20+ Indoor Activities for Babies

Growing up in Oregon, it was a BIG deal when we got snow days! Now, living in Montana, snow isn’t quite as exciting. In fact, when I woke up to six inches of fresh snow last week, I was filled with a sense of dread. Why? Because it meant that I was going to be stuck in the house all. day. long. with my 9 month old! Don’t get me wrong– I love my little guy, but I rely on our daily walks and outings to help break up the day. Being stuck inside just makes for a lot of LONG days.

When you are stuck inside all day, it is nice to have some new things to do. There is only so many times you can play with the same toys before they get old (for you and your baby!) These are some of the easy ideas that we have done this winter. Most of them are free or low cost and just use materials from around the house.

These indoor activities are great for babies 6-12 months old. However, keep in mind that babies learn a TON throughout these 6 months! They go from learning to sit, to crawl, to stand, to walk! I tried to include ways to make the activities easier or more difficult so that you can adapt to fit your baby’s current level.

Also keep in mind that a lot of these activities might seem very simple. But remember— they are just babies, so these are developmentally appropriate 😉 It is also developmentally appropriate for babies to have short attention spans. Try not to feel discouraged if baby loses interest after a minute or two. Instead, leave the activity out, and chances are baby will return to it later! I try and minimize distractions and have other toys and interesting objects out of sight before trying a new activity.

Lastly, make sure to always supervise your baby while they play! Have fun! 🙂

1. Magnets and cookie sheets

Pulling the magnets off cookie sheets is great for fine motor skills without getting fingerprints all over your fridge 🙂

Easier: Use chunkier magnets that are easier to grasp.

Harder: Talk about the the magnets and ask them to point to or grab certain shapes or colors.

2. DIY shape sorter

Henry wasn’t quite ready for a store bought shape sorter yet–so I made him a simple one out of an empty coffee can! (I used an exacto knife to cut the hole)

Easier: Take the lid off and have your baby practice putting objects in and out of the empty can.

Harder: Make the hole smaller or in different shapes to use with different shaped objects (square shape for blocks, etc)

3. Color bin

Color bins are a great activity for all babies! Henry enjoyed exploring them at less than 6 months old and continues to enjoy them today. Simply choose a color or a theme and fill a basket with miscellaneous objects of that color–then let your baby explore! These are such a simple activity, but can keep your baby occupied for quite some time.

Easier: If your baby is younger and isn’t grasping objects yet, you can help baby feel the object or show them each object and talk about them.

Harder: Include an object that is a different color and have the baby identify what doesn’t belong. Toddlers could find objects to create their own color bin.

4. Magazine/ paper bin

Another super simple activity that is one of Henry’s favorites! Like most babies, he loves playing with paper. I saved some old magazines and catalogs in a bin just for him to rip, crinkle, and explore.

Easier: Help baby turn the page, talk about the different pictures, make up stories, etc–babies just love hearing your voice!

Harder: Have a magazine “scavenger hunt”– have your toddler find a certain object in the magazine or on the page. Example: “Can you find a picture of an animal?”

5. Music and instruments

Some of Henry’ s Christmas presents this year were these instruments and I can already tell that they were a great investment! He loves shaking them and especially loves playing them to some good music. “Movie Music: Kids Classics”, “Kids Dance Party” and “Chilled Out Children’s Music” are our current favorite playlists on Spotify. Again, music might seem simple to us as adults, but music can help develop babies’ speech and language skills as well as communication skills, emotional regulation, cognitive skill development and more!

6. Spoon drop

Similar to the DIY shape sorter, I created this slightly more “advanced” version for him to drop spoons into. He LOVES hearing the loud noise and also likes using the spoons to tap on the bottom of the container!

Easier: Again, you could take off the lid and have baby practice putting objects in or out of the container.

7. Flashlight and glowsticks

Simply turn off the lights and turn on some glowsticks and flashlights! Let your little one explore them and play in the “dark”. You could also add glowsticks to the tub for a glow in the dark bath!

Easier: If your baby is just learning how to move around, hold them on your lap and explore the lights together.

Harder: “Hide” glowsticks and have your baby find them (toddlers could search for specific colors).

8. Jello dig

A fun, taste safe, sensory activity for babies! Simply place a few plastic toys in a dish, pour jello mixture over the top, and refrigerate until firm. Then encourage your baby to “find” the toys!

