10 Free and Fun Winter Activities for Kids

If you’re searching for fun and meaningful winter activities for kids, you’re in the right place. Winter can feel long (so long!) when you have little ones at home, but it’s also the perfect season for slowing down, getting creative, and making memories together.

Whether you’re looking for simple indoor ideas or free winter activities you can enjoy outside, these hands-on, kid-approved ideas will help keep your little ones busy, happy, and learning all season long.

From snowy adventures to easy crafts you can do right at home, here are our family’s favorite ways to make winter feel playful and full of connection.

10 Easy Winter Activities for Kids

1. Winter Stick Engineering Challenge

Winter is the perfect time for outdoor building because the ground is covered with fallen branches, sticks, and natural “building materials.” Head outside with your kids and gather sticks, twigs, bark, pine needles, and rocks, then challenge them to build something using only what they find in nature.

Kids can try creating:

• A tiny stick shelter
• A bridge that can hold a pinecone
• A winter animal “home”
• A tall stick sculpture

Make it even more fun by giving each child a simple challenge card like “Build the tallest structure you can” or “Create a winter home for a forest friend.”

This activity keeps kids moving, encourages engineering and problem-solving, and is completely doable even when there’s no snow on the ground.

2. Winter Scavenger Hunt (Using the Senses!)

A winter scavenger hunt is one of my favorite ways to get the kids outside when the days feel long and everyone’s getting stir-crazy. Instead of just looking for “things,” try turning it into a sensory hunt. My kids LOVE this twist — it makes them feel like little winter detectives.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Sound Clues

Have kids pause and listen for winter sounds like:

• Leaves rustling
• Branches cracking or falling
• Birds chirping
• The wind blowing
• Boots crunching on frozen ground

Sight Clues

Send them searching for things they can spot, such as:

• Something red (berries, decorations, clothing)
• Something white (ice, bark, snow patches, clouds)
• A squirrel or winter bird
• A tree with no leaves
• Animal tracks or tiny holes in the ground

Touch Clues

Let them explore with safe hands-on finds like:

• Cold water in a puddle
• Mud (a total kid favorite — of course!)
• Rough tree bark
• Smooth stones
• Ice or frost on leaves

It’s such a simple activity, but adding in the senses turns an ordinary winter walk into a full-on adventure!

3. Visit a Nearby Town for a “Winter Outing Day”

One of my favorite winter traditions is packing up the kids and heading to the closest town or city for a little “winter outing day.” You can totally make this your own, but here are a few ideas that always feel special for kids.

If it’s close to Christmas, start by walking around to see the Christmas lights and decorated trees. Kids love pointing out their favorites, and it becomes this sweet, slow-paced moment where you get to enjoy the season together.

If your town has an ice-skating rink, take a few laps — or, if you’re like me, shuffle around the edge while your kids somehow figure it out faster than you. It’s such a fun way to burn energy when everyone’s been cooped up.

4. DIY Winter Garland Bird Feeder

This is such a simple winter craft, and my kids get so excited knowing they’re making a little treat for the birds. Plus, it looks absolutely beautiful hanging outside when the trees are bare.

Start by washing your oranges and slicing them into ¼-inch rounds. Lay the slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them low and slow at 200°F (about 93°C) for 4–6 hours, or until the edges start to curl and turn slightly golden. Your house will smell amazing.

Once the slices are completely dry, let the kids spread peanut butter on each one, then press them into a bowl of birdseed. (This is the part where things get gloriously messy — embrace it!)

Use a skewer or the tip of a pencil to gently poke a hole at the top of each slice. Then thread them onto twine or yarn to create the prettiest little winter garland bird feeder.

Hang it outside on a tree branch or porch rail and watch the birds come and have a little snack! It’s such a fun way to add a little color to those gray winter days!

5. Find New Playgrounds

It’s so easy to forget that playgrounds still exist during the colder winter months. Seriously, once the temperatures drop, it’s like our brains decide playground season is over. But nope! Bundle up those kiddos and suddenly a whole world of fresh, empty playgrounds opens up.

We’ve actually made it a weekend tradition lately to explore a new playground every Saturday, and my kids have been absolutely loving it. It gets us out of the house, tires them out (praise be), and turns those long winter days into mini adventures. We just throw on hats, gloves, warm jackets, and off we go.

