Indoor games for children: weather-independent fun

It's stormy and rainy and your child simply doesn't feel like going outside? There are days like that. But how good that even indoors numerous play opportunities and ideas await you. Whether alone, with siblings, parents or friends – your own home offers the ideal playground for exciting afternoons full of action and fun.

The best part: Many indoor children's games can be played completely play without equipment or with items from your household. This means your children can start right away and a long setup of play equipment is not necessary. Of course, at HABA you will also find a wide selection of toys, which are ideal for playing and Romp indoors are suitable and make children's hearts beat faster.

As you can see, all possibilities are open to you to shape your indoor play entirely according to your own preferences and wishes. If your children have explored everything indoors and are drawn to the little explorers to the outdoors, exciting Games in all weathers.

These indoor games are available

There are plenty of indoor play opportunities. Rest assured that for every age and every taste there is a suitable children's game. Below you will get an overview of the different game categories.

Role-playing games

Dressing up is fun. And children's games with many players in different costumes are even more fun. For group or role-playing games you don't always need much space – even in the smallest children's bedroom it's wonderful to play and slip into other roles.

Logic and guessing games

Little puzzle masters love cracking codes or bringing order to the guessing chaos. Logic and guessing games playfully train concentration and memory skills. Children who like to play logic games indoors also promote their mental and cognitive development while playing.

Memory and search games

Memory is one of the most popular and most timeless game ideas for indoors and is popular with children of all ages. Whether cute animal motifs, fast racing cars, or unicorns – the search for the matching pair offers fun for the whole family.

Circle games

Circle games are particularly popular in kindergarten and school, but can also be implemented at home without much effort. For this you usually still need not even any equipment – just roll out the play rug on the floor and let the fun begin. The advantage of circle games: they work even with many players – ideal for the next children's birthday party or for the group afternoon of the scout meeting hosted at your home.

Movement games

Does your child have a strong urge to be active and would most of all like to jump, romp and hop all the time? Then Movement games indoors, where little sports enthusiasts can really let off steam. Here you are independent of wind, weather or season and can build your own sports course right in the children's bedroom.

Solo games

Some children also sometimes want to play quietly alone indoors. If at the moment no playmate nearby or your child can keep themselves well occupied, puzzles or other toys provide great fun. The advantage: if the child loses interest, it can be put away quickly and easily and resumed the next day.

Dexterity & coordination games

In dexterity games, children can demonstrate their skills and alone or in competition compete against each other in stacking, balancing or threading. That's fun and at the same time the mental development as well as the fine motor skills are promoted.

Crafting

Especially creative children come into their own when crafting. Depending on the season, you'll find plenty of material on walks in the fresh air to seasonal decorations to make. Whether colorful Easter decorations for the garden, Autumn crafts made from chestnuts and pine cones or Christmas tree decorations when Crafting for Christmas – there are no limits to imagination.

Indoor games at home – ideas for fun children's games

Indoor games without equipment

Do you want game ideas and tips for fun indoor games that you can play right away and without much preparation play?

Then children's games without equipment are a good option. These can usually be played straight away without having to search for the right materials first.

The 5 most popular indoor games without equipment

• The floor is lava

• I pack my suitcase

• Bunny in the pit

• Charades

• Telephone

Indoor children's games with equipment

For some indoor games you need suitable equipment or toys. But you don't always have to buy these; household items like cushions, socks, balloons, chairs or blankets can often be repurposed and integrated into the game without any problems. If you opt for purchased toys, the advantage is that your children can use them for a long time and can also occupy themselves with the toy on their own, without getting bored.

The 5 most popular indoor games and toys

• Memory and puzzle games

• Marble runs

• Crawl tunnels and ball pits

• Stuffed animals and dolls

• Building blocks

Instructions: Our 9 best indoor games

In the following section we provide instructions and ideas for popular indoor children's games that your children can play at any age.

For toddlers (2-3 years)

Crawling monster

You can play this children's game indoors with 2-10 children. The little crawlers get down on the floor in crawling position and hold the ankles of the child in front of them. The child in the first position may determine the direction – and off goes the crawling monster. On the way through the whole apartment the children hold on to each other's ankles.

Doll fashion show

Use the time when playing indoors with your children to give the dolls a new outfit to dress them up. Whether a cuddly pajama, a smart Dirndl or a sporty casual look – the doll parents can decide how their little one should be dressed for the season. At the end, your children can hold a small fashion show and proudly present the look to everyone else.

