When you are a parent, finding fun things for your kids to do can be one of the hardest parts of the job. Kids get bored quickly and often drift from one thing to the next, so it can be hard to hold their attention for more than a little bit at a time.
There are many exciting and entertaining ways kids can have fun independently or with their family and friends. So, read on to find out about 99 fun kids’ activities.
Table of Contents
Play I-Spy
I-Spy is a classic game that most kids love. There are “I Spy” books, or can be played on its own. Kids can play independently, in a group, or with an adult. One person starts the game by saying, “I spy with my little eye…” and names a characteristic of the object they want the others to find.
Example: “I spy with my little eye… something blue. Then, everyone takes turns looking around the area until they find the object that the original person was thinking about. When kids are interested, a game of I Spy can last for hours.
Go On a Bike Ride
Kids love riding on anything with wheels. Bikes, scooters, skateboards, hoverboards, ride-on, you name it. Taking your kids out on a bike ride allows them to get much-needed physical exercise and burn off pent-up energy while exploring nature and creating memories.
Do Science Experiments in the Kitchen
Kids love doing science experiments. It feels a bit like magic, especially for young kids who are just starting to learn about science. There are various experiments to do at home. You will likely already have the materials for them, so this is a low-cost or no-cost activity.
Some popular kitchen science experiments include:
- The Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano- a classic project where you simulate a volcanic eruption using common kitchen materials. Ingredients: baking soda, vinegar, laundry detergent, water, food coloring, and a water bottle
- Grow Your Own Rock Candy Using Sugar Crystals- what kid doesn’t love the idea of making their own candy? Ingredients: sugar, water, food coloring, a glass, and sticks
- Make Your Own Oobleck Slime- children (and adults!) enjoy playing with slime; it’s a satisfying sensory experience. Save money and enjoy the satisfaction of creating your own! Ingredients: cornstarch, water, and food coloring if you want to add color to it
- Make water fireworks- teach your kids about how liquids diffuse in the water while making fireworks in a glass, without the explosion! Ingredients: water, oil, and food coloring
- Cloud in a Bottle- this experiment teaches kids about the different phases of matter while creating their own cloud! Ingredients: water, a plastic bottle, and matches
Make a Sweet Treat Together
Getting in the kitchen and cooking together is great for both older kids and young kids. Start by letting them choose the recipe and spend time in the kitchen with them making it. You can make anything from root beer floats to brownies and cupcakes to milkshakes and smoothies.
Cooking and baking with your kids will teach them about food safety, how to use different appliances, cooking techniques, and principles, and let them use their creativity and critical thinking skills.
Let Your Child Share Something They Love with You
Kids love sharing about themselves, and showing interest in your child and what they care about can foster closeness with your child.
For example, if your child loves trains, let them spend time teaching you about the different types of trains and how they work. Watch an episode of their favorite train-themed show with them. Put together and play with their train set together. Visit local train museums if there are any near you.
Make a Pillow and Blanket Fort
Everyone has done this at some point during their childhood. Do this together with your kids, or let them build it themselves. All you will need are extra pillows and blankets you have lying around. Your kids will have a great time doing this, and it will give them a chance to express their creativity.
Have a Movie Night and Sleepover
Who doesn’t love sleepovers? Let your kids invite a couple of their friends, have popcorn or make some yummy snacks, and have everyone vote on a movie to watch while dressed in your coziest pajamas.
Make Collages or a Scrapbook Together
A collage is a simple art form where you glue paper scraps or other items to a piece of paper. Collages can be anything you want.
Scrapbooking is a step up from regular college in that it is usually done inside a journal or other book and uses nicer materials.
Start a Garden With Your Kids
Have you always wanted to plant your own food but never got around to it? Why not start a garden with your kids? It’s a great learning opportunity, plus it gets you all active and outside!
Have an Indoor or Outdoor Picnic
Picnics are an excellent activity for all ages, especially for the more adventurous kids in your family. Whether indoor or outdoor, they can help make the food, pack the picnic basket, set out the blankets, and more.
Swing on a Swing Set Together
Use the swings on your child’s playset at home or visit a local park. If you visit the park, your child can also play with the other things (and potentially kids!) on the playground.
Play Their Favorite Board Game Together
Indoor games are a great way to spend time together as a family. Let your child choose the board game, such as Candy Land, Connect 4, Mall Madness, Trouble, or Twister, and play a few rounds. Your child will have to use their critical thinking and decision-making skills to help them win the game.
Look at the Stars
Use this as an opportunity to teach them about constellations and the roles that stars play in the solar system. Once they learn what constellations are, they will have a blast trying to find as many as possible in the sky. The best views of the stars tend to be away from city lights, so if you are a big city dweller, you could make a night of it!
