Are you and yours going stir-crazy yet from too many snow days or not enough sunlight? Wish you had some new ideas for getting through the rest of winter with your preschooler?
Originally published Feb. 9, 2015; last updated January 2026.
I know your pain all too well. Here’s a list I brainstormed last winter for stuff to do when you’re all going nuts inside:
10. Clear that driveway
Does your driveway need clearing? If so, rather than shoveling, clear your driveway by rolling a family of snow people to fill up your front yard.
9. Roll with it
Bundle her up sufficiently for the weather and teach your tot to roll down hills. (Like sledding, only more fun and no equipment required.) If you don’t have hills, roll across your backyard – or porch/balcony – or what-have-you. Then, when she’s worn out from that, teach your kiddo how to make snow angels.
8. Warm up with some yummy hot chocolate
Heat your milk or water in a microwave-safe 2-cup measure, if you have one, then let your child slowly stir in the powder as you gradually add a sprinkle every few minutes. Not only does this involve your kiddo in the process (we’re big on taking ownership in our household), but it also kills time and lets the liquid cool down to a tot-friendly drinking temperature.
7. Finger-paint your next set of holiday cards
Spread a dropcloth or large plastic trash bag on the floor, then top with sheets of construction paper, newspaper, blank newsprint, or whatever you have lying around. Squirt some glops of washable finger paints, like Crayola Washable Paints
On another winter afternoon when you’re stuck indoors, use cookie cutters to trace shapes onto the backside of your painted sheets (Christmas trees onto green paper, six-sided stars for Chanukah, hearts for Valentines, etc.). Or you can make your own stencil by drawing on a piece of cardboard. After you’ve cut out your shapes, you can glue them onto another piece of paper, or write a message on the front of the shape itself and have the child sign the back, or put the whole message on the back – whatever works best for your kiddos and the size/color of your shapes.
6. Oobleck time!
If your kids are really into tactile experiences, make some Oobleck for them to play with. In a large airtight container, slowly add about ½ cup water to 1 cup cornstarch and let your kiddos play with it. If mess is not your thing, you might want to put art smocks on them first, and consider putting a large tray or sheet of plastic between the container and the table.
For more on the science behind Oobleck and how it behaves, look here for info on making this fun afternoon activity into a science lesson for your kiddos.
5. Make cookies from scratch
Rolled cookies are most fun because they provide plenty of opportunities for hands-on help cutting and decorating; just be sure to glance through the recipe ahead of time and factor in time to chill the dough, if needed.
RELATED POST: Grandma’s Shortbread
For younger kids, you’ll want to prep the dough ahead of time – or get the store-bought tubes of ready-to-cook dough if you’re really pressed for time. For preschoolers and school-aged kids, teach them about fractions, math, and measurements by having them help you measure the ingredients.
4. Change things up
Escort your kids to a different part of the house than they usually play in; take a few favorite toys with you, if needed. Our basement is colder than the rest of the house, so we don’t spend much time down there in winter; but that makes bundling up for a trip down there all the more fun on those days when the upstairs toys are all “boring” (my 2-year-old’s favorite word) by 10am.
3. Do laundry.
Especially if you hate folding laundry, as I do, enlisting the aid of your toddler or preschooler is guaranteed to help you complete the project in record time. Get your kids and at least one basket of laundry onto the largest bed in the house (for us, that’s the queen-sized bed in the master bedroom); if your little one is to little to be safely on a bed, a large clean section of floor would work, too.
Kids love dumping over the laundry all over the bed, “hiding” in it, and trying on each other’s clothes (or layering on their own). Your job is to snatch pieces out of the fray, fold them, and then either a) put them away or b) move them out of the kids’ reach before they can unfold them.
As your tots grow older, they can learn how to help with the actual sorting and folding. By age two, a kiddo can learn to sort dirty laundry into “dark” and “light” piles, and can hand items to you to go into the washer. Even two-year-old Essie loves putting wet clothes into the dryer as I hand them to her, and Kimmie now helps me hang line-dry-only items. By the time she was four, Kimmie could neatly stack her sister’s cloth diapers, and fold washcloths and dishtowels. And while they still prefer hiding in Unfolded Laundry Mountain, both girls are now able to put stacks of folded clothes away in their rooms in the correct drawers.
RELATED POST: How to Get Kids to Help Around the House: 21 Hacks
2. Get out (or create) a tent, tunnel, fort, or obstacle course.
We have one of those collapsible play tunnels that I haul out into the living room only when the kids are getting stir-crazy. But a standing parent’s spread legs can be the starting point for a crawling-under-things adventure. Likewise, if you’ve got a couch, coffee table, and pair of grownup legs, you’ve got a bridge for your little monkeys to scramble under and climb over. Add some blankets, pillows, and chairs, and the possibilities are endless.
