Cheap & Easy Awesome Activities to Stop Kids Saying They’re Bored

I’ve been hearing from a lot of fellow mums lately, about how hard it is to keep their kids busy and entertained these days. I hear you. (I am one of them trust me! 😉)

For a million reasons not limited to: the kids being at home more, household budgets getting tighter, chaotic work schedules, fewer activities outside of the home being an option, even lousy weather, parents just like you are struggling to come up with new ideas to keep their kids occupied and happy.

Last year I published a great post with tons of fun ideas (Psst! That are not TV!) to keep your children occupied when school’s closed .

In the list you’ll find a range of things for kids to do when they’re bored. There are indoor activities and outdoor activities, sporty activities and quiet ones, as well as social and independent activities for kids of all ages.

No matter whether you have toddlers, tweens or teens in the house not only will the ideas on that list stop your children from saying “Mum I’m bored!”, they are all budget-friendly! Fun and cheap ideas for kids?!? Yes please!!

Because I keep hearing people ask for help on how to keep the kids entertained when they’re stuck at home, I thought it was time for a fresh update of my kid- (and mum-) friendly ideas. But this time I am not the only one here with the suggestions.

I have called on a group of fantastic fellow mums to share their top tips for clever ideas to keep kids busy. I’m really excited to have them all on board, because as we mamas all know, what works for one family isn’t guaranteed to work for the next.

Have fun reading the dozens of ideas in this post and pick and choose as you please, the best boredom-busting activities for your kids.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.

Fabulous Outdoor Activities to Keep Kids Busy

Jump rope

Hula hoop

Go for a walk (a great one for the whole family!)

Go for a jog

Play at the playground

Play sports in the yard (think football, basketball, cricket…)

Create chalk artwork on the driveway or road (watching out for traffic, of course! It’ll be sure to give the neighbours a smile 😉)

Build an obstacle course (Ideas to use: cardboard boxes, hula hoops, skipping ropes, balls, logs, buckets…)

Juggling with bean bags (Here you can find out how to sew your own bean bags in less than 30 minutes!)

Clever Indoor Activities to Keep Kids Busy

Decorate the windows with chalk art (the ONLY time my kids are allowed to draw on the windows!!)

Cook the family meal, or at least help out! (There are so many good reasons to let kids help out in the kitchen. Find out more in this article .)

Keep a carton full of cleaned up recyclable materials like paper towel rolls, yogurt tubs, small boxes, egg cartons and get creative building and gluing

Write a letter to grandparents

Have a family movie night on the sofa, complete with blankets and cushions and munchies

Create pictures with fuse beads (aka perler beads)

Redecorate the bedroom (whether it’s just a reshuffling of furniture or a complete colour makeover, a change is as good as a holiday!)

Reading (if you need to know anything about my own kids, it’s that they LOVE reading. Which is why both my daughters helped me publish lists of recommended book series. Head here for the book list for 6- to 9-year-old girls or here for recommended books for girls aged 9 to 12.)

Hold Lego-building-challenges (also be prepared for stepping on tiny bumped pieces of plastic, possibly for the rest of your life!)

More Totally Terrific Tips to Keep Kids Entertained

Here you can enjoy hearing from these brilliant bloggers, as they share with you- in their own words- their favourite ways of keeping kids busy at home.

Lauren from Skelly Hodge Podge

“When our kids were younger it was easier to keep them entertained with toys and games, but as they have gotten older, it has gotten more challenging to find things they love doing that don’t involve a screen. To add to the challenge of being stuck at home, we live in a very small space, so we have to get creative and find things/activities that don’t take up too much space to do or store. Our first angle of attack is to try and create a routine that has built in prompts (i.e.: Breakfast, chores, school, lunch, free play (outside if nice out), tech time, dinner, board/card games, ready for bed, read). Our routine changes every few weeks as we are not great with rigid schedules, but having an expected routine helps them to start thinking in a certain direction at a certain time of day reducing how often they complain about not knowing what to do. 

Another thing that has helped us is having a crate filled with ‘stuff’ that can be used to create, make, invent, etc. Our artsy daughter and young engineer-minded son love to create characters, games, sculptures, towns and whatever else their imaginations can come up with. When our box gets depleted, we just go to the dollar store and fill it back up! 

Back in the spring we sat down together and came up with a list of 21 activities that sounded fun to at least one of our kids. We hung that list on the fridge and every time the kids told me they were bored, I would tell them to go pick something on the list. Sometimes they picked something on the list and other times they would get a new idea as they read it.”

Lauren even has her own list of boredom busters for stuck at home kids and adults.

