20 min
Sensory Rice Bin
A tray of rice, some cups, and twenty minutes of total absorption.
Browse all activities
Every activity on the site, filterable by age, time, place and how much you can join in. Nothing here needs a screen, and most need nothing you do not already own.
15 min
Build It and Knock It Down
The building is fine. The knocking down is the whole point.
15 min
Kitchen Cupboard Band
Wooden spoons, saucepans, and a licence to make noise.
30 min
Warm Water Washing Station
A bowl of warm soapy water buys you a genuinely peaceful half hour.
15 min
Homemade Posting Box
One box, one slot, and a toddler who will not stop posting.
25 min
Living Room Obstacle Course
Cushions, chairs and tape turn your floor into a course they will run ten times.
15 minNothing at all
Colour Hunt Around the House
Name a colour. They run. You sit down.
25 min
Shadow Drawing
Stand a toy in the sun and draw around its shadow.
15 min
Sock Basketball
Rolled up socks and a laundry basket. That is the entire setup.
15 minNothing at all
Three Word Story
You give three random words. They build a story around them.
35 min
Frozen Treasure Excavation
Freeze small toys in a tub of water and let them dig them out.
40 minNothing at all
Nature Treasure Bag
One bag, one walk, ten things to find.
45 min
Build a Blanket Fort
Every blanket in the house, one afternoon, one secret headquarters.
15 min
Freeze Dance
Music on, dance. Music off, freeze. That is the whole game.
30 min
Paper Aeroplane Testing Lab
Three designs, one tape measure, and an argument about which flies furthest.
50 min
Salt Dough Shapes
Flour, salt and water make a dough that keeps forever once baked.
30 min
Indoor Treasure Hunt
A trail of clues around the house, ending in something small.
30 min
Build a Reading Nook
Cushions, a torch and a stack of books in a corner they made themselves.
25 min
Car Window Bingo
A list of things to spot, and quiet for twenty minutes.
15 min
Pillowcase Sack Race
A pillowcase each and a finish line down the hallway.
20 min
Draw With Your Eyes Closed
You describe. They draw. Nobody looks.
60 min
One Box, Anything
A big box, some tape, and no instructions whatsoever.
20 minNothing at all
The Odd Sock Challenge
A real job, done properly, by someone who is four.
15 min
Balloon Keepy Uppy
One balloon. It must not touch the floor.
15 min
Silent Ball
Throw a soft ball around the room. Anyone who makes a sound is out.
25 min
Draw What You Can See
One window, one pencil, twenty minutes of genuine quiet.
45 min
Cardboard Marble Run
Kitchen roll tubes taped to a wall, and a marble that keeps falling out.
20 min
Shadow Puppets on the Wall
A torch, a bare wall, and hands that turn into animals.
15 minNothing at all
Twenty Questions
One of you thinks of something. The other has twenty yes-or-no questions.
60 min
Invent a Board Game
They design the board, write the rules, and then make you play it.
30 min
Paint a Pebble
Find a smooth stone, paint it, leave it somewhere for a stranger.
30 min
Blind Build Challenge
Two identical piles of bricks, a barrier, and one person giving instructions.
20 min
Window Bird Watch
A tally chart, a window, and fifteen quiet minutes.
45 min
Cook Something Real
Not a craft. An actual dish that the family eats.
40 min
Six Panel Comic
Fold a page into six boxes and tell a whole story inside them.
10 minNothing at all
One Leg Balance Challenge
How long can you stand on one leg? Now with your eyes shut.
30 min
Write a Real Letter
A letter, an envelope, a stamp, and a reply that arrives days later.
35 min
Puddle Depth Survey
Wellies on, stick in hand, and every puddle on the street measured.
15 minNothing at all
The Memory Tray
Ten objects on a tray, thirty seconds to look, then one disappears.
15 minNothing at all
Animal Stretches
Be a cat, a cobra, a tree. Ten minutes of stretching that does not feel like stretching.
20 min
Draw a Sound Map
Sit still outside, close your eyes, and draw every sound you hear.
25 min
Tallest Straw Tower
Twenty straws, some tape, and one rule: it has to stand on its own.
40 min
Interview a Grandparent
Ten questions, one phone call, and a story nobody in the family had written down.
30 min
Chalk Trail Outside
Draw the instructions on the pavement and let them follow the trail.
25 min
Paper Fortune Teller
One sheet of paper, eight folds, and endless silly predictions.
10 minNothing at all
Beat the Clock Tidy Up
Ten minutes on the timer and everything off the floor.
40 min
Invent a Secret Language
Ten words, one code, and a conversation nobody else can follow.
10 min
The Good Thing Jar
One small note a day about something good, folded into a jar.
30 min
Origami Jumping Frog
Fold it in five minutes, then race it across the table for half an hour.
