27 Toddler Activity Ideas You Can Do at Home

Toddler Activities You Can Do Indoors With Items You Probably Have

You’d be surprised at how many things you have in your house now that could entertain your toddler for hours.

From items you have in your pantry and kitchen drawers to the stuff that’s been collecting dust in your arts and supplies box, there’s plenty to keep your toddler busy. Here are a few of my favorite toddler activity ideas you can do indoor with items you already have.

Tea Time

If you have a little girl, you probably have a tea set sitting around. Set up a picnic blanket on a a play table or in the middle of the play room and have your toddler help you set out all the tea cups, then set out some of her favorite plush friends and enjoy a little afternoon pretend tea.

Everly has a tea set from Mackenzie-Childs that she loves. Every morning at some point, she says “tea!” and directs me over to the box that holds her tea set. Together, we set the table up and sit her favorite plush friends around the table so she can enjoy pretend tea with them.

Make Your Own Forky

If your toddler has seen Toy Story 4, then he or she definitely knows who Forky is. Chances are, you have a plastic spork or fork lying around in your house. Entertain with toddler by allowing him to create his very own Forky.

We did this toddler activity with Everly and she loved it! Now every time we watch Toy Story 4, she looks for her own Forky and plays with him while she watches it.

Play Dress Up

Whethe ryou have a little girlor a little boy, toddlers love to dress up like their favorite characters. Play along with your toddler and dress up too. Then, get into character and encourage your little one to pretend to be that character and do the things the character owuld do.

Sticker Art

Is there any toddler who doesn’t love stickers? Get out some stickers and some blank sheets of paper and let your toddler create some mess-free art with stickers.

Build a Fort

Grab extra sheets, blankets and pillows to make an indoor fort in your living room! Your kids will love getting out their flashlights and reading books or watching movies from beneath their home made tent.

We recently made a living room fort out of sheets in our living room and Everly loved it. Simply use furniture in your house that’s easy to move such as your kitchen chairs around in a square with the backs facing inward. Then, drape sheets and comfortable above the chairs and voila! You have the perfect indoor fort to camp out in

Make a Domino Effect

nChances are, you probably have some dominos lying around your house. With your toddlers help, buildout a domino effect on the floor, then let her tip the first domino and watch them all fall to the ground.

Rip Magazines

Magazines are probably another thing you have around your house. Believe it or not, they can make for a great toddler activity!

Grab some old magazines you’ve already read and let your toddler rip through them, showing him how to pull pages out that he likes. Then, you can save his favorite pages for a future art project where you cut and glue the pages to a poster board.

Go on an Indoor Scavenger Hunt

If your child is anything like mine, he or she probably loves scavenger hunts like the annual Easter egg hunt traditions. Instead of putting up those Easter eggs, fill them once more with stickers or healthy snacks (& maybe even a few with candy). Then, hide them around the house for your little one to find.

You can also do an indoor scavenger hunt by hiding toys like their favorite plush animals.

Toddler Activity Toys

There are tons of toddler toys you can buy to help entertain your toddler with activities to do at home. And like I said, you don’t have to splurge a ton of money.

I’ve rounded up some affordable toddler toys to help keep your little one busy at home.

Build Something With Legos

If you don’t already have some Legos in your toddler’s toy chest, now might be the perfect time to invest in some. Lego Duplo is the brand’s line for toddler featuring thos elarger classic bricks.

If you’re just starting out, I would recommend a Lego Duplo kit featuring the classic bricks. We actually got some of the more affordable off-brand toddler bricks for Everly for Christmas and she loves them! They fit with the Lego brand so you can use them all together as you build up your brick collection. Be sure to also get a baseplate for your toddler bricks if you don’t already have one.

For those who already have starter toddler bricks, I’ve included some Lego Duplo building kits to add to your collection below.

Water Beads Toddler Sensory Activity

If you follow me on instagram, you’ve probably seen my many videos of Everly playing with these sensory water beads. I wasn’t sure about them when I purchased them, but they have quickly become one of her favorite toddler activities.

The water beads will arrive in a small package of tiny beads, so you don’t want your toddler playing with them in this state. While Everly was napping, I followed the directions on the box by adding water and waited the 4-6 hours for the water beads to get to their maximum size.

Then, I drained the water beads, put them in a large plastic tub and let Everly play. She LOVED them! The set comes with some spoons and tweezers so toddlers can ick up the balls but I also got out some measuring cups, bowls and spoons for her to play with.

The water beads are great for outdoors, indoors, the bathtub and more! The small package actually makes a ton too! And what’s even bette r- they’re super affordable with packages starting at just $7. I definitely recommend this fun at home toddler activity!!

Build a Train

What toddler doesn’t love to watch cars and trains?! Even better, building one their own size! Everly now has two train sets that we can build together and she loves doing this toddler activity.

Lego Duplo makes an amazing train that your child can build and then watch choo choo around the track on its own! Everly got the Lego Duplo train set for Christmas and still love sgetting it out and putting it together.

We also purchased a pre-loved Vtech train track on Mercari and she’s obsessed with it! What I love about both the Lego and the Vtech train trcaks are that you can purchase multiple sets and they will all fit together.

