5 ❄️activities we love! indoor fun with Littles!

2 days ago

Thursday, January 23, 2026

BRRR!

Has it been a chilly week in your neck of the woods?

Here in Minnesota, the air temperature dropped to -18 this past Tuesday

and the wind chill was -28!

BRRR! BRRR!

We are grateful that we’re in the midst of a “warming trend” now

with the projected temps reaching 27 degrees this weekend…

A 50 degree difference!

Although the temps have definitely let us know that winter is here,

surprisingly, we’ve had very little snow on the ground!

The snowblower hasn’t even made an appearance this year!

In fact, it looks like much of the southern USA is getting our snow this year!

We hope you all are enjoying the white stuff and staying safe!

Despite our own lack of snow, the cold temps remind us

that we are in full winter mode here!

WE ALSO KNOW

that many of our readers are Grands, parents and/or caregivers to Littles! In fact, lots of you help your local Middles (your own grown kids) by providing regular or impromptu childcare for your infant, toddler or preschool Littles.

And, while older Littles are usually in school this time of year, there are occasional three day weekends due to school holidays, there are sick days or even surprise days off like winter Snow Days, right? When these take place, we are often called on to provide last minute support and cold days spent indoors can feel oh so looong!! We often find ourselves looking for simple, easy and cost effective ways to fill these hours with our ever busy Littles!

If this sounds like YOU, this post is for YOU!

Today, we’re rounded up 5 indoor winter activities that your Littles will love!

Scroll through - you’ll find ideas for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and older Littles!

Something for everyone!

Move That Snow!

On cold winter days, Littles of all ages can have LOTS of extra energy!

This activity will give them a chance to get moving

while providing a bit of challenging fun at the same time!

Laurie and her crew of Littles had fun last winter with this activity!

We think you might, too!

The fun began by taking pieces of paper (recyclables work great) and crumbling them up into snowballs and throwing them into an empty box or bin! Throw in some cotton balls for older Littles! This prep can be just as much fun as the actual activity for Littles!

Then, using painter’s or masking tape, criss cross the tape across the top of the box/bin, as shown. (Keep the openings created by the tape big enough for your Littles’ hands to fit through.) Round up enough kitchen tongs so each Little has one. No worries, if you don’t have enough! Your Littles can always take turns and cheer each other on!

Place another container on the floor at the other end of the room!

Your Littles will have fun grabbing one snowball from the bin at a time and “moving” it to the container across the room without dropping it!

Check out this Instagram post to view this activity in action!

Yummy “Snow” Painting!

Laurie was looking for a “snowy” activity for her her youngest Little

so she could join in the fun!

One-year-old Little P loves to watch her BIG sister (three-year-old Little D) do everything! Little D had done some indoor snow play with shaving cream - creating snowmen and polar bears (Another favorite wintertime activity!).

Little P doesn’t put a lot in her mouth, but I decided to resist temptation, and looked for something else to use with her. I had a bottle of Reddi Whip and thought that could be fun! It was white and cold and safe to eat!

I got Little P all set up and waited to see what happened.

As you can see by her face, she wasn’t sure what was happening!

So…

to encourage Little P

I took her hands and started smooshing them around!

SURPRISE!

She was much more interested in eating the “snow” than in creating snow sculptures!!!

Hmmmm - Grammy fail??

Not necessarily!

After all, Little P is only 14 months, so maybe we just have to wait a bit longer!

There’s nothing wrong with just playing with this yummy white concoction… It provides great sensory exploration! However, I think her mom would prefer if I use yogurt next time instead of whipped cream! 👍

Indoor Snow Play!

When you can’t get out into the snow because it’s just too cold

(or there is simply NO snow to be had),

you can bring the imaginative play indoors!

Here are a few of our favorite ways to do just that!

❆ Build a Snowman!

This is an easy way to bring the winter fun indoors! If you have fresh snow outside, bring some inside and let your Littles build their own miniature snowmen/snowscapes in a plastic bin! For younger Littles, you could add a snowman face to a few plastic cups and let them scoop the snow into their snowmen, as shown below! Young Littles love to scoop and shovel!

NO SNOW? Use cotton balls, instead!

❆ Plow Through It!

Set up a tray or box with “snowballs” and toy snow plows and your Littles are ready for loads of fun! Again, you could bring a bin-full of real snow inside to use for this activity! However, Laura plans to use cotton balls for the “snow” and will even add a few bottle brush trees to the scene for Little L’s trucks to maneuver around!

Another fun, albeit messy option, is to spread flour out on a tray to simulate snow being plowed! (If using flour, we recommend putting a plastic tablecloth or an old bed sheet under your “plowing” tray to make for an easy clean up! Trust us… We speak from experience!)

❆ Make Your Own Inside Snow!

Last month, we shared our recipe for making Inside Snow! It’s easy to make… in fact, your Littles would love to help!

Here’s the recipe!

TIME TO PLAY!

Add some toys and let the fun begin!

Playdough Snowflakes!

Recently Laurie had spotted these free playdough mats,

available to download at prekinders.com.

Since Little D loves her numbers, counting AND playdough,

I printed off a couple of pages so see if she’d enjoy them!

Don't worry if you don't have access to a printer!

You can make your own play mats!

Simply use plain blue construction paper and draw a winter scene on it!

(Using chalk or a white crayon on blue or black paper works so well!)

Then follow the directions below to complete the activity!

Oh, Little D had fun!

She rolled the playdough, added pieces to her mat and pushed each down

into “really big snowflakes, Grammy!”

I found that Little D actually enjoyed the page that had unlimited snowflakes more than the counting sheets I offered her.

At Grammy’s house, Little D gets to take the lead!!

Looks like we may have a blizzard on the horizon!

❄️ 😉 ❄️

Thanks to prekinders.com for this fun idea!!

Rescue the Animals!

This activity takes a bit of prep

but will definitely be worth it as it will capture the attention of older Littles!

Check out these frozen ice cubes, including a fun twist from Laurie!

A few years back, I prepped this activity

for my sister to do with her three-year-old grandson!

My sister later reported

that this was the longest her Little had ever been engaged in a single activity!

Here's what to do... Find smaller objects that fit in ice cube tray compartments.. We used plastic animals because most three-year-olds LOVE animals! You could also fill the compartments with coins, marbles, other small toys or gadgets! Then fill the ice cube tray with water and freeze overnight. Pop the ice cubes out and put them on a tray to keep the melting water contained.

Your Littles can now get busy exploring! Provide squirt bottles, spray bottles, eye droppers, basters, etc that have been filled with warm water. You can also have small spoons on hand (measuring spoons work well) and a bowl filled with extra water, too.