143 Things for Your Kids To Keep Busy With:

• make paper snowflakes
• clean out the toy box
• send virtual greeting cards
• choose photos for a family calendar
• have an indoor picnic
• bake and decorate cut-out cookies
• go camping in the livingroom
• clear out your email inbox
• make a mobile out of found objects (acorns, rocks, branches)
• write up some New Year’s Resolutions
• create a simple Family Tree
• make sandwiches and cut them out with large cookie cutters
• play basketball with a wadded up piece of paper and a wastebasket
• play board games
• make a tent out of blankets
• read books
• make homemade play dough
• play with play dough
• write a letter to a relative, friend or pen pal
• clean bedroom
• vacuum living room
• clean bathroom
• make a craft
• draw
• color
• paint
• watch a movie
• write stories
• use magnifying glass
• write a play
• act out a play
• invent indoor circus acts
• perform an indoor circus
• play card games
• dust the house
• brush the pet
• write letters
• read a magazine
• play dress-up
• play Cowboys
• build a fort in your rooms
• do a jigsaw puzzle
• play on the Geosafari
• play on the computer
• listen to a story or book on tape
• do extra schoolwork to get ahead
• do brain teasers (ie: crosswords, word searches, hidden pictures, mazes, etc.)
• cook
• prepare lunch
• surprise a neighbor with a good deed
• play store
• prepare a “restaurant” lunch with menus
• hold a tea party
• have a Teddy bear picnic on the floor in the livingroom
• play with toy cars
• play dolls
• play house
• learn magic tricks
• put on a magic show
• make sock puppets
• put on a puppet show
• crochet or knit
• make doll clothes
• sew buttons in designs on old shirts
• make bookmarks
• take a quiet rest time
• take a shower or bath
• organize a dresser drawer
• clean under the bed
• empty dishwasher
• vacuum under the couch cushions and keep any change found
• write these ideas on pieces of paper and pick out one or two to do
• practice musical instruments
• perform a family concert
• teach yourself to play musical instrument (recorder, harmonica, guitar)
• fold laundry
• sweep kitchen or bathroom floors
• vacuum or dust window blinds
• clean bathroom mirrors
• clean sliding glass doors
• copy your favorite book illustration
• design your own game
• build with blocks or Legos
• create a design box (copper wire, string, odds-and-ends of things destined for the
• garbage, pom-poms, thread, yarn, etc.)
• have a marble tournament on the livingroom carpet
• make dessert
• make dinner
• give your pet a party
• have a read-a-thon with a friend or sibling
• check out a science book and try some experiments
• make up a story
• arrange photo albums
• play hide-and-seek
• create a symphony with bottles and pans and rubber bands
• read a story to a younger child
• string dry noodles or O-shaped cereals into a necklace
• glue noodles into a design on paper
• play jacks
• make up a song
• make an indoor teepee out of blankets
• write in your journal
• play charades
• make up a story by drawing pictures
• draw a cartoon strip
• make a map of your bedroom, house or neighborhood
• call a friend
• cut pictures from old magazines and write a story
• make a collage using pictures cut from old magazines
• do a secret service for a neighbor
• plan a treasure hunt
• make a treasure map
• make up a “Bored List” of things to do
• plan a special activity for your family
• search your house for items made in other countries and then learn about those
• countries from the encyclopedia or online
• plan an imaginary trip to the moon
• plan an imaginary trip around the world, where would you want to go
• write a science-fiction story
• find a new pen pal
• make up a play using old clothes as costumes
• make up a game for practicing math facts
• have a Spelling Bee
• make up a game for practicing spelling
• write newspaper articles for a pretend newspaper
• put together a family newsletter
• write reviews of movies or plays or TV shows or concerts you see during the break from school
• bake a cake
• bake a batch of cookies
• decorate a shoe box
• make a hideout or clubhouse
• make paper airplanes
• have paper airplane races
• learn origami
• make friendship bracelets for your friends
• make a wind chime out of things headed for the garbage
• paint your face
• braid hair
• play tag
• make food sculptures (from pretzels, gumdrops, string licorice, raisins, cream cheese, peanuts, peanut butter, etc.) and then eat it
• produce a talent show
• memorize a poem
• recite a memorized poem for your family