Draw on the Sidewalk with Chalk
Anyone who spent most of their childhood without technology has fond memories of covering their driveways in sidewalk chalk drawings. Buy some inexpensive sidewalk chalk from the dollar store, bring your kids outside, and let their imaginations go wild.
Send a Care Package to a Loved One
Who doesn’t love getting mail? If a loved one lives some distance away, this is a perfect opportunity to send a care package. You and your kids can spend time together picking out the items to go in the box, decorating it, and taking it to the post office.
Read a Book Together
Reading is an essential skill that children will use throughout their life. One of the best ways to help them develop a love of reading is to read often with your kids. Allow them to choose the book and then take turns reading the pages aloud.
Go to the Beach Together
Going to the beach is something that every child should experience at least once. Your kids will love building sandcastles, splashing in the ocean, digging in the sand, and looking for seashells.
Make a Memory Book Together
A memory book is a photo album and a scrapbook combined into one and filled with your child’s favorite memories. What a fantastic memento of their childhood!
Play Hide and Seek
Hide and seek is a classic game that kids of all ages love. Take turns being the seeker, counting to 10, and finding each other.
Tie-Dye Your T-Shirts
Tie-dyeing is a fun activity that everyone can do together. Show your kids some tie-dye patterns, let them choose which one they want, and let the creative mess begin.
Play Classic Kids Games
Tic-tac-toe, Heads Up Seven Up, HangMan, Hot Potato, Mother May I, Red Rover, Simon Says, Bubblegum Bubblegum, the list is seemingly endless. Plus, these games have simple instructions that all kids can understand.
Play with Dominoes
Buy some dominoes, set them up in the house in a pattern, and let the fun begin!
Play Pretend
Kids love playing pretend, and it’s a great way to use their imagination and creativity to the fullest.
Learn About a Different Country
Learning about countries outside the United States can give kids an opportunity to learn about other cultures and an understanding of just how big the world is. Let them pick a country they think is exciting and lead the way on a globetrotting adventure.
Visit Botanical Gardens
Botanical gardens are a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. They are full of beautiful gardens and offer an opportunity to learn about plants in a fun way.
Watch Their Favorite Show or Movie Together
Spending time together doesn’t have to be something elaborate. You can do something as simple as watching your favorite show or movie together.
Raise Butterflies Together
You can buy caterpillar to butterfly kits in the mail. Working through the kit is a great way to teach your kids more about nature and the concept of metamorphosis.
Do Crosswords or Word Searches
These puzzles are an excellent way for kids to sharpen their critical thinking skills while having fun. There are plenty of printable crosswords and word searches online.
Color a Picture
Coloring isn’t just for kids. They have adult coloring books too! Coloring is an excellent option if you need a relaxing way to pass the time!
Build with Legos
LEGOs are sure to keep kids entertained for hours. Let your kids make their designs or put together a pre-designed set if they feel adventurous.
Do Brain Teasers
Brain teasers are fun yet educational challenges. You can form teams as a family and see which team can solve the most brain teasers.
Play with Shaving Cream
Shaving cream is a fun and inexpensive sensory activity. Although, depending on your activity of choice, cleanup may be a little time intensive.
Make Up a Fun Song
Kids love to sing and be creative, so what better way to have fun with them than to help them invent their own songs. Just have them write down the lyrics that come to mind first and put them to a familiar tune. Super simple and a great time!
Do a Mad-Libs
Mad-Libs are silly stories where you fill in the blanks with any noun, verb, adverb, or adjective you want. Your kids will have a blast reading the story they create out loud.
Create a Paper Towel Tube Telescope
Has your kid ever wanted to pretend to be a pirate or an adventurer? Well, now they can! Help them make and decorate their very own telescope from paper towel tubes and let the fun begin!
Have a Costume Party
Let your kids put on their favorite costumes and get some of their friends to join in on the fun. You can have snacks, play games, or just sit around and watch a fun family movie!
Make a Red-Robin Story
A red robin story is a whole lot of family fun. It’s a fun story-making process where everyone sits in a circle, and you go around one by one, adding plot points until you have a complete story. For example, someone starts with “once upon a time, there was a daring adventurer…” and the next person says, “with long dark hair and a floppy hat,” etc…
Make Their Own Jewelry
Set out beads and string from the craft store and let your kids create their jewelry. They can create something for themselves or give their creations as gifts.
Cardboard Box Fun
One of my kid’s favorite things to do is transform cardboard boxes into a car, plane, storefront, or a small town– the possibilities are endless. All this requires is a little imagination, some markers, scissors, tape, and some time- this is an excellent option for younger children.
