11 indoor activity ideas for toddlers

This week I've been experimenting some different ways to keep my toddlers busy indoors. They've been loving having something creative and different to do and I'm thankful that I've been able to occupy them so well inside so that we can avoid the outdoors for a bit. Here are 11 simple activities to keep your little ones busy indoors on these super cold days.


1. Puzzles.
I busted out these puzzles from storage and Jeremy has been obsessed with them. My house is chanting "Thank you for finding some free time to clean me".

2. Use a yoga mat on the stairs to make a ramp
The boys were so excited to drive their trains and trucks down the ramp. Just make sure you don't leave your children unattended for too long - otherwise they'll be trying to use the yoga mat as a crazy carpet. Take my word for it. I eventually ended up taping the mat to the stairs for safety purposes. But otherwise...it works fabulous!

3. Hide & Seek
I encourage every parent to play hide and seek with their toddler. It's fun pretending you don't know where they are as you hear the giggles coming from inside the closet.

4. Toys in Play-doh
Find some small toys that your child adores. Wrap them into a ball of play-doh and let them peel it off of the toys. They will be occupied for approximately 43 minutes. At least my kids were! It didn't take them that long to find the toys, but they just kept wrapping them up and unwrapping them over again. I was able to wash my bathroom and fold 4 baskets of laundry in the process. I've never appreciated play-doh so much in my life.

5. Muffin tins
A muffin tin and some pom poms and you're ready to go. Jeremy loved putting the pom poms in each cup and actually cried when his bowl ran out. Landon preferred the googly eyes over the pom poms but he still got the concept. This is perfect for magnets as well or just teaching your child to separate colors.

6. Make a musical Instrument.

In our case the easiest instrument I could think of to make that my toddlers would actually enjoy was a maraca. How original of me. But these were actually fun for the kids to help me assemble! 2 cardboard tubes, some dried beans, popcorn kernels, and some tape to seal the ends with. Voila! The boys had fun running around with them and shaking away. Until it somehow became a weapon and they both ended up beating each other on the head with them. Thankfully the tape held up pretty good and there were no scattered beans on my living room floor. Once I inspected the premises and all was clear - it was time for apologies and a chat that we don't beat our brother on the head with anything even if it sounds cool. 

7. Build a train/school bus with your dining room chairs. 
I remember doing this as a kid and can't believe I haven't done this with the boys sooner. They had so much fun with their steering wheel plates and loved telling all of their bears to stay seated while they were driving over the bumpy tracks.

8. Colored bath water. 
Who knew that colored water would be so much more fun to play in and bath time would be better than dessert?

9. Drawing faces on bananas.
Ok, yet another thing I have never thought of and it's absolute genius! Drawing faces on bananas. Crazy right? When I asked Landon if he wanted to watch a TV show or draw on a banana I definitely wasn't expecting him to yell out the second option. Something so simple, yet so fascinating! The boys were so excited to draw on them, and then eat them. Now we're out of bananas.

10. Pipe cleaners in a strainer.
Kids love this. The end. Don't be fooled by the looks on their faces. This task takes deep concentration.

11. Look at snow man pictures.
I think this was one of Landon's favorite activities. So simple - and yet gave him the most smiles. He would point out so many things in each picture and really got some cute conversations going.

These activities were tested by real busy body toddlers and they give them a big thumbs up! I made a list of a few more indoor activities that I'll be wanting to try out this winter so if they end up being a success like these were then I'll definitely be sharing them with everyone! 

Thanks for Reading! 

SD