Kim from Creative Reading Adventures

“One of the best ways to keep your kids busy during lockdown is to READ! I know, it’s shocking that a reading consultant would suggest reading as a boredom buster. Reading is the perfect activity no matter what your child’s age. The first thing you have to do is make reading FUN! Make sure your child has books to read that they want to read. My two-year-old wants to read Goodnight Moon every.single.day. Followed by her repertoire of Frozen books. Do I personally love these books? No, but she does, and that’s all that matters! The same is true for your older kids. Third time reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Let it happen! Make reading fun by building a cozy reading nook! Grab some blankets, comfy pillows, and build your own reading fort.”

Not sure where to start with building a comfy reading nook in your home? Kim shares her idea with you here.

Jessica from The Primary Parade

“If you’re looking for a great way to keep your little one engaged and busy, sensory bins should be your go to! Parents can create their own sensory bins with household items they can easily find around their home. Just grab: -A clear container -A filler (think sand, water, rice, shredded paper) -Tools (measuring cups, tongs, funnels) -And themed objects to engage your little ones senses and keep them busy during quiet, play time.”

Want to know more about sensory bin ideas? Jessica has a brilliant post with all the details for fun play ideas for littlies here.

Monica from Conquering Motherhood

“Arts and crafts projects turned out to be the winners at keeping my toddler busy. All she needed were some pencils, scissors, paper and Sellotape to hang her art projects all over the walls, and she was entertained for quite a while. Play dough also kept her very busy and, if you have time, I would suggest doing home-made play dough to double the fun. Last but not least, playing in the garden with some buckets of water when the weather was nice was also a favorite. I was amazed by how much fun she had just transferring water from one bucket to another by herself!”

Nicole from Coffee & Carpool

“One of the most common phrases in our house when we turn off the screens, is “I’m bored.” Which is ironic in a house full of toys, activities and craft supplies. And while it’s perfectly okay for kids to “be bored,” it’s also helpful when we give them ideas so there’s less complaining and bickering between siblings. 

Intentionally teaching our kids to be kind, compassionate and empathetic is so important, it’s one of our family rules, we try to give them activities that both fight boredom and do good at the same time. We love giving them simple ways to volunteer, spread kindness, and help others…even if we have to stay home”

Nicole has put together a great list of activities to spread kindness, help others, and fight boredom at the same time. Grab it here!

Rebekah from Write Now Rebekah

“I have 2 active, high maintenance kids. They are 8 and 6. I can’t think of a day as 14 hours needing to be filled with baking / crafts / making memories, because it makes me feel a little stabby with the pressure, so I divided our day into chunks. We live by our stomachs, so I made a timetable around meals. Suddenly our day was broken into manageable periods of time. With this structure all I have to do is fill a mentally manageable chunk of time.

Personally, I make my kids go outside every day. (Except when they won’t!) This can be a 10 minute run around the block with me in my slippers, a full on hike or a tour of local playgrounds. Here in The Netherlands, we have a playground on every block, so we are spoiled for choice. 

Sometimes I just throw them outside, lock the back door and then shout at them from the upstairs window when they try to end each other’s short lives

My kids have cottoned on to the fact that I live and die by all things creative… So, they dream up whatever it is they want to make, then we google search images on the iPad (I have to do this bit), and fully charged with inspo they dive in head first. We are fully stocked in the crafting department. It’s all good.

The rest of the time, my survival technique is that it’s a ‘free for all’ on screens and whatever else they want to do!”

Susanne from Lil Tigers

“One of my favorite activities to keep my children busy and engaged are arts and crafts projects. There are three main reasons for it: It keeps them occupied in peace and quiet. It helps to improve their fine and gross motor skills. It can easily be implemented in their studies. We use this opportunity to spend quality time together!

And no, kids projects do not have to cost a lot of money, preparing time and are manageable with different age groups. Happy crafting.”

Want to know more about Susanne’s stress-free arts and crafts projects for kids? Check out her blog here.

Tara from Yummy Sprout

“One of the best ways to get kids excited about trying new foods is to get them into the kitchen to help prepare the food. This is also a wonderful chance to spark their creativity and get them engaged in your own kitchen.  It is not always practical (or easy) to have kids help and it almost always results in a whole lot of mess. But the mess can be worth it. Making a family meal together once a week or even once a month is a great way to spend family time together and get kids in the kitchen. We make these recipes in many of our kids and family culinary classes and are always impressed with how much kids can do. Cooking together with your kids is a wonderful way to spend time indoors.”

Tara’s Kale and Goat Cheese Quiche “will let kids flex those culinary muscles with mixing, whisking and more”. Grab the recipe (and many more) here.

Stephanie from Mama Shark

“One of the best things we have done for keeping our kids busy has been creating a routine. I say routine, not schedule, because we don’t stick to it 100%, but it gives us an outline for how our days and weeks go. We do certain chores and school in the morning every morning, grocery shopping on Monday, the Museum on Thursday, etc. Having a routine means the kids know what to expect and what is expected of them- and because of that, they’re more likely to fill in the gaps with independent play, keeping themselves occupied without requiring that I create entertainment for them.”