Go On a Walk in the Woods
If you have woods near you, take your kids on a hike through them. You can teach them about the different plants and animals that live in the area surrounding your house.
Do Puzzles Together
Puzzles are a great problem-solving activity for all ages. Let your child choose the puzzle they like best, clear the table, and get started.
Take Kids to Chuck-E-Cheese or Dave and Busters
These kid-friendly arcades have tons of games that come with the incentive of winning tickets you can use for a prize. It’s hours of fun for kids of all ages.
Teach Your Kids How to Make Your Favorite Recipe
Cooking is a great way to bond with your kids, and they will love being your helpers in the kitchen! Plus, you will have a tasty treat to share with the whole family when you are all done.
Play With Playdough
Playdough is a classic kid’s toy that kids love to stretch, mold, and press. Let them make their creations, or teach them how to make something new.
Have a Karaoke Contest
Youtube is an excellent resource for karaoke versions of your favorite songs. Choose any song in any genre you want and sing your heart out.
Blow Bubbles
Your kids will have so much fun seeing who can make the biggest bubble. Bubbles are guaranteed fun in the sun!
Make a Bird feeder
Help your kids make a bird feeder out of popsicle sticks, fill it with straw and birdseed, hang it in the yard, and watch as birds settle into their new home.
Go Bowling
Bowling is a fun game for the whole family. Set up a ball and pins at home, or make it an outing and go to your local bowling alley. Play individually or in teams and compete for the best score!
Start a Rock Collection
Take your kids to collect rocks in the backyard or at a park. Then, put them in a jar and add them to the collection over time. You can even get creative by painting them.
Help Them Rearrange Their Bedroom
Who doesn’t love a refreshed space? Your kids will love getting to make their room their own and will appreciate your help in doing it.
Go on a Scavenger Hunt
Going on a scavenger hunt is a versatile activity that can be done inside or outside. Your kids will love following the clues and working together to find the items.
Have a Dance Party
Movement is a great way to let out pent-up energy. Clear the floor, put your kid’s favorite songs on, and let the fun begin!
Play with Sock Puppets
Your kids will love creating and putting on plays with their sock puppets. You can use socks with a missing match and other odds and ends to make their puppets to keep it budget-friendly. Then can present their favorite stories or make up their own.
Take Them to See a Kid-Friendly Play or Musical
What kid doesn’t love music or seeing their favorite characters brought to life on stage? Your local library often has a community theater with performances appropriate for the whole family.
Visit a Natural History Museum
Visiting a natural history museum is great for both younger and older children. There’s so much tucked inside a museum you are sure to find something to interest everyone. Some museums even offer free admission, so check out their website before you go!
Make Stamp Art
Stamps are relatively inexpensive, and your kids will love pressing the ink to paper and seeing the design come to life.
Watch the Sunset Together
Everyone should experience watching the sunset together at least once. Watching it together can be the perfect way to end a long day.
Make a Time Capsule
Fill a box with special objects and memories, bury it, and set a date to open it. Your kids will love seeing moments from years gone by when it’s time to open it.
Teach Your Kids Hand-Clapping Games
Hand games are often a source of many fun memories for kids growing up in the ’90s and 2000s. Keep the tradition going by teaching your kids how to play Miss Mary Mac and other well-known hand games.
Make a Holiday Tree
Your Christmas tree doesn’t just have to be for Christmas! Decorate your Christmas tree for different holidays!
Break out the Kiddie Pool
When the spring and summer get warm, it’s a great time to get in the water to stay cool. Break out the pool, grab some pool toys, and let your kids splash to their heart’s content.
Make a Tower Out of Popsicles
Let your child use their decision-making and teamwork skills to build the tallest tower they can out of popsicle sticks and glue.
Have an ice cream party.
If you are stuck inside on a rainy day or just need some indoor activities your kids will love, have an ice cream party. You can grab a few different types of ice cream and lots of different kinds of toppings and let your kids go wild!
Play LeapFrog
LeapFrog is another classic game that can be played outdoors or indoors. Your kids can take turns hopping over each other until they get tired.
Visit the Aquarium or Zoo
Kids love animals, and taking them to the zoo or the aquarium is an excellent way to learn about the different species that live on land and in the sea. If you can’t visit the zoo in person, you can take a virtual zoo tour.
Put on a Talent Show at Home
Have everyone in your family come together to host a talent show. This is a fun way to get the whole family together creatively.
Play a Game of Tag
Tag you’re it! Kids will be occupied for hours chasing each other around the house and catching their siblings or parents.
