26 Winter Activities for Kids: How to Keep Them Entertained in the Cold

While winter can bring cosy nights huddled together as a family, sipping hot chocolate and watching festive classics , it can also lead to restless, bored kids stuck indoors due to the cold weather. If you're looking for winter activities to keep them entertained, you're in the right place.

From creative indoor play ideas to exciting outdoor adventures, these suggestions will help you make the most of the season while keeping boredom at bay.

Let's dive into the fun!

Some days, especially when the weather is awful, we may need to stay indoors, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! With a little creativity, you can turn your home into a mini farm or stable.

Here are ten fun indoor activities to keep your toddlers entertained during the chilly months.

• Farm Animal Puppet Show : Create simple puppets using socks , toilet roll tubes or paper bags. Let your toddlers put on a puppet show featuring their favourite farm animals.

• DIY Farm Building : Use blocks or cardboard boxes to construct a toy barn . Your little ones can decorate it with paint or stickers and then play with their toy animals inside.

• Animal Matching Game : Print pictures of farm animals and their babies. Mix them up and have your toddler match each animal with its little one.

• Indoor Scavenger Hunt : Hide toy farm animals around the house and give your toddler clues to find them. This encourages exploration and keeps them active!

• Story time with Farm Tales : Gather some farm-themed books – we have some brilliant ones in our Tractor Ted range – and have a cosy story time session. Let your toddler pick their favourites to read together.

1. Farm-Themed Crafts : Use paper plates to create masks of different farm animals. Your toddler can colour and decorate their masks for imaginative play.

2. Miniature Horse Training : Set up an obstacle course using cushions and soft toys. Your toddler can guide their toy horse through the course, pretending to train it.

3. Musical Hay Bales : Play some lively music and use cushions as “hay bales.” When the music stops, your toddler must freeze in place on a hay bale!

4. Farm Animal Bingo : Create simple bingo cards with pictures of farm animals. Use buttons or coins as markers, and play a fun game of bingo together.

5. Rescue the Farm Animal : Tape your toy farm animals to a board or mat using masking tape. Your toddler can have fun trying to 'rescue' them by carefully lifting them off the surface.

These activities will not only entertain your toddlers but also spark their imagination while embracing the charm of farm life!

If this is your first winter with little ones, you’ll quickly learn that arts and crafts are a lifesaver on those cold, rainy days. You can watch a whole afternoon fly by when you start a craft project with your toddler, and they'll very soon forget about the horrible weather outside.

Here are some fun and simple farm-themed craft ideas to keep your little ones engaged and creative this winter!

Using cotton balls and black card, let your toddler create fluffy sheep . They can glue the cotton balls onto the paper and use markers or googly eyes to add features.

This craft is perfect for developing fine motor skills!

Transform toilet roll tubes into farm animal puppets! Have your toddler decorate the tubes using paint, card, googly eyes and fabric scraps to create their favourite animals, like cows, pigs, or chickens. Once finished, they can put on a puppet show for the family.

Here's a great tutorial: 

Draw the outline of a winter tree on a large piece of paper, and have your toddler use their fingers to add white fingerprints as snowflakes on the branches.

Using paper plates, have your toddler create a mini farm scene. They can use cut-out shapes of animals, grass, and fences made from craft paper to design their own farm. This activity encourages imaginative play as they tell stories about their farm.

Recycling is fun with this craft! Cut an egg box into sections, and let your toddler paint each section to create a hungry caterpillar. They can add googly eyes and pipe cleaners for antennas to really bring it to life!

These activities will not only keep your toddlers entertained but also spark their imagination while celebrating the charm of farm life during the chilly months!

Make the most of free resources like Freddie's Zone on our website, perfect for budding farmers! You’ll find free printable colouring sheets, workbooks to support learning at home, and even delicious recipes to try with your toddler. These activities are a great way to have fun with your little ones when you can't get outside!

Some days, it might not be possible to keep the kids indoors all day – after all, that energy has to go somewhere!

For the winter days that are a little more forgiving, here are ten exciting farm-themed activities to enjoy together in the chilly weather:

1. Farmyard Nature Walk : Take a stroll through a local farm or nature reserve . Look for frosty fields, animal tracks, and any wildlife you might spot along the way.

2. Visit a Pumpkin Patch: If it’s still autumn or early winter, a trip to a pumpkin patch can be a fun outdoor activity. Let the kids pick their favourite pumpkins to decorate at home.

3. Snowman Building: If there’s snow, encourage your kids to get creative and build a snowman. Bring along accessories like scarves, hats, and carrots for the perfect finishing touches!

1. Sledging: Find a nearby hill and enjoy some sledging! This thrilling activity will get everyone laughing and moving.

2. Christmas Light Hunting: Bundle up and take an evening walk or drive around your area to admire the festive Christmas lights. Make it a fun game by counting how many decorations you see!

3. Winter Scavenger Hunt : Create a list of items for your kids to find, such as pine cones, feathers, or animal tracks. This will keep them engaged while exploring.

4. Visit a Winter Farmers' Market : Head to a local winter farmers' market. Let the kids help choose fresh produce and seasonal items to take home.

5. Hot Chocolate Picnic : Pack a thermos of hot chocolate and some snacks, and enjoy a picnic outdoors . Find a scenic spot to relax and warm up after some playtime in the cold.

1. Birdwatching in the Fields : Equip your kids with binoculars and go birdwatching. See how many birds you can spot and learn about their winter habits.

2. Create a Winter Art Installation: Encourage your kids to gather natural materials like twigs, leaves, and stones to create their own Andy Goldsworthy inspired winter-themed art installations in the garden or park.

If you have little ones who adore all things animals, winter is the perfect time to explore activities that feed their love for furry friends! Even during the colder months, there are plenty of fun, animal-themed ways to keep them entertained and learning.

Here are five winter animal activities for your animal-loving kids :

Donkey sanctuaries are often open year-round, and winter is a great time to visit without the crowds. Bundle up and take your kids to meet and learn about these gentle animals, while also supporting their care.

There are several farm attractions in the UK with animals that are good to visit in the winter.  Look for special winter events , like feeding sessions or animal encounters, to keep the kids engaged.

Make a simple bird feeder with your kids using pine cones, peanut butter, and birdseed. Hang it outside and watch winter birds come to feast.

It’s a perfect way to introduce your children to local wildlife while keeping them involved in the process.

Head out to a park or countryside and teach your kids how to spot animal tracks in the snow or mud. They’ll love discovering which animals have been nearby, from birds to deer or even rabbits.

Set up a cosy film night with animal-themed films like Babe, where kids can enjoy the heart-warming story of a pig learning to herd sheep. It's a relaxing and fun way to keep their love for animals alive during the chilly winter days!

As winter brings chilly days, it’s the perfect time to plan activities to keep kids busy both indoors and outdoors.

Whether you’re building a farm scene at the kitchen table, heading out for some winter wildlife tracking, or watching animal-themed films by the fire, we hope you’ve found plenty of ideas to keep the fun going all season long.

So, bundle up or stay cosy, and enjoy the winter months with your little ones!

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