Telephone

This game is even more fun when as many players as possible join in. It's best to sit in a circle on the floor. Now the first child starts and whispers to their neighbor a word into their ear. That child must then whisper the word – or what they understood – into the next child's ear.

The game continues until the last player has had the word whispered into their ear. Now that child may say the term out loud. You'll be surprised at the strange and funny words that will come up.

For (older) kindergarten children (4-5 years)

Marble run race

This game works best with at least two players and two marble runs. Place the two tracks side by side and the childrenrelease the marbles at the same time. Which marble will reach the finish faster? If more children play than there are marble runs, the other players can also guess which track will be the winner. On your marks, get set, go!

Rattle the tune

This game requires a sense of rhythm of your children. Make rattles from tin cans or cardboard tubes, which you fill with uncooked rice and seal. Now the first child begins to rattle a song they have chosen. The other players must try to guess which song it is. If you're right, you can rattle the rest of the song together.

Salt dough crafts

Salt dough is quick to make and can be easily shaped by children. Simply mix two cups of flour with one cup of salt and one cup of water until a smooth dough forms. The children can now knead and shape the dough as they like. You can also cut out shapes using cookie cutters.

If you're happy with the shape, either leave the dough to dry near a heater for several days or gently bake it in the oven (several hours at 100 °C). After baking or drying, the dough can be painted or further decorated.

For primary school children (from 6 years)

Balloon shaving

Balloon shaving is about your children's sense of touch. Inflate a balloon – preferably as large as possible. Now smear the balloon with shaving foam. The aim of the game is to remove the shaving foam from the balloon with a disposable razor without popping it. Which child can shave the balloon without causing damage?

Charades

Charades is an indoor game for the whole family. It's all about movement, action and fun. The aim of the game is to mime terms, jobs or films – that is, to use only movements and without sounds or words to use. Who will manage to guess the most answers?

Who am I?

In this game, each player first thinks of a character or person for the player opposite them and writes it on a sticky note, which is later stuck on the neighbor child's forehead. Make sure that the person themselves cannot read the note on the forehead and that a character is chosen that all players know.

Now the big guessing begins. In turn, the players ask questions about their person that can be answered with 'yes' or 'no'. Each child may ask questions until the answer is 'no'. Then it's the next child's turn. Who willfigure out their identity the fastest?

Celebrate a birthday at home – exciting indoor children's birthday party games

. Then the music starts and all the children walk around the chairs or cushions. When the music stops, each child quickly finds a seat. The child who couldn't get a seat is out. Then a chair or cushion is removed and the game continues.Do your children want the next /magazine/celebrations/parties/celebrate-a-childs-birthday-at-homecelebrate their next birthday at your home, it means for you as parents: finding suitable indoor game ideas. But we can reassure you, with the , exciting /magazine/leisure-creativity/playing/kids-birthday-party-gamesbirthday games in tow and a little

organization

you can throw a party for your children where boredom is not invited.Musical ChairsYou need cushions or chairs that you place in the middle of the room. There are

always one less seat than players

Pot-hittingFor this game you need a pot, a wooden spoon, a small gift and a blindfold. The child whose turn it is first has their eyes covered and the wooden spoon placed in their hand. Now the pot is hidden in the room and a small gift placed underneath it. The child may now, with eyes covered, search for the pot and, in doing so, feel their way forward with the wooden spoon

.

The other players can help by saying "hot" or "cold" and thus point the direction to the sought object. If the child finds the pot, they strike it with the wooden spoon, may remove the blindfold and keep the gift.

Dressing upNot only during Fasching or Carnival do children enjoy dressing up and slip into different roles

Treasure hunt

A successful treasure hunt can take place not only outside, but also indoors. For this, you as parents first hide the treasure and roughly draw the hiding place on a treasure map Now it's up to the little explorers to find the treasure – together the children should try to read the map and reach the destination.

Chocolate-eating contest

For this popular indoor birthday party game you need a die, a pair of gloves, a hat, a scarf, a knife and fork and, of course, a bar of chocolate. Place all the items in front of you on the table or floor. Now the first child begins to roll the die. This continues in turns until a child rolls a 6. In that case they quickly put on the hat, scarf and gloves and try to eat the chocolate with a knife and fork. In the meantime the other players continue to roll. As soon as another child rolls a 6, it's their turn and they try to eat the chocolate fully dressed. The game continues until the chocolate is completely eaten.

Image credits

Parents jump with children on the floor © fizkes - stock.adobe.com

Grandmother swings grandchild through the air © fizkes - stock.adobe.com

Children cover their eyes with food and laugh at the camera © pressmaster - stock.adobe.com