Play a Video Game Together
Technology has become a massive part of everyone’s life. One way you can spend time with them is to play video games. There are so many to choose from you are sure to find something everyone will love.
Pick Fruit at a Berry Farm
Your kids will have a good time picking out (and eating) fruit. Plus, you may be able to grab some fresh fruit dessert!
Make Pipe Cleaner Art
Pipe cleaners are inexpensive and can be bent and twisted into various shapes. Your kids can design flowers, hearts, people, or anything else they can dream up!
Visit Another Family Member or Friend
Kids love exploring new places. Instead of having a play date at your house, take them to visit someone they love.
Go To a Sports Game
Exciting action, snacks, cheering on the home team. What’s not to love? Let your kids choose the game if they have a favorite sport, or do a hat drawing so that the whole family can enjoy the fun of doing something spontaneous.
Have a Family Field Day
Field day is a day of outdoor games. Have the family come together for a three-legged race, tug of war, and more! Have prizes ready for the winner of each event.
Go To a Trampoline Park
Jumping around is always fun! Your kids can enjoy bouncing on trampolines or making up games as they soar through the air.
Go Go-karting
Riding go-karts around a track is a crazy fun way to spend an afternoon. Most go-kart tracks even offer double seaters for little children.
Play Laser Tag
In the laser tag arena, you and your kids will work in a team (or each other!) to mark the other team with lasers before they can get you.
Visit an Escape Room
Are you and your kids up for a challenge? Try an escape room where you must solve a series of puzzles and riddles to escape the room before time runs out.
Set Up a Lemonade Stand
Kids will love being in charge of the stand and selling lemonade to their neighbors. Help them set up the prices for a glass or a pitcher, and make flyers with them to let your neighbors know in advance, so they have customers!
Have a Garage Sale
Have to get rid of some old stuff and aren’t sure what to do with it? Have your kids pick what they want to sell and help them set the prices, and hold your own garage sale!
Teach Them Magic
Your kids will enjoy learning the secrets behind some simple magic tricks.
Go Ice Skating
Ice rinks are open all year round. Not only is skating fun, but it’s also a great source of exercise.
Learn About Your Family History
Has your child wanted to learn about their personal history? Spend some time researching your family tree and ancestry.
Rock Climb
Your child will feel like a superhero as they learn to scale the rock wall. Rock climbing is an excellent activity for the whole family as there is a range of difficulties.
Go Tubing
Know a family member that has a boat? Buy a tube and let your kids have fun riding the waves.
Play Mini Golf
Mini-golf is great for all ages, and your kids will love spending time outside. Plus, some mini-golf places have fun themes like pirates or dinosaurs.
Have a Campfire Cookout
Hotdogs, hamburgers, s’mores, and family time? Yes, please! Set up some backyard games and have some crafts to add to the fun.
Have a Derby Car Race
Kids will learn how to build something from scratch and have the time of their lives seeing which car crosses the finish line first.
Make Paper Planes
Kids can get creative folding and coloring their planes and spend hours getting them to fly.
Play with Marbles
Grab some marbles, set up a course with toilet paper rolls, and watch as they roll through!
Make Dinner For Breakfast
Sick of the same old recipes for dinner? Change it up and add breakfast into your dinner time rotation!
Play Charades
Everyone takes turns guessing words without talking! Have family members create teams, and let the fun begin!
Make Music
Use household kitchen tools to make homemade musical instruments! Pots and pans, glasses and spoons, cereal box guitars, and anything else you can imagine.
Make a Music Video
Pick your favorite song, dress up, and make movie magic! Share the video with your friends and family if you’re feeling brave.
Visit a nearby National Park.
National parks are a fun place to spend a day (or a family vacation) with your kids. They often have trails and bike paths; some have lakes or rivers and a visitor center to learn about the local area’s history and geography. And best of all they are very budget-friendly!
Go Horseback Riding
Local ranches offer family rides, and kids will have fun seeing the world from the back of a horse.
Have a Water Balloon Fight
All you need is balloons and water. The perfect way to cool off on a summer day! Have your kids make teams and face off to see who will get soaked first.
Go To a Drive-In Movie
A blast from the past! Watch a movie without having to leave the comfort of your car. Bring your favorite snacks and comfy blankets and prepare for movie magic with some old-school nostalgia.
Go Ziplining
Soar above the trees at top speeds! Find a local ropes course in your area that offers zip-lining or an adventure park, and let the fun begin.
Conclusion
Your kids can do so many fun activities with the whole family or independently. Whether inside or outdoor activities, you’ve got hours of fun with a bit of imagination and creativity!