Here’s a few different toddler train sets to help spark your little one’s creativity below.

Match The Eggs

This is a simple toddler activity toy that’s also super affordable. We’ve had our matching shape eggs for a while and Everly still loves getting them out and playing with them. It’s a great way to teach toddlers their colors and shapes and also helps develop motor skills.

I’ve linked a few options for this fun and educational toddler activity below.

Create With Playdoh

We purchased our first Playdoh set during the COVID-19 lockdown, and it has quickly become one of Everly’s favorite toddler activities.

I was a little unsure if she would be too young for Playdoh, but she absolutely loves playing with it. I do have to keep a close eye to remind her not to put it in her mouth, but overall, she plays really well with Playdoh.

To start, we purchased the Playdoh Kitchen Creations Magical Oven. The set includes which included 6 cans of brightly colored Playdoh, several Playdoh tools and food creation attachments, plus a pretend oven that transforms teh Playdoh into fun food creations.

I definitely recommend starting with a kit like this which includes both the Playdoh and the tools so your toddler can play with it. I’ve linked a few affordable Playdoh options to shop below.

Finger Paint

Finger paint is a fool proof toddler activity. Since it can be messy, it might be best reserved as an outdoor activity. To keep things clean indoors, you can opt to finger paint in a bathtub, in the shower or in an inflatable pool.

Definitely always go for washable paint when it comes to finger painting with your little one. Here are a few options that your toddler will love.

Make a Ball Pit

Just before Everly turned one, we bought Everly a small inflatable pool and some plastic balls to fill it with. It was an instant hit and a toddler activity she still loves today.

A super small inflatable pool and a set of plastic balls is all you need for this fun activity for young children. And as a bonus, you can fill the pool with water and play outside on a hot day! Here’s a couple of affordable options.

Outdoor Activities For Toddlers

Now that spring is here and the sun is out, you’re probably spending a. lot more time outdoors with your toddler. Everly is obsessed with going outside every day, so we knew we’d need some outdoor toddler activities to keep her occupied.

Here are some simple outdoor toddler activities you can play with your toddler while soaking up a little vitamin D.

Sidewalk Chalk

A simple set of sidewalk chalk could mean endless hours of entertainment for your little one. We’ve already gone through more than one box of sidewalk chalk. Everly loves drawing on our backyard porch.

Cole actually got creative this week and drew Everly a hopscotch game with chalk in our backyard. I was super impressed that Cole even remembered hopscotch because I certainly hadn’t thought about it since my elementary school days. It’s a great way to get your toddler active and help practice counting numbers! Everly and her dada were so cute hopping around!

I’ve looked around online, and your best bet at getting sidewalk chalk is probably at your next grocery store or Walmart run. The prices for ordering sidewalk chalk online are a bit pricey right now, probably because of demand. But here are a few affordable options.

Fly a Backyard Kite

Everly got a kite in her stocking for Christmas, and we’ve just started to get it out and play with it. To says she’s obsessed with this outdoor toddler activity is an understatement.

Kites are super affordable and really fun for a windy spring day in the backyard. Here are a few options great for toddler activities.

Water Table Fun

Everly got a water table for her first first birthday and has had so much planning with it outside ever since. It’s a great way to keep your little ones cool outside while allowing them to work on their motor skills.

Most recently, we’ve been putting her water beads in the table to let her have fun with those. Here are a few water tables that are a great outdoor activity idea for toddlers.

Raise Caterpillars

Raising caterpillars into butterflies is a great toddler activity. Although I put it under outdoor toddler activities, it’s more of an indoor-outdoor activity. This is one we haven’t tried yet with Everly, but I actually have a butterfly garden kit in my cart on Amazon right now.

Everly has become obsessed with lizards, frogs and bugs over the last couple of months and I know she’d love watching caterpillars make their transformation into butterflies.

What’s also great about this toddler activity is that it teaches your little one responsibility since you’ll have to take care of and watch your caterpillars each day. I’ve linked a few caterpillar kits below.

Outdoor Fun With Bubbles

Bubbles are a simple and fun way to entertain your little one outside. Whether you get individual bubbles, a bubble blowing machine or giant bubble makers, you’re little one is certain to have fun with it.

Here’s a few bubble activities your small child will love to play with!

Have a Backyard picnic

This is a simple outdoor toddler activity that doesn’t cost anything at all. Simply grab a blanket and make lunch for your toddler and enjoy it in the sunshine rather than indoors. Your little one will love being able to sit with you an enjoy his or her lunch while taking in the sunshine.

Inflatable Pool Fun

If you don’t have a pool in your backyard, now is a great time to buy an inflatable or plastic pool for your little one. Since public pools will likely be closed this summer, simply purchase an inflatable one that will at least last through the summer.

We opted for a larger inflatable pool so Cole and I can sit in it with Everly, but you can also buy toddler sized ones. This is an activity that must ALWAYS be accompanied by an adult watching at all times. Be sure to pour the water out of your pool after each use so it isn’t a hazard for your little one.