Think your kids are too big to build a fort? Get them a Crazy Forts kit for their next birthday or holiday, and see if they prove you wrong. (2026 update: Essie, nearly 14, STILL makes Crazy Forts caves in her room sometime, where she loves to snuggle up with a good book!)
1. Take a nap.
If your kids are still little enough to nap (and over age one), curl up with them for their afternoon snooze. Or snuggle with them on the couch in your living space, and read them lots of stories (if they’ll let you). If naps for them are so last year, you can still lie down for a “nap” on the floor or couch, preferably hidden under a blanket. As I know from experience, nothing makes a more tempting target for crawling-all-over and snuggling-up-to than a parent trying to catch a few zzz’s.
What is your favorite way to amuse your kiddo(s) during the depths of winter? Let us know in the comments!
P.S. Need ideas for older elementary school ideas? See this list of screen-free fun ideas for when they’re stuck inside, too!
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Heat your milk or water in a microwave-safe 2-cup measure, if you have one, then let your child slowly stir in the powder as you gradually add a sprinkle every few minutes.
Ooh, that’s another good one!
These are some great list, my kids loveeee hot chocolate in the winter 🙂
YES! So do mine! 🙂
I love these ideas! We’re going stir crazy in the frigid winter that is CANADA! We can’t wait to get back outside but in the meantime,now I have a few ideas for entertaining my toddler so we don’t all go crazy! Thank you!
You are SO welcome!!! 🙂
Haha your cracking me up! My toddlers go bonkers over laundry when I dump it on the bed too! Yep almost lost them few times jumping off! Great tips ; )
Since my daughter was a toddler, she always enjoys when we bake cookies from scratch together. Even now, as a teenager, we always do. This is a great list.
It’s so good to have ideas on hand in the wintertime when you have little kids. Here in Upstate New York, our winters are very long! Even now, we have a lot of snow on the ground but it has been below zero temps, so we can’t go outside.
Good list!!! Any help mommas can get the better.
These are such fun ideas! I always loved helping with the laundry when I was a kid. If I ever have kids of my own, I hope they are as enthusiastic.
Oobleck is so fun! When I taught, I made it with my 2nd graders and they couldn’t get enough of it, so I know a preschooler would be all about it!
It is just the best – my kids LOVE it! 🙂
Haha, yes! I’m loving the laundry idea. My oldest is now 6 so I can’t convince him to help me with laundry willingly anymore, but with my 3 year old, I can make a game out of it.
We can definitely use some of these tips in Buffalo where we’re stuck indoors sometimes for weeks at a time due to unsafe subzero temps!
My kids are older now and still get bored! I need these ideas right now!
Fabulous list of things to do with small ones.. I have to admit nap time is my favorite.
Great list! Oobleck sounds like it would be so much fun for everyone!
Great ideas! I don’t have littles anymore but I’m still down for a nap!
These are all excellent tips, although I’m happy to not have kids so I can just hide inside and say bah humbug!
These are all really fun ways to amuse a young child… we used to enjoy making cookies when my daughter was small!
Oh those dang tunnels. When we only had our oldest it was great and he loved playing with it. As soon as there was more than one kid, that thing turned into Thunderdome and we had to get rid of it for everyone’s sanity. lol.
Great list! We can’t do a few of these without snow or hills, but my preschooler doesn’t have school two days next week and we are looking for ideas of what to do with him. I think we will make a fort and bake some cookies together!
I love the obstacle course idea! These are great tips to carry into the Spring season too!
Very true, Nicky – so glad you liked them!
this is perfect. all of my money is currently going to an indoor play park because there’s only SO MUCH we can do in our little apartment.
Aiyiyi I can just imagine! Hope you can get a few new ideas here for different things to try 🙂
These are all great!! We enjoying making homemade Cards, so your tip about tracing shapes with cookie cutters is genius! We also make alot of homemade cookies, so I have a ton!
Haha sounds like you’re set for lots of stuck-inside winter fun, then, Denisha! 🙂
This is perfect timing since I have a 3-year-old!
Aww, then you know the need for new ideas come this point in winter is VERY real!…good luck. Mama, and hope this list helps some! 🙂
Love all the ideas especially the finger painting and nap!
Yay for naps! 🙂
These are great ideas! Especially taking a nap and making an obstacle course.
haha, naptime was often my favorite – Mama needed it, even if no one else did!!!
these are all great tips!
*thanks* Rizelle!
Love all of these ideas! We always enjoy painting, baking, and putting on puppet shows!
Ooh, puppet shows! – That’s a great one for sure! 🙂