40 winter vacation activities for kids at home (that are not a screen)
Winter break in much of India runs roughly from late December into January (dates vary by state and school). That is two to three weeks of “I’m bored” — and a phone always within reach. A loose daily plan and a list of ideas changes everything.
On this page
1. Forty activities, grouped
Indoor play
- Build a blanket fort
- Carrom, ludo or snakes and ladders
- Shadow puppets with a torch
- A family puppet show
- Indoor treasure hunt
- Paper planes contest
Creative
- Paper snowflakes
- Design your own sweater
- Make greeting cards for relatives
- Paint pebbles
- Make a family photo album
- Draw a comic strip
Learning
- Read for 20 minutes daily
- A winter word search
- Picture sudoku
- Kitchen science: ice melting race
- Write a diary
- Learn 5 new words a day
Outdoors
- Morning sunshine walk
- Count birds from the balcony
- Fly a kite
- Plant a seed in a cup
- Visit a park or zoo
- Cycle in the colony
Kitchen
- No-cook date and nut laddoos
- Help knead roti dough
- Make nimbu paani
- Set the dinner table
- Decorate biscuits
- Make a fruit chaat
Kindness
- Call grandparents
- Donate old toys
- Feed birds
- Write a thank-you note to the watchman
- Help fold clothes
- A kindness calendar
Plus four more favourites: a Christmas tree from paper, New Year goals poster, Lohri bonfire story time and a Sankranti kite design.
2. A simple daily routine
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| Morning | Sunshine walk, breakfast, 30 minutes of holiday homework |
| Late morning | One activity page or craft |
| Afternoon | Lunch, quiet reading, help at home |
| Evening | Outdoor play, then a family game |
| Night | Story time and an early bedtime |
Want the whole holiday planned? The Winter Vacation Fun Pack has 74 printable pages plus a 21-day tracker. See the Winter Vacation Fun Pack →3. Holiday homework without tears
- Write all the homework on one list on day one.
- Do a little every morning, before play.
- Finish it in the first two weeks; the rest of the break is free.
- Tick each task off — children love seeing the list shrink.
4. Best picks by age
| Age | Try these first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 3–4 | Blanket fort, colouring, dough, sorting socks, bird watching | Short attention span; lots of hands-on play |
| 5–6 | Paper snowflakes, picture puzzles, roti dough shapes, treasure hunt | Can follow 2–3 step instructions |
| 7–9 | Kitchen science, diary, comic strip, sudoku, kite design | Enjoy challenges and making things on their own |
Mix one “busy” activity (craft, game) with one “calm” one (reading, colouring) each day. Children settle better when energetic and quiet play alternate.
5. A rainy or foggy day list
Dense fog and cold waves keep children indoors for days in parts of North India. Keep this list on the fridge:
- Indoor obstacle course with cushions, chairs and a skipping rope
- Restaurant game: your child writes a menu and takes orders
- Sock puppets and a short play for the family
- Freeze dance to old Hindi songs
- Sorting games: buttons by colour, spoons by size, books by height
- Story chain: each person adds one sentence to a story
6. One outing a week
A planned outing gives the week something to look forward to. Ideas that are cheap or free: a local museum or planetarium, a city park, a nursery (plant shop), a fruit and vegetable market (let your child pay and count the change), a library, or a sunny picnic on the terrace.
7. Holidays with grandparents
Many children spend part of the break with grandparents. Give the visit a little structure:
- Interview a grandparent: What games did you play as a child? What was school like?
- Learn one family recipe together.
- Ask them to teach an old game: gilli-danda, pittu, chess or a card game.
- Make a small scrapbook of the visit with drawings and photos.
Questions parents ask
How can I keep my child busy during winter vacation?
Make a loose daily routine, keep a list of activities to pick from, and plan one special outing a week. Printable activity pages are great for quiet times.
How much screen time is okay during holidays?
A fixed daily slot works better than a strict ban. Many families use 30 to 60 minutes for school-age children.
When should holiday homework be done?
A little every morning, finishing in the first two weeks, so the end of the holiday is relaxed.
What are good indoor activities for cold days?
Blanket forts, board games, crafts like paper snowflakes, kitchen science and reading.
Winter Vacation Fun Pack — 74 pages of screen-free fun
74 printable pages · ages 4 to 9
- Christmas, New Year, Sankranti & Lohri pages
- Colouring, mazes, puzzles, maths and 3 kitchen experiments
- Crafts, games and 40 screen-free ideas
Print as many times as you like · Buy any 2 packs together and get 10% off