Imagine the perfect summer day of outdoor activities. Barbeque on, paddling pool full, and all the outdoor toys ready for a day of fun in the sun - but what is that? Rain? Typical! We all know that summer in the UK does not always mean blue skies and sunshine. In fact, the rain quite often likes to grace us with its presence and get in the way of our plans. This is especially irritating when you have young kids, and all your plans for keeping them entertained are blown out of the water.
But fear not. In this post, we have pulled together some of our favourite crafts, which are the perfect cure for the summer rainy day blues and for keeping your little ones entertained.
Our Favourite Rainy Day Crafts
#1 Lollipop Finger Puppets
What you’ll need:
- Paint and paintbrush
- Lollipop sticks
- Glue
- Finger puppets templates
- Scissors
This easy and delightful activity lets kids transform ordinary lollipops into cute characters that come alive at their fingertips. With a pinch of creativity, children can craft their own personalised puppets using basic supplies, making it a breeze for even young crafters to enjoy!
How to make:
1. Download and print off our templates.
2. Paint over the templates using whichever colours your little one's heart desires.
3. Cut out the individual characters.
4. Attach the character to the lollipop stick using a small amount of glue (a pea-size is perfect).
5. Once finished, you’ll have a great selection of puppet characters to create fun stories with.
Link to the full post and our downloadable templates here.
#2 Animal Masks
What you’ll need:
- Card
- Accessories, i.e. pom poms, glitter or feathers
- Glue
- Paint and paintbrush
- Lollipop sticks
Take a walk on the wild side! Your little ones will love bringing their favourite animals to life by designing and decorating their own masks. With a low difficulty level, this craft is suitable for all ages and takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.
How to make:
1. Simply print off our printable animal masks here.
2. Paint the masks with as many different colours as you like.
3. Leave to dry.
4. Decorate with pom poms, glitter and or feathers.
5. Glue two lollipop sticks on either side of the mask so that it can be held up to their face, and let the fun begin.
#3 Butterfly Handprint Craft
What you’ll need:
- Paint and paintbrush
- Glue
- Felt tip pens
- Scissors
- Coloured card
We love this activity as it allows kids to transform their handprints into vibrant butterfly wings. This is the perfect rainy day craft to do alongside your little ones while getting your hands a little messy with fun paints.
How to make:
1. Use a thick paintbrush to apply the paint on the palm of your hand, making sure to cover the palm evenly.
2. Using a piece of white card paper, press your painted palm against it for a few seconds and then remove your hand from the card, making sure the thumbs are facing toward the outer edge of the card.
3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 to make a second pair of wings just below the first, using a different paint colour.
4. Draw an oval and a circle with two antennas on top between the two sets of wings to make the butterfly body. Depending on their drawing abilities, you may need to help some little ones with this step.
5. Now that you’ve created the butterfly base, your little ones can go ahead and decorate however they please, using the felt tip pens. They can even add a touch of glitter!
#4 Peg Pals
What you’ll need:
- Paint and paintbrush
- Wooden pegs
- Accessories, i.e. pom poms, googly eyes, feathers
Watch your child's creativity come to life as they design and decorate their peg pals with colourful markers, googly eyes, and other crafty supplies. Whether it's creating a cast of characters for storytelling or adding a playful touch to your home, these peg pals are bound to bring endless smiles and creative exploration to your rainy days.
How to make:
1. Gather as many pegs as you want to create.
2. Paint the pegs using your paints and paintbrush; if you want mess-free, use our chunky paint sticks.
3. Leave to dry.
4. Once dry, embellish your Peg Pals with eyes, pom poms, and feathers to turn them into fun characters.
You can take a look at our full post here, which includes more step-by-step imagery and links to buy your supplies.
#5 Monster Rocks
What you’ll need:
- Small stones
- Paint and paintbrush
- Googly eyes
- Marker pens
- Glue
This exciting activity invites kids to transform ordinary rocks into quirky and lovable monster characters. Whether used as decorative paperweights or story companions, these whimsical monster rocks will bring a playful touch to any space while inspiring hours of creative storytelling and fun.
How to make:
1. Collect your rocks. These can be found in the garden or even on a recent walk.
2. Give the rocks a quick wash to remove any dirt.
3. Paint a base of white on each rock to ensure the other paint colours really pop.
4. Paint the rocks with any colour of your choosing to create their faces.
5. Stick a few googly eyes to the top of the monster rocks to give them more character.
6. Then, use a marker pen to add their mouth or even scales!
7. When they finish making their design, you can display your little one's rock monsters around the house. They even make useful paperweights!
#6 Loo Roll Animals
What you’ll need:
- Loo rolls
- Card paper
- Paint and paintbrush
- Googly eyes
- Pipe clears
- Scissors
Your little ones will have a blast transforming ordinary toilet paper rolls into a menagerie of charming animals. From cuddly critters to wild safari creatures, watch your child's creativity flourish as they enthusiastically paint, glue, and decorate their loo roll animals.
How to make:
1. Gather your toilet rolls.
2. Paint the toilet rolls. We usually recommend using yellows or browns for the base, depending on the animal they’re painting, but if your little ones want to make a purple monkey, don’t let us stop you!
3. Leave to dry.
4. Cut out any ears, arms or lion manes using the card paper to bring them to life.
5. Paint these the same colour as the base.
6. Leave to dry.
7. Stick the toilet roll and any cutout pieces together.
8. To add a finishing touch, stick a pipe cleaner to the back as a tail and a pair of googly eyes.
#7 Bottle Bird Feeder
What you’ll need:
- Plastic bottle
- Two sticks
- A pin
- Scissors
- String
- Bird Feed
Get ready to welcome a symphony of tweets and chirps right to your doorstep! This craft not only adds a touch of nature to your rainy day but also spreads smiles as your little ones see the happy birds enjoying their handmade creation.
How to make:
1. Firstly, remove the cap from the bottle.
2. Use the pin to puncture a few drainage holes in the base.
3. Make two level holes on the opposite sides of the bottle.
4. Use your scissors to widen these holes slightly.
5. Puncture a second set of feeding holes and repeat steps 2 to 4 further up the sides of the bottle often by 90 degrees.
6. Pierce two holes in the neck of the bottle and widen these with scissors.
7. Thread the string through these holes.
8. Finally, fill the bottle with bird feed; now you’re ready to hang it up!
You can take a look at more of our affordable crafts here with our blog post on Crafts Under £5.
Happy Crafting!
These are your 8 easy crafts to create on those summer rainy days. As well as being great for your little ones, it is also something you can get involved with and enjoy crafting with your kids.
