18 Exciting Winter Activities For Kids

Winter holidays are a time when parents look for various activities and ideas to keep their kids fruitfully occupied, especially ones they do not get easily bored with. If you are looking for interesting winter activities for kids, you’ve come to the right place! In the following article, we will acquaint you with exciting indoor and outdoor winter activities for kids that they will surely enjoy.

Fun Winter Activities for Children

Children always look for fun and exciting activities to keep them entertained. However, winter months may dampen their spirits. Worry no more, as here we have fun-filled winter activities for preschoolers and kids to keep your little ones all pepped up and entertained!

Outdoor Winter Activities for Kids

Following are some entertaining outdoor activities for your kids.

1. Dodge Ball With Snow

This is a fun snow game that kids (and adults) thoroughly enjoy! Make sure that you are there to supervise as your little ones play.

What Your Child Needs

• All you need is snow!

How to

• Make two teams.
• Give a bucket full of snow to each team.
• Ask them to make snowballs and throw at their opponents. The team with the most hits wins!
• The idea is to dodge the balls and hit the opponents.

2. Hat on the Snowman

As cliché as it may sound, making a snowman during winter months is one of the most thrilling winter activities for kids. However, you can use your creativity to enhance the snowman’s features. In this activity, we will be placing a hat on the snowman as a fun winter game for kids.

What Your Child Needs

• A snowy day (of course)
• A hat
• You may use any interesting accessories that you have to dress up your snowman.

How to

• Build a snowman of your kid’s height by making different-sized balls out of snow and placing one on top of the other.
• Now, line up your kids (in case playing with family or friends) in a line, approximately 5 to 6 feet away.
• Give three chances to each participant to put the hat on the snowman from a distance.

3. Treasure Hunt

Treasure hunt during the winters? This is one of the most thrilling winter games for kids that will keep your little ones entertained for hours!

What Your Child Needs

• Pieces of paper with clues written on them
• Objects to hide in the snow (take bigger objects)

How to

• Hide the objects in the snow, in your yard, or your garden.
• Leave clues for the kids to follow. You can describe the object, give a memory associated with the object as a hint, etc.
• Keep a time limit and let the kids find their treasure.
• The one who finds the maximum objects will be the winner.

4. Pass the Snowball

This is an exciting group game and a fun snow activity for toddlers that can make boring winter afternoons more fun.

What Your Child Needs

• A bucket filled with snow for each team

How to

• Divide the kids into two or three teams (depending on the number of children)
• Give a bucket filled with snow to each team
• The team leader has to make snowballs and keep passing it on to the teammates. The team with the maximum number of snowballs by the end of the game wins!

5. Snow Angels

This activity of making snow angels is easy, fun, and will keep your little ones entertained for long!

What Your Child Needs

• An open area with ample snow

How to

• Make your child lie down on the snow, facing the sky.
• Ask him to move his arms and legs in a quick, flying motion continuously.
• Once done, ask him to carefully get up without spoiling his creation. Take a picture to show him how it looks!

6. Make Snow Forts

Making snow forts is a fun thing to do with kids during winters. You and your little ones could do this activity together and have ample amounts of fun in the process.

What Your Child Needs

• A rectangular hollow box, for building snow bricks
• An open area

How to

• Clear an area and make a boundary
• Fill the box with snow and press it to make it set
• Once set, get the snow brick out of the box
• Start stacking up the snow bricks one by one on the marked boundary
• Keep stacking till the desired height is achieved.

7. Painting Fun

Get some colour into these drab winters with this fun winter art and craft activity.

What Your Child Needs

• Some eco-friendly, washable colours
• Paintbrushes
• Moulds

How to

• Use snow to fill the moulds to make desired figures or shapes
• Help your kid colour these shapes and arrange them neatly
• Alternatively, you can help your kid paint by assuming a snow patch as a canvas
• Draw on snow with the help of a stick, and colour it
• Use easier shapes and patterns, as painting on the snow can get really tricky.

8. Tic-Tac-Toe on Snow

Kids love to play tic-tac-toe, and the fun gets doubled if it is played on snow!

What Your Child Needs

• A snowy day
• Some sticks
• Pine cones (optional)

How to

• Draw the tic-tac-toe pattern on the snow and play the game with your kid
• Alternatively, you can use sticks in the place of a cross and pine cones in the place of zeroes.

9. Winter Fun With Tubes

This outdoor winter activity for kids does not involve swimming – just loads of fun with tubes!

What Your Child Needs

• Inflated tubes

How to

• Take the kids on a snowy slope (not very steep)
• Mark the ‘start’ and ‘finish’ spots
• Ask the kids to sit on the tube
• Ask them to use their legs to navigate the tube towards the finish line
• The kid who reaches the finish line first will be the winner!

Indoor Winter Activities for Kids

There is no denying that playing outside in the snow is what every kid looks forward to during winters. However, in the case that you can’t go out to enjoy the snow, the following fun indoor activities that we have for your kiddo may keep him happily engrossed.

1. Winter Bingo Fun

Your usual game of bingo can be made more interesting by adding a wintery twist to it.

