Fun Rainy Day Activities for Families
Even on days when the sun refuses to shine, there are still plenty of activities to keep kids of all ages entertained. From at-home indoor fun to activities within the community, the amount of family fun you have doesn’t need to depend on the weather.
Picking an Activity Everyone Will Enjoy
On a rainy day, you’ll want to choose a family activity that doesn’t require a ton of clean up or an extra trip to the store if you can help it. Finding something that you already have the supplies for and will keep your whole family entertained may seem impossible, but it can be done!
Here are our top three low-mess activities you can do with things you already have on hand:
1. Have a Family Game Night
Family game night could look like playing your family’s favorite board games again, or you could mix it up with a casino-inspired game night. Embrace the theme by getting all dolled up to play casino games like poker and blackjack. All you need for your homemade casino is a deck of cards and some chips to transport your family to Vegas — small candies or coins are easy substitutes if you don’t have real chips.
2. Build a Fort
What kid doesn’t love to build a fort? Let your kids’ imaginations run wild while building their fort — is it a space station for exploring the universe? A campsite for spooky stories? Or simply a cozy nook for reading? By using pillows and blankets you already have lying around the house, you can transform your living room into someplace otherworldly.
3. Solve a Puzzle
A 1,000-piece puzzle is enough to keep kids busy for hours. It’s also a great activity for working together as a family to create something beautiful. As a bonus, your kids will have a sense of accomplishment when they see the completed picture.
Getting Creative With Younger Kids
Let’s face it, the most fun activities are usually messy. This is because keeping your curious kids learning while having fun only comes from a little bit of extra imagination and materials.
If you’re willing to dedicate some time to clean up, here are some ideas that will make the mess worth it:
1. Put on a Performance
Turn your living room into a stage and let your kids have their time in the spotlight. You can either reenact scenes from your family’s favorite movie or write an original script if you’re feeling inspired — just make sure you go all out with costumes and props!
2. Get Artsy
Arts and crafts are a great way to keep kids busy and having fun. Most kids enjoy seeing pictures of themselves when they were little, so consider breaking out some old family photos and bonding over the memories while creating scrapbook pages.
3. Experiment With Science
Who says having fun can’t be educational? Have a mini science lesson and explore the effects of chemical reactions together. One easy experiment is making slime — all you need is washable glue, baking soda, saline solution and whatever food coloring and glitter you want to jazz up your creation.
Keeping Tweens and Teens Engaged
In a world of screens and fast-paced video games, it can be hard to get your teen’s attention — and keeping it can be even harder. But when trying to save your kids from binge-watching the day away, you do have options.
Check out our three favorite ways to keep older kids interested in family fun:
1. Hold a Cooking Challenge
If your kids are older, you may feel more comfortable with them handling kitchen equipment like knives and the oven. In this case, you can test their culinary skills with a cooking challenge. Cooking challenges can range from learning a new recipe together to turning up the heat by making it a cooking competition.
2. Set a Trend
One sure way to keep teens engaged is to incorporate social media. Learn a TikTok dance as a family or create a different kind of funny video together. Who knows, you might just end up going viral!
3. Host Family Olympics
If you’ve got some competitive family members, try holding your own version of the Olympics. These activities can be fitness challenges, such as who can do the most push-ups in a minute, or silly competitions like who can blow the most bubbles in their chocolate milk. Keep track of everyone’s points after each challenge and see who ends up with the gold.
Getting Out of the House
Sometimes, you just need a change of scenery. Luckily, there are many last-minute indoor options for a rainy day. Getting out of the house can keep your family from going stir crazy and save you the hassle of planning, setting up and cleaning up an activity yourself.
If you’re looking for some effortless family fun, here are some fun indoor activities that go beyond seeing a movie:
1. Learn Locally
Exploring your area’s local museums is a great way for your family to have fun and learn together while staying dry. If you have a future marine biologist in the family, see if there’s an aquarium within driving distance of your home.
2. Go Bowling
3. Outrace the Rain
For families looking for more of an adrenaline rush, go-karting is the perfect activity to get your heart racing. Although many go-karting tracks are located outside, there are some indoor tracks that allow the fun to go on no matter the outdoor conditions. Satisfy your family’s need for speed by heading to your local race track the next time the sky is gray.
Visit Tampa Bay Grand Prix for Rainy Day Fun
If you need things to do on a rainy day in Tampa, head over to Tampa Bay Grand Prix the next time it rains to enjoy top-of-the-line go-kart racing without getting wet. Indoor go-karting with us is safe and predictable. We use the best barrier system on the market, allowing you to go as fast as 50 mph worry-free.
Tampa Bay Grand Prix always offers a variety of racing packages to suit your family’s needs, so whether it’s raining or not, we’d love to have you stop by and race with us soon.