Fun Winter Activities for Kids (Indoor & Outdoor)

Fun Indoor Winter Activities for Kids

Whether you’re cooped up indoors trying to keep the kids (and yourself) entertained or you’re looking for some new and exciting outdoor winter activities to try, we’ve got you covered from head to snow! Ha!

We’ve gathered our favorite indoor and outdoor winter activities for kids, families, couples, and well, whoever really!

1. Have a Family Game Night

When it comes to winter family activities, game night easily reigns supreme! It’s so fun to get together with a board game (new or old) and simply play, chat, and make memories. Check out this post for some game ideas:

• 10 Fun Family Games to Play at Home (Perfect for Family Game Night)

2. Do a Puzzle

Similar to family game night, you could also do a puzzle together! Puzzles are a great way for kids to learn problem-solving skills as well. Find puzzle deals on Amazon.

Oh, and if you just want to keep your child entertained, there a ton of other fun single person puzzles for that aside from just regular puzzles. Try picking up a Rubiks cube or one of these single-person learning puzzles.

3. Do Some Crafts

Wintertime is the perfect time for crafts and art projects. Here are some of our favorite craft ideas:

• 38 DIY Winter Crafts for Kids
• The Best Homemade Playdough Recipe
• 11 Fun and Easy Crafts for Kids to Do At Home
• 5 Easy DIY Crayon Art Project Ideas
• 7 Beautiful Stained Glass Art Projects For Kids

4. Make Hot Chocolate

This isn’t really an activity, but it pairs well with pretty much all of the other winter activities on this list! Get innovative with your hot chocolate and add candy canes for a peppermint flavor, some whipped cream, chocolate syrup, etc!

Our favorite hot chocolate recipes:

• Best Nutella Hot Chocolate
• Red Velvet Hot Chocolate
• Pumpkin Hot Chocolate
• Santa Hot Chocolate
• Mexican Hot Chocolate

5. Bake Some Treats

Winter is the perfect time to bake some sweet treats. And hey, if your oven heats up the house a little bit, that’s a nice side benefit!

Try these treat recipes:

• Amazing Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
• Easy Soft & Creamy Fudge
• The Best Chocolate Cookies
• Sour Cream Sugar Twists
• Quick and Easy Cinnamon Roasted Pecans

6. Watch a Movie

Gather the family, cozy up under some blankets, and watch a movie together! You can find movie deals if you want to save some money, or you can just browse Amazon prime TV or Netflix.

If you want, make some homemade popcorn as well! Here are our favorite recipes:

• Quick and Easy Caramel Popcorn
• Cinnamon Roll Popcorn
• Killian Corn
• Easy Cinnamon Popcorn Recipe

7. Read a Book

Sit by a warm fire and bust out one of your favorite books! If you have a toddler you could do some reading together or the whole family can have a reading session.

P.S. If you don’t have a Kindle, you should consider getting one! It’s so convenient being able to have all your books in one place. Find Kindle Deals here.

8. Make Some Indoor S’mores

If it’s really too cold to go outside, make some indoor s’mores! I don’t know why but this is just such a good winter treat. You could also try these S’mores Cookie Cups or s’mores cookie bars.

Outdoor Winter Activities

9. Build a Snowman

The most classic outdoor winter activity of them all. Try to get creative though! Build the biggest snowman you can, add fun accessories, or do something else to switch things up a bit.

10. Make an Igloo

This is one of the most fun things you can make together as a family. It’s not easy though! It will require some great teamwork and persistence but being able to sit inside your igloo at the end makes it all worth it.

Before getting started, I recommend watching this video to learn the easiest way to build an igloo step-by-step.

11. Form Snow Angels

This is another one of those outdoor winter activities that just seems like a requirement each year. You’ve got to at least make one snow angel!

12. Have a Snowball Fight

If you can, try to get the entire neighborhood to participate in a huge snowball fight! Build bunkers and forts, stock up snowballs, and spend a day having an absolute blast.

13. Go Sledding

If you already live near a big hill you’re lucky! If not, you could simply pull your kids around in a sled, it’s still a lot of fun for them. And hey, if you don’t have a sled, DIY it! Use a piece of cardboard, a garbage can lid, there are tons of unconventional sled alternatives 🙂

14. Make Some Money Shoveling Snow

If your kids are feeling a bit entrepreneurial and they don’t mind a bit of hard work, take them around the neighborhood to offer their snow shoveling services! This is a great learning experience and they’ll love having a bit of spending money. It’s good exercise too!

15. Roll the Biggest Snowball Ever

Source

This is especially fun if you have a large empty field near your house. Get all the kids and their friends together and, as a group, try to roll the biggest snowball you can. It gets really hard to push as it gets bigger so gather as many people possible!

For more tips, check out this guide to rolling huge snowballs. It’s a thing, people!

16. Blow Bubbles

Bubble blowing may seem like more of a summer activity, but it’s even cooler when you do it in the snow! With the right conditions, you’ll be able to watch the bubble slowly freeze, just as shown in this video.

17. Try Snowboarding or Skiing

If you’re willing to spend some money and you live near a ski mountain, rent some gear out, take some lessons if needed, and give skiing or snowboarding a shot! This can be an extremely fun family activity and you’ll build some great memories.

18. Make Snow Castles

Snow castles are just like sandcastles you’d build on the beach, except they’re made from snow. See how intricate you can get with your snow castles!

19. Go Ice Skating

You could do this at an outdoor ice rink or indoor, either one is a blast!

20. Cover Your Body in Snow

Don’t bury your head, but just cover your body in the snow and take some fun photos!

Final Thoughts

I love wintertime! There are just so many exciting activities you can do outside, and if you’re not a big fan of the cold, there are plenty of great ways to stay entertained inside too. Next time the kids are telling you they’re bored, just take an idea from this list!

What are your go-to winter activities? Is there anything that you do every winter that you just can’t go without? Let us know!

Other Posts You Might Like:

• 38 DIY Winter Crafts for Kids
• 10 DIY Winter Clothes and Accessories
• 7 Perfect Spring Art Activities Your Kids Will Love