40 Winter Break Activities for Kids at Home

By Cedar & Ledger

Two weeks of winter break go fast on paper and slow in real life. Below are 40 low-cost activities for kids at home, sorted by type, plus a simple daily rhythm so every day isn't a scramble. Most use things you already have.

Indoor, no-prep (10)

1. Build a blanket fort and read in it with a flashlight.
2. Hold a living-room dance party with a 5-song playlist.
3. Play "floor is lava" with couch cushions.
4. Do a puzzle together and leave it out all week.
5. Make paper snowflakes and tape them to the windows.
6. Play hide and seek with a stuffed animal instead of a person.
7. Have a board game or card game tournament with a homemade bracket.
8. Draw a map of your house or street.
9. Put on a puppet show with socks.
10. Do a family "show and tell" after dinner.

Kitchen (8)

1. Make hot cocoa and rate three toppings.
2. Bake and decorate simple sugar cookies.
3. Build a snack "snowman" from bananas, grapes and pretzels.
4. Make homemade pizza with everyone choosing a topping.
5. Have a breakfast-for-dinner night.
6. Make popcorn and hold a home movie night with tickets.
7. Mix up a pancake shape contest.
8. Plan, shop for and cook one dinner kid-led (with help).

Outdoors (8)

1. Build a snowman or a snow fort, or go on a puddle walk if there is no snow.
2. Fill a spray bottle with water and food coloring to "paint" snow.
3. Go on a winter nature scavenger hunt: pinecone, animal track, icicle, red berry.
4. Freeze water in a muffin tin with small toys and let kids melt them out.
5. Feed the birds with a pinecone, nut butter and seeds (skip nut butter if allergies).
6. Take a nighttime walk to look at lights.
7. Visit a free local park or sledding hill.
8. Have a backyard snowball target throw.

Quiet and screen-free (8)

1. Word searches and mazes.
2. Write and mail a letter to a grandparent.
3. Keep a winter break journal: one line and one drawing a day.
4. Make a "best of the year" list.
5. Do a coloring or drawing challenge with a timer.
6. Start a reading log and set a book goal for break.
7. Build with blocks or bricks from a written prompt ("a bridge for a toy car").
8. Learn three new card tricks.

Free outings (6)

1. Check out the library's winter story time or movie event.
2. Go window shopping to see store displays.
3. Look up free museum days in your area.
4. Visit a pet store or feed store to see the animals.
5. Have a picnic in the car with the heater on.
6. Volunteer together, such as sorting donations (check age rules first).

A simple daily rhythm

• Morning: one outside or active thing.
• Late morning: one quiet activity (puzzle, word search, reading).
• Afternoon: one kitchen or craft project.
• Evening: one family game or movie.

Pick four activities per day from the lists above and you have 10 days covered with no repeats.

Ready-made printable pages

For snow days and quiet time, our Winter Activity Pages for Kids ($4) has 20 winter word searches, 20 mazes, 10 drawing and 4 writing pages with answer keys. The Kids Winter Break Activity Bundle ($6) adds the Christmas set for 130 pages total. Try the free winter word search first.

Related template: the winter activity printable template. Also see: the bundle kids activity winter break template

See all Cedar & Ledger templates