Indoor Activities to keep your little ones entertained on Rainy Days..

Hello and a warm welcome back, today’s topic, indoor activity ideas for your little ones. I wrote this blog for Vanchi Baby Bags Journal a month ago and thought it was too good not to re share here for my community.

Are you a parent with an energetic toddler running wild inside? If so, then this blog might just help save your sanity when stuck at home on a rainy day. It can be easy to resort to movie days and extra screen time when gloomy. If you're looking to cut down on this, burn some toddler mental and physical energy, have a read of my suggestions below. I thought I could share with you a few fun activities that keep my 20 month old toddler entertained indoors.

Paddle Pop Sticks into a drink bottle This is a simple, cheap and fun way to keep your toddler entertained for a while. Buying some paddle pop sticks and using a thin lid drink bottle, show them how to put each stick in. Also a great one for when you need time to shower, wash your hair, blow dry or finally fold the washing.

Indoor bowling If it is safe for you to do so in your home, make an indoor bowling set up. Set up some paper or reusable plastic cups with a light ball. Let them roll it into the cups seeing how many they can knock down, show them how to re-set up and hopefully they'll enjoy this too!

Craft; painting, drawing, stickers, air drying clay etc… All kinds of craft happen around our house. On rainy days we love ‘crafternoons’. A few of our favourite craft activities would be painting, drawing, making sticker collages, shaping air drying clay and using toilet paper rolls to make silly monsters. Having a few supplies, like paints, crayons, googly eyes, sequins, pom poms, clay and stickers is helpful to have on hand and ready to go.

Building a pillow fort cubby Always a fun go to, to build but also jump around on and destroy! Getting all the pillows, cushions and blankets and getting creative however you can and with what you have in your home to build a cubby.

Bubbles Cheap, easy and always fun, bubbles! If you're lucky enough to have an undercover area outside, set off a bubble machine or blow bubbles for some popping fun! Let them chase after bubbles to burn pent up energy.

Baking I love when I have over ripe bananas in rainy weather because making banana bread is a fun one to do together when stuck indoors. But when I don't, I'll make my Toddler approved seed crackers recipe, a savoury crunchy treat to cook up together! My daughter loves to do all the scooping, pouring, mixing and… eating when in the kitchen.

Music and dancing Turn the speakers up, set up a dance floor and have a fun boogie and sing along to some of your favourite tunes together!

Balloons! Blow up some balloons because they are perfect for bouncing around the house without destroying it! It’s great to pop these on the dance floor with your music and in your cubby too!

I hope this list has inspired you to cull some screen time and given you a new idea or two for some indoor activities with your toddlers. Hopefully something here will give you a break too, to sit back, enjoy a cup of tea or let you get stuck into your to-do list.