What Your Child Needs

• Chart paper
• Sketch pens
• Glue and glitter (optional)

How to

• Cut out cards in the desired size
• Draw 5 by 5 grids, and write numbers randomly
• Draw winter-themed pictures on the card as well, or stick pictures (if you cannot draw)
• You can even make the cards shimmery – put some glue on the backside of the card and sprinkle glitter in your favourite colours
• Now, call out the numbers and ask the kids to strike the called out number on the cards. The kid who strikes out all the numbers will be the winner!

2. Slam the Snowman

The ‘slamming the snowman’ activity doesn’t require you to be outdoors – we’ll tell you how this can be a fun indoor winter activity for kids!

What Your Child Needs

• Paper cups
• Craft paper
• Cotton
• Glue

How to

• Cover the paper cups with craft paper
• Cut out small circles from brown-coloured paper to make the eyes
• Cut out small triangles to make the nose
• Stick the eyes and noses on the cups
• Take some cotton and roll it into a firm ball. Stack the snowmen cups in the shape of a pyramid.
• Make your kids stand 5 to 6 feet away from the stacked snowmen.
• Give three chances to each child to slam the snowman.

3. Watch Movies Together

Watching movies together on a cold winter evening with family or friends is not only entertaining but also comforting.

What Your Child Needs

• Any good children’s movie

How to

• Have a nice, home-cooked meal or order in your child’s favourite food
• Place extra cushions and pillows on the couch for a comfortable experience
• Keep some popcorn and soda handy for late night hunger pangs
• Sit all cuddled up and enjoy the movie.

4. Make Holiday Greeting Cards With Kids

Kids like getting creative often, so this is a great time to get your little one to let out his creative genius! Making holiday greeting cards is a great winter art and craft activity for kids, and your child can make a separate one for each family member!

What Your Kid Needs

• White chart paper
• Colourful papers
• Sketch pens
• Watercolours
• Glitters (optional)
• Glue

How to

• Cut out the chart paper in the shape of a card
• Either draw or paste cutouts of various winter-themed pictures on the cards (Christmas tree, snowman, snowflakes etc.)
• You can add an extra flair by adding some glitter to the card

• Have your child sign the card, and post it.

5. Snow Globe

Ignite your child’s creative streak by helping him make something interesting, like a snow globe! This is one of the most fun winter activities for kids, and it can help you and your little one bond.

What Your Child Needs

• A glass jar with a tight lid
• Some plastic figures (hunt your kiddo’s toy box for some wintry ones)
• Glitter in different colours
• Glycerine
• Strong, waterproof glue
• Water

How to

• Take the lid and place a plastic figure carefully on it
• Let the figure stick nicely on the lid and let the glue dry completely
• Fill the glass jar with water, glycerine, and glitter.
• Screw the lid on tightly, and secure it with some more glue. Once dried, flip the jar and watch your snow globe in all its glory!

6. Make Slime

Kids love to play with slime – what better than homemade slime to spend a cold day preparing!

What Your Child Needs

• 300 grams cornflour
• 250 grams marshmallows
• 200 millilitres water
• Food colour (optional)

How to

• Take the marshmallows and put them in a microwave bowl and heat in 10-second intervals till they melt. Stir occasionally.
• In another bowl, take water and gradually pour cornflour into it. Mix well.
• Add the melted marshmallows into the cornflour mixture.

• Add your favourite colour if you’d like. Then, add some dry cornflour to the mix and continue kneading till you get your slime!

7. Have an Indoor Picnic

An indoor picnic is a great way of having some quality family time. Your kids can have a gala time, sitting together all warm and cosy with you. This makes for a fun indoor winter activity.

What Your Child Needs

• Picnic basket with some goodies
• Some interesting games

How to

• Clear out a spot in the house and spread a rug
• Place all the goodies from your picnic basket out on the rug while you and your child sit are seated
• Eat, drink, listen to music and play games with your little one!

8. Let Your Kid Help You Decorate the House

With the advent of winters, every kid looks forward to Christmas and New Years. So, let your kid soak in the festive spirit – let him help you out with some Christmas decorations.

What Your Kid Needs

• Christmas decorations
• Lights
• Candles
• Flowers

How to

• Let your child help you with Christmas tree decorations
• You can ask your child to place candles and flowers in the various places around the house
• You can even encourage your child to make his own Christmas tree decorations by giving him some coloured paper, glitter, glue, and trinkets
• You can even ask your child for his opinion on where the lights or decorations should go!

9. Ice Art

What would winter be without a fun ice art activity?

What Your Child Needs

• Food-safe colours
• Moulds in the shape of different figurines
• Water

How to

• Take the moulds and fill them with the desired coloured water.
• Leave the moulds in the freezer overnight.
• Take the ice figures out from the moulds.
• Decorate your yard with these ice figurines!

The above-mentioned ideas are some of the many fun outdoor and indoor winter activities that you can engage your kid in. You may improvise any of these activities as per your preference and convenience to have the most fun with your child.

Also Read:

Rainy Day Activities for children
Summer Activities for Children
Indoor and Outdoor Physical Activities for Child