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Rainy day activities for happy kids

It’s raining; it’s pouring… the kids are saying it’s boring! 


It’s wet outside. The kids are bouncing off the walls. No one is having any fun. Rainy days are the pits when you’re a parent... Ditch the rainy day blues and keep the kids entertained with these rainy day activities that you can do from the comfort of your home.


They’re fun, easy to do with a few playroom essentials and easy to clean up. Win/win/win!

Build a cubby

The best indoor rainy day activities are the simple ones. What’s better than curling up inside a cosy cubby on a cold and rainy day?

Once you’ve got the cubby built, you can play a last to leave the cubby challenge. Or read books. Or do some drawing. It’s the perfect spot to spend the day while you wait for the rain to clear.

NooK pro tip: The NooK Play Sofa is the ultimate cubby house! Build a castle, a fort, a campsite or even a spaceship. Add the Den for some cubby house doors or a Hammock for a roof or flooring.

Put on a show

Rainy day activities that the kids can do themselves are always a winner. Challenge the kids to come up with a talent show or even a puppet show to display their tremendous talents to the family. 

Siblings can work together to create the show and then individually rehearse their own acts. If you’re up for it, you can also set up a snack bar for everyone to “buy” their own snacks before the talent show begins. For a puppet show, decorate some old odd socks to use as the puppets.

NooK pro tip: The Rollers from the Arch Roller make excellent columns to add a theatrical touch to the stage. The audience can sit on Hive cushions to enjoy the show.

Build an obstacle course

Using furniture, cushions and blankets from around the house to build an obstacle course for the kids to navigate. 

The more challenging the obstacle course, the more they’ll work their balance, coordination and gross motor skills. Once they’ve mastered the obstacle course, make it harder or build a new one from scratch.

NooK pro tip: Use your NooK and Extensions for the obstacle course. Wedge Tails are brilliant slides, Lily Pads are super fun crash pads and Blox are little steps to climb.

Go bowling… at home

Going to the bowling alley on a rainy day is a fabulous idea. Until you get there and every other mum has had the same idea.

But you can create your own bowling alley at home. Use old plastic bottles or even teddy bears that will sit upright. A hallway is the perfect spot to go bowling and will also help to contain the “pins”. 

NooK pro tip: The rectangular bolsters from the NooK Play Sofa make excellent gutter guards. You can even use your NooK Rounds as your bowling ball and the Hive cushions as your pins!

Build a race track

Car racing probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of rainy day play ideas… but you can absolutely build your own race track at home.

Collect your cars, tape out a track with masking tape and start your engines. 

NooK pro tip: Build an epic car ramp with the Wedge Tail. Or angle your NooK base cushions off a stack of Hive cushions. If you don’t have any Extensions, you can even use the rectangular bolsters from your NooK as the race track.

Camp out in the living room

Camping outdoors on a rainy day? Thumbs down. Staging a fake camp out in the living room? That’s our idea of a fun rainy day activity!

Build a fort for the kids and then set them up with snacks, toys and whatever else will keep them engaged and happy. Add in a movie while they’re camping out and you’ll quickly shoot to best parent ever status!

NooK pro tip: The NooK can go from fort to sleepover bed in just a few quick moves! Add in a Lily Pad and you’ve got a super comfy living room camping situation.

Want some more ideas?

If you’re stuck on what to do at home when it’s raining and want more ideas for rainy day activities, jump over to our NooK Facebook Club. In the group you’ll find thousands of parents sharing their ideas for play, adventure and fun at home!

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