Indoor Activities for Kids & Families When It’s Too Cold to Be Outside

I’m sharing a list of 5 Indoor Activities for Kids and Families you can enjoy this winter in this post sponsored by McDonald’s. It’s all about creating #HappyFamilyMoments. All opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure here.

Brr. It’s cold outside. The winter weather definitely is putting a crimp on our family adventures, since we love spending time outdoors together at parks, community, festivals and just playing in the yard. But we’re not bears. We can’t just hibernate until spring.  We still want to get out and spend time together; we just have to be more creative about it this time of the year. Today, I’m excited to be partnering with McDonald’s and Cuties to talk about Happy Family Moments and provide a list of five fun, inexpensive indoor activities for kids and families.

Visit a Museum Together

You’ve probably visited the local children’s museum and science center lots of times, and they’re still great places to go when weather turns cold. But why not expand your options and plan a family outing to a local museum that’s not specifically for kids? Your community is likely to have lots of museum options — like history, art, music, trains, automobiles, aviation and culture. Even if they don’t cater to kids, most museums have children’s programming and exhibits that will appeal to younger visitors.

Our family is planning a trip to the state art museum to view an exhibit on M.C. Escher, an artist my 9-year-old has studied in school and whose work my husband and I also enjoy. Our local community has many unique museum offerings, including auto racing, furniture, dolls and miniatures, a hands-on artist’s collaborative and the International Civil Rights Museum. I bet yours does, too, and all are great places for family outings.

Try Out Roller Skating (Or Rock Climbing or Bowling or a Trampoline Park)

When it’s cold or rainy out, it can be appealing to stay at home, bundle up and veg out on the couch. But too much hibernation can lead to cabin fever!  

The winter is a great time to get moving and try something different like roller skating, bowling, paint ball, indoor rock climbing or bouncing at the trampoline park. 

 

I’m always surprised by how much fun we have when our family participates in one of these types of activities. And you may learn you have a hidden talent. Turns out I’m pretty good at laser tag and indoor archery!

Find an Indoor Playground

Sometimes kids just need to burn off some energy, especially if it’s too cold or dreary to play outside. That’s when you need to find an indoor playground — stat. Where we live, a company that sells playground equipment opens its showroom for playtime and parties. We love playing there. (We had my son’s birthday party there this year because our outdoor party plans kept getting rained out.) If you don’t have something like that where you live, head to the gym or the Y for a game of basketball or swimming. 

Or even easier, head to McDonald’s and let the kids play in the PlayPlace while you relax and surf on their free wi-fi.

After everyone is finished playing, you can treat them to a Happy Meal for lunch.

Visit an Old-School Arcade

When we visited the mountains recently, the 20-degree temperatures and blustery winds had us searching for fun and inexpensive indoor activities. We discovered an old-school arcade and pinball museum and had a blast feeding quarters into the machines and playing.

My husband really enjoys sharing some of his favorite arcade games from childhood with our son. I think it’s a lot more fun to play video games at an arcade than sitting on the couch.

Hang Out at the Library

When searching for wintertime indoor activities for kids and adults, don’t forget about your local library. It’s always fun to hang out and browse the stacks and pick books to bring home.

Many libraries also let you check out music, movies, ebook readers and electronics. Our library even has a 3D printer you can use while you’re there. Many libraries also offer crafts, games, story times, movie nights, community events and family activities on afternoons or weekends. Be sure to check the schedule for your local library.