25 minNothing at all
The Alphabet Game
Find A, then B, then C, on every sign you pass.
10 min
Peekaboo With a Cloth
A tea towel and the most reliable laugh in the house.
15 min
Cushion Crawling Course
Sofa cushions on the floor and a baby determined to get across them.
35 min
Painting With Water
A bucket of water, a decorating brush, and a whole wall to paint.
30 minNothing at all
The Perfect Stick Hunt
Find the best stick in the park. Just one. It takes ages.
20 min
Bubble Chase
You blow. They chase. That is the whole thing and it works every time.
15 min
Barefoot Texture Walk
Grass, then paving, then a towel. Shoes off, eyes closed.
60 min
Mud Kitchen
Old pans, a bucket of soil, some water, and no rules at all.
20 minNothing at all
Cloud Watching
Lie on your back and argue about what the clouds look like.
25 min
Plant Something and Wait
One pot, a few seeds, and a reason to look out of the window every morning.
25 min
Hopscotch
Ten squares of chalk and a stone. Still undefeated.
20 min
Cardboard Tube Drop
A tube taped to the wall and a basket of things to drop through it.
15 minNothing at all
Sort the Laundry
Darks here, lights there, and a two year old who takes it very seriously.
15 min
Torch Tag
Lights off, one torch, and a spot of light to chase around the room.
10 minNothing at all
Name That Sound
Close your eyes. What made that noise?
35 min
Giant Floor Drawing
Tape a huge sheet of paper to the floor and let them draw on their hands and knees.
15 min
Egg and Spoon Walk
A potato on a spoon and a very slow, very serious walk down the hall.
10 min
Keep a Weather Diary
Two minutes each morning, and a month of real data by the end.
40 min
Toy Hospital
Bandages, a clipboard, and every soft toy in the house admitted for treatment.
30 min
Make a Bird Feeder
A pine cone, some lard, and birdseed. Hang it up and wait.
10 minNothing at all
Five Minutes of Absolute Quiet
Everyone silent for five minutes, then say what you heard.
60 min
Build a Den Outdoors
Branches, a sheet, and a structure that has to actually stand up.
20 minNothing at all
Match the Lids
A cupboard of containers and lids that do not match. Sort it out.
30 min
Paint the Snow
Coloured water in a spray bottle and a garden full of blank canvas.
10 minNothing at all
Rhyming Chain
Cat, hat, mat, flat. Keep going until you run out.
45 min
Run a Restaurant
A menu, an order pad, and one very slow waiter.
45 min
Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
Twelve things to find in the park, and a race to get them all.
25 min
Water Balloon Target Practice
Chalk targets on a wall and a bucket of water balloons.
90 min
Run a Lemonade Stand
Make it, price it, sell it, count the money.
50 min
Build a Bug Hotel
A stack of sticks, leaves and cardboard tubes for things to live in.
40 min
Garden Obstacle Course
Six stations, a stopwatch, and a time to beat.
45 minNothing at all
Family Talent Show
Everyone performs one thing. Badly is fine. Compulsory for adults.
30 min
Build a Card House
One deck of cards and enormous patience.
75 min
Make a Shadow Theatre
A cardboard frame, a white sheet, a lamp, and a proper show.
30 min
Learn a Proper Card Game
Teach them a game adults actually play.
50 min
Make a Time Capsule
A sealed box, opened in exactly one year.
45 min
Map Your Street
Walk your road and draw it properly, to scale, from memory.
25 min
Learn to Juggle
Start with one scarf. Most people never get past two, and that is fine.
25 min
Torchlight Story Circle
Lights off, one torch, and a story passed around the circle.
60 min
Make Celebration Decorations
Paper chains, lanterns and bunting made from what is in the recycling.
45 minNothing at all
The Never-Ending Story
One story, told in turns, that lasts the whole journey.
45 min
Blanket Fort Story Night
Build the fort, then read inside it by torchlight.
15 minNothing at all
The Mirror Game
Face each other and copy every movement exactly, in silence.
35 min
Build a Lolly Stick Catapult
Seven lolly sticks, two elastic bands, and a pom-pom that goes further than expected.
15 minNothing at all
Feely Bag
Reach in, feel one object, and describe it without naming it.
40 min
Ten Photograph Walk
Ten pictures on the walk. Only ten. Choose carefully.
25 min
Corridor Bowling
Ten plastic bottles, a soft ball, and a hallway.
35 min
Write Your Own Recipe
Invent a sandwich, write the recipe, then make someone else follow it exactly.
30 min
Balloon Rocket on a String
A straw, a string across the room, and a balloon that fires along it.
20 minNothing at all
Secret Kindness Mission
Do one good thing for someone in the house without being caught.
45 min
Snow Sculpture Challenge
Not a snowman. Anything but a snowman.