon and fill it with water. Stick it in the freezer (or outside overnight if it’s cold enough) and pull it out when you’re in a pinch. Peel the balloon off and give them some hot water to pour on the ice. Tell them to try to get the toys out. This one is best done outside, but can be done in a bathtub or sink. Our kids ended up smashing it, and they had so much fun!

Indoor Winter Activities for Kids Idea #3: Pictionary

We all know the game Pictionary, right? I like to get whiteboards for my kids to use for this indoor activity, or sometimes our chalkboard wall. Something about drawing on the whiteboards/chalkboards makes this game so much more fun.

Here is a list of ideas you can print off and cut out. Put them in a bag and take turns picking one to draw. Keep them on hand and use them over and over. There will be good laughs all around!

Idea #4: Cup Stacking

You can always stack blocks, but it’s fun to switch it up by stacking cups! Once the kids have built a house, tower, or whatever they want, knock them down! Bonus: Using disposable plastic cups makes this activity much less noisy.

You can have the kids race to see who can build the tower the fastest, or time them and see how long they take, and if they can beat their own time.

Indoor Winter Activities for Kids Idea #5: Potatoes & Toothpicks

Sometimes when you don’t have much to work with, you have to be creative! Why do kids love poking sharp objects into things? For safety reasons, we recommend this activity for kids ages 3 and up.

Not sure why, but they really loved poking toothpicks into potatoes and then playing pretend with their new characters. If you do not have potatoes on hand, you can use anything else. Fruit, Play-Doh, or other things that you can poke toothpicks in.

Indoor Winter Activities for Kids Idea #6: Laser Beam Obstacle Course

Our kids call these “epic laser beams,” and they always love them! We used only yarn and wall-safe tape, and the kids stayed entertained for hours. You can use anything you have on hand for this—ribbon, just tape, or any type of string. Tape the string to the walls and challenge the kids to get from one end of the hall to the other without getting “zapped”!

Idea #7: Baking Soda & Vinegar Squirt

Of all the indoor activities, this one is the best dual-purpose: entertainment and science! All you need is vinegar and baking soda. You can put the baking soda in any container, and we put the vinegar in little squirt guns. You are not only keeping your kids busy on a cold winter day, without electronics, but you are also doing a fun little science project! Win-win!

Idea #8: Movement Activities

This is one of my favorite indoor activities, because it requires almost no supervision or mess, so I can do it when I need to clean, or do something that I need my kids busy without me. Have them stand on one side of the room and tell each other the movement they should do all the way to the other side of the room, and all the way back. Here are some movement ideas:

• Hopping
• Stomping
• Frog Jump
• Bear Crawl
• Crab Walk
• Head Shake
• Wiggle
• Spin
• Head Nod
• Skip
• Side Shuffle
• Crawl
• Tip Toe
• Run
• Crouch Walk
• Bum Scoot

If they get bored with that, you can turn on these songs on this Spotify playlist.

Indoor Winter Activities for Kids Idea #9: Paper Tunnel & Balls

This activity offers tons of fun and works in multiple ways! All you need is paper, tape, and any ball. Most of these things you probably already have on hand, so it’s good in a pinch! Here are a few different ways to set it up.

You can:

• Tape the paper to the wall and have them drop the ball.
• Space the paper out to make it more difficult.
• Put the paper closer together to make it easier.
• Turn it into a ball obstacle course, making the ball roll over other paper or over a pen.

Switch to one of these ideas when kids get tired of one version to keep the play going even longer!

Idea #10: Object Hide & Seek

I find no shame in the lazy parent game. This is something we love to do with our kids that requires minimal effort on our part, and the kids love it! We have our kids pick any random object (the smaller the better), then we make them go into the other room while we hide it. When they come out, we play hot or cold until they find the hidden object. Repeat as long as your kids are entertained. You can complicate it for older kids and not do the hot and cold thing.

I hope these ideas help you keep your kids busy during the cold winter months without electronics. Check out my other kids’ indoor activities ideas blog post: 7 Painter’s Tape Games. And if you venture outside, try these outdoor winter activities for kids!

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