30 Boredom-Busting Winter Activities for Toddlers

Winter can be a particularly challenging time for keeping little kids entertained. Cabin fever is real, and it can be brutal. But with a few supplies that you probably already have around your house, you can turn a boring, cold winter day into a fun adventure filled with activities that activate your child’s imagination. Check out these 30 winter activities for toddlers that you can try right now. 

Sticky Snowman

Image and activity via Happy Toddler Playtime

Kids LOVE to make messes, and parents…well, parents are not quite as rapturous about cleaning them up. That is exactly what makes this project so much fun. Kids will have a blast making a sticky mess without destroying the house.

Snowball Launcher Winter Activity

Image and activity via Little Bins for Little Hands

Why not sprinkle in some science to your day? Check out this snowball launcher activity that easily turns into a game for the whole family.

Snow Dough Winter Activity

Image and activity via Powerful Mothering

Kids keep their fingers busy working with some homemade dough resembling freshly fallen snow. Bonus: This snow dough is 'taste safe,' which means kids will not get sick if their curiosity prompts them to take a nibble. 

Snow Painting Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Brilliant Little Minds

This snow painting project is perfect for young toddlers. Plus, it makes for pretty, wintry décor!

Fake Snow Sensory Box Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activities via The Best Ideas for Kids

Go outside and grab some pinecones, and then mix in a few ingredients from the kitchen to make this sensory box that emulates snow and will give your kids some tactile delight.

Frozen Paint Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Busy Toddler

If you face the challenge of having your kids whip through activities at breakneck speed, then this will definitely help slow their roll. Freeze your paint into a popsicle and have your kids create works of art as the paint begins to melt.

Magic Snowball Winter Activity for Toddlers 

Image and activity via Entertain Your Toddler

This sneaky STEM project invites kids to drop snowballs into jars and then watch them explode with colour. Talk about a bright idea!

Felt Tree Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Inspire Uplift

This is perfect for little kids who cannot keep their hands off the real tree. Create your own felt version of a Christmas tree and let your kids go to town decorating (and redecorating) their own.

Pinchy Bags Sensory Play Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via A Little Pinch of Perfection

Sensory projects are so much fun but they tend to get pretty darn messy. Try this cleaner twist and watch your child have a great time without worrying about picking up later.

Little People Ski Ramp Winter Activity for Toddlers

If you have an old cardboard box and some imagination, you are halfway there! With this winter activity, kids get to try death-defying ski jumps without ever getting hurt. 

Blanket Fort Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Blanket Fort

Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned blanket fort? Try dressing yours up with twinkly lights, pillows, cosy books...it is the perfect nook for reading, playing, or even sipping hot cocoa!

Giant Gingerbread Man Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Toddler Approved 

Kids can decorate these larger-than-life 'cookies' to their hearts’ content! If you do not have a roll of craft paper, try cutting up brown paper grocery bags or using the white side of old wrapping paper. 

Ice Scoop Transfer Winter Game for Toddlers

Image and activity via Busy Toddler 

This winter activity for toddlers is perfect for busy bodies who love to have something to do. Fill one tub or bowl with ice and another with coloured water. Then, let your kiddo go to town moving the ice to the water to see what happens.

Snowman Bowling Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via 5 Minutes for Mom

Grab the recycling bin and get busy painting some cans to create the equipment you will need to play this DIY game. Toddlers will especially love tossing bean bags at the stacked cans.

Iceberg Hop Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten

If your kids have ever pretended that the floor is lava, this winter activity is the game for them. Create a few icebergs out of paper or fabric and turn your floor into an Arctic ice field that your kids must hop around to navigate. 

Sparkling Ice Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Kids Craft Room

You will want to help your toddler with this one. With just a few materials, you can work together to create sparkling icicles that you can save as ornaments, decorate a window to catch some sun-rays, or even turn into a mobile to hang in your child’s room.

Maple Syrup Snow Candy Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Little Bins for Little Hands

Using snow and some maple syrup, your kids can make their own delicious candy that will double as a magical memory when they grow up.

Bubble Wrap Run Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Hands On as We Grow

This winter activity looks like too much fun! If you are one of those people who saves bubble wrap to reuse, then you will have plenty of pop for this project.

Discovery Bottle Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Teaching 2- and 3-Year-Olds

It is amazing what you can fit into a bottle with this discovery activity that is perfect for little kids. Combine some small objects with glitter in a clear plastic bottle, and you’ve got some sparkly on-the-go entertainment.

Squirt Gun Painting Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via 123 Homeschool 4 Me 

Grab some food colouring and suit up with this winter activity that will get the whole family outside and playing in the snow.

Exploding Snowmen Winter Activity for Preschoolers

Image and activity via Mombrite

Want to have…a blast? This winter activity blends science with pure delight.

Marble Run Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Happy Toddler Playtime

This winter activity for toddlers can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be, which is perfect for little kids. Grab a cookie sheet, a marble, and some snow, and make your own marble run.

Salt Crystal Snowflake Winter Activity for Kids

Image and activity via Living Well Mom

Make some DIY salt crystals that you can decorate your windows with. You can create colourful, sparkling snowflakes that will last the rest of winter. 

Tissue Paper Snowprint Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten 

Sometimes little kid art makes the perfect gift. Sit down with your toddler and make a bunch of fun tissue paper art projects and then give them to friends and family. 

Freezing Bubble Winter Activity for Toddlers

Image and activity via No Stress Homeschooling 

This is the perfect activity for the little Elsa in your life. With the magic of science, your toddler can freeze bubbles and then watch in wonder at the colourful pile.

Hatching Penguin Winter Activity for Kids

Image and activity via Kids Craft Room 

Not only is this an art project that kids will love but it is also a puppet show! Your chicks will have fun creating a hatching penguin but why stop there? Create hatching birds, lizards, dragons, aliens, anything your child can dream up.

Hot Chocolate Slime Winter Activity for Toddlers 

Image and activity via Raising Little Superheroes

Yup. You can make hot chocolate slime! Kids will love getting their hands lost in this gooey messy fun.

Winter Playdough for Toddlers

Image and activity via Playdough to Plato

This set of DIY playdough comes in mint, hot chocolate, and pine. It might be hard for the grownups to not play with it, to be honest. 

Hole Punch Snowflake Winter Activity for Kids

Image and activity via No Time for Flashcards

Sometimes kids need to focus on something for a while to help ward off cabin fever. This hole punch snowflake project is perfect for kids with too much energy who need somewhere to direct their focus. Bonus? You can decorate your house with their creations when they are done! 

DIY Bird Feeder Winter Activity for Kids

Image and activity via Learning and Exploring Through Play 

Teach your kids about local birds by creating these fun cookie cutter bird feeders that you can hang outside your windows. Watch and learn as birds stop by to munch a winter treat.