The Rainy Day Toolkit Every Family Needs: Activities, Crafts, and Cozy Ideas for Indoor FunRainy Day Fun

Summer isn’t always sunshine and trips to the park.

Sometimes the rain settles in for the day and suddenly everyone is looking around the house wondering what to do next. Over the years, I’ve learned that those rainy afternoons go much more smoothly when I’ve prepared for them ahead of time.

I’m a big fan of themed bins or toolkits. I keep one for sick days filled with essentials like children’s medicine, tissues, coloring books, and quiet activities. So it only made sense to create one for rainy days too.

My rainy day toolkit lives in a simple plastic bin tucked away in a closet. When the weather changes our plans, I pull it out and instantly have everything I need for a cozy afternoon of indoor fun.

Why Create a Rainy Day Toolkit?

A rainy day toolkit helps because:

• You don’t have to scramble for ideas.
• The activities feel special because they aren’t available all the time.
• It encourages creativity and imaginative play.
• It turns a disappointing rainy day into something fun to look forward to.

Sometimes the kids are almost excited when it rains because they know the toolkit is coming out.

We get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Learn more about what this means.

Ideas for Your Rainy Day Toolkit:

Obviously, you don’t need all of these. Pick and choose according to your budget and your kids’ interests.

Art Supplies

I keep arts and crafts supplies on hand for the kids all the time. So what makes these different? This is where I use the special metallics markers, the special pastel crayons, and the glitter glue pens, for example.

• Crayons
• Markers
• Colored pencils
• Construction paper
• Stickers
• Washi tape
• Glue sticks
• Kids’ scissors

Craft Supplies

• Pom-poms – try those metallic or glittery ones!
• Pipe cleaners – same as with the pom-poms
• Craft sticks – instead of the basic craft sticks, add in some colorful ones or mini or jumbo sticks
• Googly eyes
• Yarn scraps
• Foam shapes
• Play dough – I don’t always let the kids have access to play dough because it’s so messy so the inclusion of it here makes it special. You could also go for the glow-in-the-dark, glittery, or fluorescent play dough to make it different.

Quiet Activities

• Coloring books
• Word searches
• Activity books
• Sticker books
• Simple puzzles
• Mad Libs

Building and Imagination

• Playing cards
• Building blocks or LEGO
• Magnetic tiles or cubes
• Puppets – or the materials to make or decorate their own puppets!
• Story dice – you can even make your own!

Cozy Extras

• A favorite blanket
• A flashlight for fort building
• A special snack
• A new library book or two
• Some favorite books with a rainy day theme:
  • Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day by Teddy Slater
  • Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
  • Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems
  • Why Does It Rain?: Weather with The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • Singing in the Rain by Tim Hopgood
  • Worm Weather by Jean Taft
  • In the Rain by Elizabeth Spurr
  • Rain by Cynthia Rylant.

Add a Notebook Filled with Ideas for Special Rainy Day Activities

You could also create a file on your computer if that’s more your style. Here are some of our favorites:

💌 Want easy recipes, fun crafts, and family-friendly ideas delivered right to your inbox? Join the Gagen Girls newsletter! You’ll get our latest posts, seasonal favorites, and exclusive freebies. Sign up today and never miss a thing!

Raindrop Racing 

Sit at the window and each person picks a raindrop, starting at the same place and traces it down the window.  The first drop to hit the bottom of the window wins!

Let the Kids Decorate the Windows with This Easy Washable Paint

Mix 1 part tempera paint powder with 2 parts clear dishwashing liquid.  Often, the dry paint can be removed easily from the windows simply with a paper towel!

No Thunder, Lightning, High Winds or Other Conditions to Make the Rainy Day Dangerous?

Surprise your kids and let them put on their bathing suits (or raincoats and boots if it’s cooler out) and go outside to dance and splash and jump in mud puddles!

Bake Something Together

Rainy days and baking just seem to go together.

Have Your Child Draw a Tree Trunk on a Paper Plate

You definitely need a paper plate so that it’s sturdy enough to get wet). Draw the tree trunk with crayons. 

Then using washable markers, make squiggles of colour at the top of the tree trunk.  Hold the plate outside in the rain and watch the colours blend and form into “leaves”.

Make Music in the Rain

Take out an assortment of pots and pans, foil containers like pie plates, or even items covered with foil and listen to the rain make music as it lands on them.

Create Watercolor Chalk Paintings

Your kids can draw a picture using coloured chalk.  I like using heavy construction paper, watercolour paper, or cardboard as the canvas for this art.  Take it outside and watch the rain blend and blur it into an impressionist type picture (you can even do a quick little lesson on impressionist art so they know what this means). 

Make Homemade Play Dough

A rainy afternoon is the perfect time to pull out the play dough supplies and let kids create whatever they can imagine. I’ve got a recipe for a really fun pudding play dough here.

Try Bubble Wrap Painting

This is one of those activities that feels a little magical and creates fun art with supplies you may already have at home. This idea combines puffy paint ice cream with bubble wrap cones.

Build a Blanket Fort

Gather pillows and blankets and create a cozy little hideaway for reading or quiet play.

Have an Indoor Treasure Hunt

Hide clues around the house and let the kids go on an adventure without ever leaving home.

Have a Family Reading Hour

Everyone grabs a book and finds a cozy spot.

Make Cards for Someone Special

Create cards for grandparents, friends, or neighbors.

Put on a Puppet Show

A few paper bag puppets can become an entire afternoon of entertainment.

Put On Some Music and Dance

Sometimes everyone just needs to burn off a little energy.

Make Some Construction Paper Crafts.

This rainbow cutting and pasting activity is lots of fun and a great way to work on fine motor coordination skills.

Play With a Fun Sensory Activity.

This rainbow spaghetti sensory play is a really engaging activity and can be a great way to encourage language and vocabulary development. You might want to have the kids do this in the bathtub to make cleanup easier.

Speaking of the Bathtub…

They may not be able to go swimming, but the kids can take part in water play in the tub. Give them bath toys, plastic kitchen items, or beach toys and they will take it from there. We even have a recipe for a soothing play dough that is made to be used in the bath!

Let the Kids Pretend They’re Construction Workers

Get out any play tools and construction vehicles and let the kids set up their own pretend construction site. Give them some homemade moon sand or construction chickpeas to dig in.

Customize Your Toolkit

One of the things I love most about a rainy day toolkit is that it can grow and change with your family.

Toddlers might enjoy stickers and coloring pages. Older kids may prefer craft kits, puzzles, and card games. Grandparents can even keep a toolkit at their house for rainy visits with the grandkids.

Pro Tip: If you’re going through a rainy season, you might want to swap things out now and then to keep things fresh.

A Few Rainy Day Memories in the Making

Some of our sweetest memories happen on days that don’t go according to plan.

The blanket forts, the art projects spread across the table, the smell of cookies baking, and the extra time spent together often become the moments we remember long after the rain stops.

That’s why I keep my rainy day toolkit ready to go. You never know when you’ll need a little indoor magic.