9. Couch cushion climb

I wanted Henry to have a safe way to practice climbing, so I took all of the couch cushions off and let him explore! He wasn’t sure what to think at first, so I put some toys on various cushions to encourage him to climb.

10. Mirrors

Gather all of the mirrors in your home, put them in a circle and let your baby explore! This is great for all babies- from those who need tummy time to those babies who can crawl.

11. Jumbo Colored Ice

To make these giant ice cubes, I filled empty greek yogurt containers with water, added a few drops of food coloring and froze them. They popped right out! You could put the ice on a baking sheet for your baby to explore–or if your little one doesn’t like cold (like mine!) you could place them in a bin of warm water.

Harder: You could have your toddler make the ice with you and could mix primary colors to create new colors. Turn the activity into a mini science lesson and talk about the concepts of freezing and melting.

12. Bucket of snow

This is obviously a winter specific activity, but if you want your baby to be able to explore snow– bring it inside!

Harder: Have your baby search for a specific toy, color, shape, letter, etc. Older babies could sort the objects by color, size, etc.

13. Toy Tape Resuce

This is a great activity to strengthen those little hands. I originally saw this idea done on a high chair tray– but I’m trying to keep his high chair strictly for eating, so I decided to try it on baking sheets instead! It worked great!

Easier: Very loosely tape objects, or make a loop with the tape and use that to attach the toys.

Harder: Ask your baby to “rescue” a specific toy. You can also add more tape to the objects once they get stronger–just be careful not to add so much that it is frustrating to them 🙂

14. Sticky notes

Hide objects underneath sticky notes for your baby to find! This activity helps develop object permanance as well as fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.

Easier: Don’t use sticky notes and have your baby practice taking objects out of the muffin tin.

Harder: Place sticky notes around the room at different heights for babies to crawl or pull up to find!

15. DIY Lift the flap books

If you are tired of reading the same books over and over–jazz them up by gluing in some flaps! Find the easy tutorial here.

16. Sensory bottles or bags

There are tons of ideas for fancy sensory bottles and bags on Pinterest. My advice is to keep it simple and use what you already have at home! Simply think of any small objects that your baby would like to explore and then put them inside a bottle or bag. Henry got teeth early so I prefer using empty water bottles so he doesn’t bite through the bags.

Some favorite sensory bottle fillers:

• food coloring and water
• glitter
• dry rice, pasta or cereal
• beads
• googly eyes
• sand
• hair gel

17. Toy wrap up

Loosely wrap up toys for baby to “unwrap”. I used sensory scarves and tied loose knots. I tried to use toys that Henry hadn’t seen in awhile so that he was more eager to unwrap them.

Easier: Don’t tie a knot. Simply cover toys with fabric and have baby find them.

Harder: Wrap the toys slightly tighter or use tin foil to wrap the toys up instead!

18. Water bin

This is one of my quick and easy go-to activities. Simply fill up a plastic container and throw in some fun objects! Think rubber ducks, cups, measuring spoons, bath toys, etc. This water bin pictured was Christmas themed; I added a few drops of food coloring and a drop of peppermint essential oil.

Easier: Put a tiny bit of water in a muffin tin or on a baking sheet for baby to explore during tummy time.

Harder: You could test and see which objects sink or float.

19. Taste safe painting

There are SO many ways to paint with your baby. Henry puts EVERYTHING in his mouth, so I made “paint” with greek yogurt and food coloring. He honestly wasn’t that into it, but I know some babies defintley are!

He DID like jingle bell painting though! (Probably because it made a lot of noise!) We did this around Christmas, so I cut out card board shapes and taped them in a plastic tupperware container. I then put a few dollops of paint, added some jingle bells and marbles, put the lid on, and let him shake away! He loved it!

20. Cans

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that this is one of Henry’s favorite activities! I noticed that he was drawn to cans–so I decided to embrace it! I removed the tabs from empty cans and covered the top with masking tape (so he wouldn’t get cut!) He can roll them, squish them, knock over towers, bang them together, etc.

Harder: Build towers, practice counting, identifying colors, etc.

21. Animal Web Rescue

String some yarn or ribbon through a basket and throw in a few toys for baby to “rescue”. This activity is great for hand eye coordination and fine motor skills!

Easier: Use less string so the holes are bigger.

Harder: Use more string so the holes are smaller. Encourage baby to rescue specific animals.

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