20 ideas for staying entertained on a rainy day

Museums are endless fun on rainy days, especially if you have access to a great museum. If possible, go to an interactive museum, especially if you have kids, as that gives you a lot more bang for your buck. 

Puzzles are fun to put together, but it can be hard to find time to dedicate to the craft. A rainy day is the perfect time to put one together. If you want to raise the stakes, get two of the same puzzle and have a competition to see who can put it together the fastest. 

Who doesn’t love a movie marathon, especially on a rainy day? To make it a little more interesting, give your marathon a theme. You can watch an entire movie series, or you can have everyone pick out their own offering within the theme. 

If you like to cook, rainy days are perfect for trying new recipes. You can have missing ingredients delivered to you, or you can use the rain as a challenge to use only ingredients you have at home. 

Bowling is the perfect rainy day activity because it can occupy you for hours. If you don’t want to go outside in the rain at all, make a bowling alley at home. Get creative with what you use for pins and balls and see who’s the best at makeshift bowling. 

If you’re getting restless on a rainy day, go on an indoor scavenger hunt. If you don’t mind getting a little wet, you can make the scavenger hunt span different local stores, or you can do it all at home and rediscover some items you thought you’d lost. 

If you live with other people, put on a fashion show with a theme. If you live alone, use the rainy day as an opportunity to clean out your closet. Call it a fashion show to make it a little more exciting. 

If there’s a dance you’ve been dying to learn but haven’t had the time, do so on a rainy day. It can be a dance from a movie scene that you’ve always wanted to try, or it can be a fun TikTok trend. Maybe you’ll go viral. 

Board game tournaments are a blast and a great way to pass the time on a rainy day. You can have a round-robin tournament with different board games or go head-to-head on the same game to determine the winner. 

Reading a book is always a good way to pass the time. Use a rainy day as an excuse to get totally lost in a book and finish it in one day. Those opportunities are few and far between, so take advantage of them while you can. 

It’s never too late to start a new tradition. Your rainy day tradition could be staying in your pajamas all day or watching the pilot and the series finale of a show you’ve never seen. You could also spend the day researching possible traditions. 

You’ll want a delicious hot beverage to drink on a rainy day, but you might not want to leave the house to get one. Instead, make a fun hot drink at home. It could be a fancy cup of hot cocoa or a delicious homemade latte. 

If you have kids, a great way to pass the time on a rainy day is by putting on a talent show. It forces your kids to get creative, and it can be genuinely entertaining. Go all out, too. Make a stage, have them put on costumes, and give out awards that make everyone feel good about their performances. 

There’s no easier way to pass time than by having a dance party, and you can do this whether you’re alone or with people. Turn on a crowd-pleasing playlist (easy to do if you’re a crowd of one) and dance like no one’s watching. 

If you want a calmer activity on a rainy day, try doing a craft. If you only have a few craft supplies, you may need to venture out into the rain to get some, or you can make do with what you have and see what sort of craft you end up with with limited options. 

Few things are as fun as taking a nap, and naps are especially good on rainy days. Use the time to create your perfect napping conditions, and plan it so that you can get in a solid nap without messing up your nighttime sleep schedule. 

Another great rainy day activity is putting together an at-home restaurant. It’s especially fun if you have kids. Put together a menu for them to pick from and make whatever they choose, just like a real restaurant. Dress up as a waiter and give them a bill at the end. They’ll have a blast. 

If you’re at home on a rainy day where it’s dark and a little scary, create a fortress inside by going camping. If you have room, you can pitch an actual tent, or you can make a fort out of blankets. Have s’mores, tell spooky (or funny if you prefer) stories, and distract everyone from the storms outside. 

Another good kid-friendly rainy-day activity is making slime. The actual creation of it will be a fun project to do together, and it’ll keep them occupied afterward. Just be sure to have boundaries on where the slime can go once made, so you don’t have to spend your rainy day cleaning goo off furniture.  

If you want a relaxing rainy day, have a spa day. Do a hair mask, paint your nails, put on a face mask, or have a bubble bath. Whatever it is that feels like a treat to you, do it.