The rain is coming down, everyone’s a little restless, and the screens are calling. We’ve all been there.

The good news? Keeping kids happy on a rainy day doesn’t take a craft store haul or a Pinterest-perfect setup. Here are five simple ideas that use what you already have, and that kids genuinely enjoy.

1. Colour with music on

Put on a playlist, set out the crayons and coloured pencils, and let everyone colour whatever they like. Music sets the mood and somehow makes colouring feel like an event. Bonus: it’s one of the few activities that works for every age at the same table.

2. Find 5 blue things

Give each child a challenge: find five blue things in the house in two minutes. Then try finding five round things, five soft things, or five things that remind them of the ocean. When the rain is coming down, everyone’s a little restless, and the screens are calling. We’ve all been there. This activity helps get the wiggles out without anyone bouncing off the couch.

3. Build a blanket-fort submarine

Blankets, pillows and a flashlight are all it takes. Once it’s built, the fort becomes a submarine exploring the deep sea. Kids can draw the sea creatures they “spot” through the window and tape them to the walls.

4. Silly fill-in-the-blank stories

Kids choose random words (a colour, an animal, a number, a food), then you read the finished story out loud. There’s something about hearing “a purple shark ate 47 pancakes” that gets the whole family laughing. It’s also sneaky practice with nouns, verbs and adjectives.

5. Family puzzle race

Print a few mazes or word searches and race to finish. Adults can take a handicap (no pencil, or one hand behind your back) to keep it fair. Loser makes the hot chocolate.

Want more ideas like these?

We made a free set of ocean printables, including a maze and colouring pages, for exactly these kinds of days. Get the free printables and keep them on hand for the next rainy afternoon.

What’s your go-to rainy day activity? We’d love to hear it.