85 Fun Activities for Children
Feeling sad, low in mood, or anxious, can have a big impact on activity levels and enjoyment. Children and young people who often feel sad, or low in mood, engage in very few activities that give them enjoyment, and a sense of achievement. Their low mood, or anxiety, can make them withdraw from other people, preferring to stay in their room, do quiet lonely activities, that are passive, like watching TV, playing video games, watching YouTube videos, or surfing the Internet.
When they are feeling down, it can be hard for them to decide or choose what to do, and they tend to want to do nothing. The list below gives ideas for fun activities, and you can make your own list by circling the things you like. Regularly planning fun activities, and completing tasks that give you a sense of achievement, are a powerful tool in lifting low mood, and sadness. I normally suggest two activities per day to do with others (parents/family/friends), and I ask that you to keep an eye on what happens to how you feel, what your mood is like when regularly you do things, and when you don’t.
- Blow bubbles
- Fly a kite
- Play a muscial instrument
- Build a toy car racetrack out of old boxes, tissue rolls
- A water gun battle
- A scavenger hunt
- Hula-hooping
- Learn a new skill as a family/friends, juggling, skateboarding, French braiding
- Get your camera and take photos of anything you want, using different filters
- Baking cakes or biscuits, find your favourite recipe
- Go to your local pond and try to catch (and release) things you find there
- Go on an alphabet treasure hunt, find things that begin with a letter you pick out of a bag
- Have fun relay races. Hopping on one foot, walking backwards, galloping
- Have an indoor or outdoor picnic lunch or dinner
- See who can build the tallest tower using blocks or Lego bricks
- Rifle through the dress-up bin and have a photo shoot with any mixture of outfits
- Set up a tent in the living room, get some snacks, turn off the lights, get a movie on a tablet/computer
- Have an animal sound contest, see which animal sounds different people make, blindfold people, see if they can guess who made the sound
- Learn how to do yo-yo tricks
- Have a day out at the beach
- Have a family/friends game night Monopoly, Scrabble and Pictionary
- Get some clay, have fun sculpting things
- Collect things from your local park to make a collage, you can paint it, or leave it natural
- Make a baking soda volcano, put a bit of white vinegar into a plastic cup, add a tablespoon of baking soda and watch the explosion
- Play/learn a card game
- Go out on your bicycles, find a local trail
- Have an opposite’s day and eat breakfast for dinner, wear your clothes inside out, yes means no!
- Play dominoes
- Sing along loud to your favourite songs, find the words on the internet
- Get on a karaoke game/machine, or use YouTube to sing along
- Play statue dancing, freezing when the music stops
- Throw a balloon into the air, see how long you can keep it up there, without it touching the floor
- Build a fort using cushions, blankets and old sheets
- Make a scrapbook of your favourite things, adding things to it regularly
- Play with bouncy balls
- Play dodge ball
- Get a pot, plant some seeds, you choose which ones
- Practice making shadow figures on a wall using your hands
- Disguise your voice and prank call mum or dad
- Dig up rocks or stones to see who lives underneath
- If the weather is nice, lie outside, watch the clouds, and try to pick out shapes
- Have a visit to the library
- Find a recipe for dinner, make it with help from a grown up
- Read a book
- Have a home make-up session
- Do some drawing or colouring
- Have a play date with a friend of your choice
- Play dress up together (parents included)
- Go swimming (indoor or outdoor)
- Listen and dance to loud music together
- Plan a visit to a museum
- Book a free makeover at a department store
- Visit a pet shop
- Write and post a letter to someone special
- Go for a walk, take some snacks and drinks
- Have a look at your old baby photos
- Go ice skating
- Have a hugging session
- Talk about what makes you special, what do people like about you?
- See a movie
- Do a puzzle
- Play a sport together, like tennis
- Make homemade pizza
- Play hide and seek
- Go for a train ride
- Try horseback riding
- Climb a tree
- Have a family talent show
- Get wet in the rain
- Go to the theatre
- Play Frisbee
- Talk about pocket money, saving, budgeting
- Visit a relative or friend
- Visit your neighbours
- Go bowling
- Play Simon Says
- Find a collection of jokes on the internet, tell them to others
- Play football
- Go to the park
- Go to a new park
- Visit a farm
- Walk your dog
- Go on your trampoline
- Have a pamper session
- Make a list of other things you want to do