And honestly? I’ve been surprised by how many other parents are doing the exact same thing. You’d think we’d be the only ones braving the cold, but nope — there’s always another family sliding, swinging, and chasing their kids around right alongside us.

6. Plant Winter Veggies (Yes, Even in the Cold!)

I know gardening in winter sounds impossible, but it totally depends on where you live! If you’re in a milder zone like we are (hello, Zone 9b moms!), winter is actually one of the BEST times to grow veggies. Here, we are able to plant lettuce, kale, carrots, beets, radishes, and a few other hardy greens all winter long.

Winter gardening can be such a fun experience for kids because it gives them something real to care for when most outdoor activities slow down. Little ones absolutely love scooping soil, sprinkling seeds, checking for sprouts, and proudly announcing the first signs of growth. Even a tiny planter box or a few pots on a patio is enough to give them that sense of ownership and wonder.

And truly, gardening has so many developmental benefits for kids! I have a full post all about the benefits of gardening for children, and it’s a great place to start if you’re thinking about giving winter gardening a try!

7. Ice Art Activity

If you’re looking for a winter activity for kids that feels wintery and whimsical, ice art is such a fun and simple one to try. All you need is a cupcake tray, some water, and anything wintery you can find outside — pine needles, tiny pinecones, berries, or even a few drops of food coloring to give it that frosty pop of color.

Have your kids help you fill each spot in the tray, then place a string into every one before popping the whole thing into the freezer. (Kids love checking on these like they’re watching something grow.) Once they’re completely frozen, you can pop them out and hang your beautiful little ice ornaments outside the house.

Not only does this activity feel like creating frozen treasure, but it’s such a great way for kids to explore textures, colors, and nature during the winter months.

8. Snowball Aim Game

This one is for those of you who actually get snow! The Snowball Aim Game is basically a wintry twist on the classic basketball game HORSE, but with snowballs and whatever targets you spot outside.

Have everyone make a pile of snowballs, then take turns choosing something to aim at: a tree trunk, a fence post, the corner of a slide, the top of a bucket — literally anything in sight. The first player calls out their target and takes a shot. If they hit it, everyone else has to try to hit the same target from the same spot. If someone misses, they get a letter. First one to spell “SNOW” loses!

It’s a super fun hand-eye coordination activity for kids that doesn’t involve any fancy setup! Perfect snow-day energy burner!

9. Sledding

I know this one sounds so obvious, but sometimes we just forget about the classics! Sledding was my absolute favorite thing to do growing up. We had a huge hill in our backyard, and every snowfall turned it into the perfect sledding spot!

Sledding is amazing for kids in so many ways. Climbing back up the hill again and again builds strength and endurance (and burns off that endless winter energy!). Zooming down helps with balance, spatial awareness, and coordination!

Plus, sledding is one of those activities that brings everyone together. It’s a simple screen-free activity, and creates the kind of childhood memories that stick. Wrap those little ones in their warmest gear and hit the closest hill… it’s always worth it!

10. Winter Themed Charades

Charades is one of those perfect go-to games when it’s cold outside and everyone’s looking for indoor fun — and it gets even better when you make it winter-themed.

Younger children might have a harder time with this game but you can always print out pictures of the words instead.

Here are some ideas you can use. I split them by difficulty so you can adjust based on your kids’ ages!

Easy Winter Charades

• Pretend to drink a cup of hot cocoa
• Shivering from the cold / rubbing your arms to get warm
• Making snow angels (lying down, arms and legs moving outward)
• Putting on mittens / tying a scarf

Medium Winter Charades

• Ice skating (pretend to glide, arms out, careful balance)
• Snowball fight (pretend to scoop snow, throw, duck)
• Hanging up holiday lights / decorating a Christmas tree
• Sledding downhill (pretend to sit on sled, whoosh, hold on)

Hard Winter Charades (for big kids or creative fun)

• Building a snowman (rolling snowballs, patting them)
• Catching snowflakes on your tongue or counting snowflakes as they fall
• Feeding birds outside (holding out a pinecone with seeds, waiting)
• Walking through a snowy forest — crunching leaves, crunching snow, looking at bare trees

If you want even more charade ideas (for any time of year), you can check out my 100 FUN Charade Ideas for Kids of All Ages post!

I hope this list of free winter activities for kids inspires you to embrace the colder months with curiosity and creativity. You don’t need anything fancy — many of the best ideas are simple, memorable, and totally doable without spending a lot of money!