5 Fun Ideas for How to Entertain a Toddler in the Winter

What are the best ways to entertain a toddler in the winter? Discover fun ideas to help pass the long winters days at home.

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The Winter Doldrums

Winter can be one of the hardest times to entertain a toddler at home! The months seem to drag on and on as the little ones grow increasingly stir crazy while dreaming of spring. Here are 5 tried and true ways to entertain a toddler in the winter at home from a busy mom of three!

1. Entertain a Toddler with Snow in the Sink

My favorite winter toddler activity is playing in the snow! However, and it’s a big “however,” winter proofing toddlers is an odious undertaking, especially if you have multiples. Plus, once everyone successfully trots around looking like a stiff marshmallow for all of fifteen minutes, noses are already running red and it’s time to go inside.

My mom fix for this age old issue is to bring the snow inside! Of course I still suit everyone up and keep them outside as long as possible to enjoy the rare occasion of snow where we live, but in order to prolong the play, I bring it inside.

You can turn your kitchen sink into a snow sensory bin to entertain a toddler in the winter at home! Simply clean out your sink, slip outside and fill a large mixing bowl or pot with snow, and then dump it in the sink and let your toddler have at it.

I love my wooden activity stool for sink activities. If you do not live in a climate where it snows then you can still occupy a toddler by allowing them to play in the sink. My two boys can successfully play in the sink for an our. Surprisingly, the snow can last in the sink for about an hour. Who would have thought?!

Once one of them finally loses self control and begins to throw the snow on the ground, I end the activity. One hour of toddler entertain is like an eternity. That’s why this is my favorite way to entertain a toddler in the winter at home.

2. Entertain a Toddler with Simple Sensory Bins

Since it’s much more difficult to get outside, I highly recommend sensory activities to entertain a toddler in the winter. Last winter I made a very simple kinetic sand sensory bin that occupied my two year old for hours on end.

There was no real goal or focus to this easy sensory bin. Instead I simply allowed my son to play with whatever he wanted in the blue kinetic sand. He mostly chose his toy cars and trucks, but some days we added animals, “treasures,” beads, spoons, etc.

This year our favorite sensory activity has been Play Doh. Again, I keep this very simple, as I recommend all things should be with young children. It’s better to give them limited toys that allow for open ended play than to spend hours created a Pinterest worthy sensory bin about a safari jungle adventure that only occupies them for fifteen minutes before they “figure it out” and become bored. You will get hours more fun out of your children when you allow them to stretch out their own imaginative muscles and you’ll save yourself precious mom-time.

So we play with the play doh in the same way we did with the kinetic sand. I give each toddler a couple colors of play doh and allow them to bring a few toys to the table. Then, I simply let them play. On their own they learn to make roads for their cars, pile up the different play doh into heaps on top of their toys, and get to see first hand how colors mix and change. It’s no fuss on my end as a mom and it’s a quick and easy clean up.

If your toddlers are making too much of a mess, invest in a few of these bins and train them to only play in the bins. Then when they are done playing you don’t have to clean anything up! Simply pop the lid on and tuck the bins aside.

3. Play with Boxes

An age old childhood past time to entertain a toddler in the winter at home is to play in cardboard boxes.

Did your out of touch aunt get your kids a toy the size of a refrigerator that you already know you’ll be passing off on the facebook marketplace in a few months? Well, good news is that burden probably came in a giant cardboard box that can entertain your toddler for hours!

Make a fort together! Or have dad wear the box and chase the kids around. Let your toddlers climb all over the box. Break down the cardboard and let your toddler draw all over it with crayons, markers, or even paint if you so dare.

Use all those enormous for no reason Amazon boxes for your toddlers to have fun with for a day and then throw it all away!

4. Entertain a Toddler by Reading Books

Reading books that are beautifully illustrated and rich in morals is a great way to pass the time in the winter. In the homeschooling world these are called “living books.” Meaning, books that have stories that children can act out.

For example, a book about young kids fighting dragons and beasts ignites the imagination of a toddler. After reading the same book a few times they will start to remember the story. Then, you can take your cardboard boxes and make your toddler a play sword and a play crown. Let them run around the house fighting their own dragons and beasts all winter long.

Check out my favorite books for toddler boys and favorite nature books for kids for some great examples of living books for toddlers.

5. Do Chores Together

Doing chores together is an amazing way to entertain a toddler in the winter at home! Not only will you get a lot done as a mom but your children will learn foundational skills to last a lifetime.

Sure, these tasks will take you longer than they usually would since you will have a little one “helping you,” but it will keep your free time free. Meaning, you can get all your housework done before nap time and then use nap time as a true free time for yourself as well. As a rule I do not do chores during nap time. I personally use nap time as a quiet time for myself in which I reconnect with God as a busy mom and work on my side projects such as this blog!

Examples of chores you can include your toddlers in are:

Sweeping and Vacuuming

When I clean with my cordless vacuum, I give one toddler a broom and the other gets a toddler sized Dyson we found on the FB Marketplace.

Dusting

I have three lambswool dusters. It is overkill for sure (thank you Nanna for giving them to me!) but it means I can dust while each of my two toddler boys can “help” and I don’t have to worry about fights breaking out over who “gets to dust with mom.”

Laundry

While I fold laundry, I let my toddlers “help” by “sorting” the clothes out from the laundry basket. Now that they are getting a little older they can actually put away some of the items like dish cloths, cloth napkins, and their own socks and underwear. It is nice to have some real help!

Cooking

This is my biggest and favorite chore to bring my toddlers into. A great way to pass the time in the winter and still be productive is to prep dinner in the morning with your toddler’s “help.” This eats up a lot of morning time, keeps them heavily engaged in an activity, and helps relieve a stay at home mom’s stress as it is a productive chore to get done ahead of time.

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What are your favorite ways for how to entertain a toddler in the winter? Comment your tips and tricks below so we can all learn!