Rainy day Christmas activities for kids
Updated 30 October 2026 · By Rob and Chris, two Sheffield dads, and our families
On a wet December day, pick by how much time you have: a 10 minute game, a 30 minute craft, or an afternoon project like a gingerbread house or a living-room cinema. Below are 25 indoor Christmas activities sorted by time and age, a quick pick for each age, and a rainy-day jar of slips to print.
What can we do in 10 minutes?
No mess, nothing to buy. Good for before school or after tea.
| Activity | Ages | You need | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freeze dance | 3+ | Music | Play Christmas songs. Freeze when the music stops. |
| Christmas I-spy | 3+ | Nothing | “I spy something red and shiny.” |
| What has the elf taken? | 4+ | A tray, 8 Christmas things, a tea towel | Look for 30 seconds, cover the tray, take one away. What’s gone? |
| Christmas tree stretches | 3+ | Nothing | Arms up for the star, out wide for branches, wiggle for tinsel. |
| Snowman with your eyes shut | 4+ | Paper, pens | Everyone draws a snowman with their eyes closed, then compares. |
| Joke round | 5+ | A joke each | Go round the room. Older ones can make one up. |
| Christmas word chain | 8+ | Nothing | Each word starts with the last letter of the one before: tinsel, light, tree… |
| Tidy-up race | 4+ | One Christmas song | Everyone tidies until the song ends. Then a dance. |
What can we do in 30 minutes?
| Activity | Ages | You need | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper snowflakes | 5+ | Paper, scissors | Stick them on the window when they’re done. |
| Paper chains | 3+ | Paper strips, tape | Little ones tape, older ones measure and cut. |
| Indoor treasure hunt | 3+ | Five small things | Older ones write clues for younger ones. |
| Christmas charades | 4+ | Slips of paper | Christmas films, songs and characters. |
| Christmas cards | 3+ | Card, pens, scraps | Make them for grandparents or a neighbour. |
| Reindeer face snack plate | 3+ | Fruit, crackers | A grown-up cuts. Children arrange the face. |
| Kindness coupons | 4+ | Paper, pens | Promises to do something kind, to give as presents. |
| Cardboard box sleigh | 3+ | A big box, pens | Decorate it, climb in, deliver toys round the house. |
| A Christmas quiz they write | 8+ | Paper, pens | Ten questions about your family’s Christmases. Grown-ups answer. |
What can we do with a whole wet afternoon?
| Activity | Ages | You need | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gingerbread house from a kit | 4+ | A kit | About 40 minutes to build, then it needs time to set. |
| Living-room cinema | 3+ | A film you have, paper | Children make tickets and a menu, then show everyone to their seats. |
| Salt dough decorations | 4+ | Flour, salt, water | Shape, bake with a grown-up at the oven, paint the next day. |
| Blanket grotto | 3+ | Blankets, cushions, fairy lights | A den under the table. Read Christmas stories inside. |
| Bake Christmas biscuits | 4+ | Ingredients, cutters | Children mix and cut shapes. A grown-up does the oven. |
| Family Christmas newspaper | 8+ | Paper, pens | Headlines, a weather report, an interview with the dog. |
| Board game tournament | 6+ | Games you have | Three games, points for each, a homemade trophy. |
| A Christmas play | 6+ | Dressing-up box | Older ones write it, younger ones star. Perform after tea. |
Which rainy day Christmas activities suit each age?
- 3 to 5: freeze dance, a treasure hunt with three easy finds, taping paper chains, a blanket grotto.
- 6 to 8: paper snowflakes, charades, card making, a cardboard box sleigh.
- 9 to 11: writing a family quiz, baking biscuits with a grown-up at the oven, a family newspaper, a gingerbread house.
- 12 plus: writing and directing a short play for the younger ones, running the living-room cinema, setting a treasure hunt, a game tournament.
Mixed ages? Give the oldest a job that helps the youngest: writing clues, reading the story, handing out cinema tickets.
Keeping it safe
A grown-up does cutting with sharp scissors and handles the oven. Check for allergies before any food activity, including the snack plate, biscuits and gingerbread. Keep small pieces such as sweets, beads and sequins away from under-3s: anything smaller than a 2p coin can choke a young child, and the Department for Education advises no hard sweets for young children. Keep dens and blankets away from heaters, lamps and fairy light plugs, and switch lights off when you leave the room.
The rainy-day jar
Print, cut along the dashed lines (a grown-up does this with little ones), fold the slips and put them in a jar. On a wet day, someone pulls one out.
Or use your browser’s Print. Only the list prints.
- Freeze dance
- Christmas I-spy
- What has the elf taken?
- Tree stretches
- Snowman with eyes shut
- Joke round
- Word chain
- Tidy-up race
- Paper snowflakes
- Paper chains
- Treasure hunt
- Charades
- Make a card
- Snack plate faces
- Kindness coupons
- Box sleigh
- Write a quiz
- Living-room cinema
- Salt dough
- Blanket grotto
- Bake biscuits
- Family newspaper
- Game tournament
- Put on a play
Get the Famoo app Family life, sorted together. The family calendar, jobs and lists, shared by everyone at home.
app.famoo.app
More ideas
Full steps for the crafts and games are on our Christmas activities page. For days when you can get out, try our free Christmas activities. Looking for a calendar to put them in? See our Advent calendar ideas.
Questions parents ask
What can kids do indoors at Christmas when it’s raining?
Pick by time. In 10 minutes: freeze dance, Christmas I-spy or a memory game. In 30 minutes: paper snowflakes, charades or a treasure hunt. With an afternoon: a gingerbread house, biscuits, a living-room cinema or a Christmas play.
What is a quick Christmas activity for a school night?
A freeze dance to two Christmas songs, a joke round at tea, or the elf memory game: eight Christmas things on a tray, cover it, take one away, guess what has gone. Each takes about 10 minutes.
How do I keep children of different ages busy together?
Give the oldest a job that helps the youngest. Older children write treasure hunt clues, read the story or run the cinema. Younger ones hunt, listen and hand out tickets. Everyone is part of the same thing.
What should be in a rainy-day Christmas box?
Paper, card, felt tips, tape, string, round-ended scissors, a torch, a few blankets, a pack of cards and slips from the rainy-day jar. Keep sharp scissors and small pieces somewhere little ones cannot reach.
Want a ready-made activity for every day of December?
In Famoo, your family’s Advent calendar opens one door a day with that day’s activity, picture steps, an elf who reads each step aloud, and a part for each age. You can choose stay-in activities for the days you know will be busy. Join the beta and choose your 24 from 46 activities.
Famoo is a family app for UK homes, in beta, so things may change.
Where this comes from
Each fact on this page links to one of these. Everything else is our own view from our families.
- Child Accident Prevention Trust, Safe from choking, checked 30 October 2026
- Department for Education, GOV.UK, Help for early years providers: Food safety, checked 30 October 2026