For tons more fun, independent play ideas, be sure to take a look here.

Ashleigh from Parenting That Kid

“Every child has hopped the traditional hopscotch course, it’s a staple in childhood must-does. But when the days are long and repetitive and the excitement of ‘school’s out’ wears off, traditional hopscotch can benign to lose its thrill. That’s when it’s time to spice up outdoor fun.

Street Chalk Obstacle Course provides a physical outlet for the always-moving child and helps quiet the brain with a keen focus on the task at hand…. is a staple in my house because everyone can help out, we can change it up to keep it interesting, and it helps get all the movement/wiggles out.”

Check these out ingenious hopscotch variations from Ashleigh:

“Traditional hopscotch: 1-10

Cardinal Arrows: Draw arrows and hop using both feet onto arrows facing each direction, turning with each hop.

Loops: Draw loops and turn in a twirly circle with each loop-de-loop.

Jumping Jacks: for open jump, draw large circles far apart. For closed jump, draw small, close circles.

Long Jump: Draw a long line to make the jump!

Frog Jumps: Draw medium circles for each hand and two small connected circles for frog feet.”

If hopscotch ideas such as Crab Crawl, Alphabet Song, and Crazy Eight also sound intriguing, you can take a look at many more play ideas here .

Jo from jojoebi

“My biggest tip as a Montessorian would be to “Follow The Child”. There are millions of brilliant activities out there but you need to pick the right activity for the stage of development your child is in right now. If you don’t, that’s when your kid gives your brilliant Pinterest idea 2 seconds of attention and is DONE. Paying attention to their developmental stage makes a huge difference. If they are going through a sensory stage, then playdoh or shaving cream activities will keep them occupied. For kids in language development, anything related to learning letters, phonics, words will call to them. If you can match their sensitive period of development with a suitable activity, that is when the magic happens and the child will be engaged with what you give them for a longer period of time AND they will be learning at a much deeper level and retaining the information.”

Follow the link here to get more of Jo’s ideas to keep your kids busy in ways they’ll love.

So What’s the Bottom Line of Keeping Your Kids Occupied?

There are so many ingenious ideas for keeping kids of all ages happy, active and entertained. You don’t need to break your budget and you don’t always need to be the one doing the entertaining. Just give a couple of these ideas a try and see how they go! Your kids are guaranteed to love at least one thing from this article. Most likely more than one!

Which activities are you going to try first? Share with us below in the comments!

Meet the contributors!

• Lauren homeschools her 3 kids while living full-time in an RV and traveling the US. They share their road schooling adventures over at www.skellyhodgepodge.com.
• Jessica from The Primary Parade creates Preschool and Kindergarten activities for teachers, parents and day cares.
• Kim from Creative Reading Adventures helps moms spread a love of reading within their homes.
• Monica is the proud mom of 2 little girls and author of the blog Conquering Motherhood where she shares tips and solutions with regards to pregnancy, birth and the first year of baby’s life.
• Nicole is a recovering elementary school teacher, a mom to three super busy kids, and helps parents intentionally raise kind kids, create a stronger family connection, and bully-proof their kids at Coffee and Carpool: Raising Kind Kids.
• Rebekah was born in Ireland, grew up in England and met her Cornish husband in Catalonia. They now live in the Netherlands with their kids. She spends her days parenting, writing Write Now Rebekah and being amazed at all the Dutchness around her.
• Susanne from Lil Tigers is a designated mom of three beautiful little Tigers, a flight attendant, and a DIY blogger. She happily shares her fun and easy kids’ activities and crafts integrated into her everyday farm life to inspire others.
• Tara started Yummy Sprout after careers in Early Childhood, Marketing and studying Nutrition and how food plays such an important role in health and happiness. Mom to two energetic daughters, she is  passionate about inspiring others to cook healthy, delicious and allergy-friendly food. 
• Stephanie from Mama Shark is an efficiency expert for moms offering practical how-tos for saving time, money, and energy in daily mom life.
• Ashleigh is a self-described messy bun, yoga pants enthusiast mom who admittedly does not have it all together. She lives the life of an overly tired, underpaid, personal assistant to 7-year-old twins with Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, and Anxiety. These ‘extra’ traits are the spark behind the Parenting That Kid blog and podcast.
• Jo from jojoebi is a British-born Japanese-living, homeschooling, multi-passionate entrepreneur and bestselling author who lives among the rice paddies just north of Tokyo. She helps entrepreneur moms get organized at home, with the kids and in their business so that they have more time to build their empire.