This winter, we’ve got you covered, with our top winter activities to keep your children entertained indoors. From cosying up with a book to hosting a magnificent tea party, all of these activities are sure to provide hours of indoor fun for your little ones.
Jigsaw Puzzles
A classic indoor activity that is great fun for the whole family, you can’t beat a jigsaw puzzle! We have a wide variety of brilliant puzzles that are suitable for a range of ages. Here are a few of our favourites:
Djeco 'I Count' Trains & Animals Puzzle
A charming 20 piece puzzle which when completed becomes a train with 10 numbered carriages. Each numbered carriage has the corresponding number of occupants - various animals off on a journey! A delightful way for a young child to practise counting numbers. All the pieces are contained in a sturdy box with a cord handle.
eeBoo Paris in a Day 1000 Piece Puzzle
Explore a charming Parisian street with this beautifully illustrated 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle from eeBoo. Once completed, see if you can spot some delightful details including a boy with a red balloon, a colourful florist shop and pink poodle in a bicycle basket. Illustrated by Jennifer Orkin Lewis, this Paris in a Day jigsaw puzzle is a fantastic screen-free activity and is great fun for the whole family.
Disney Orchestra 1000 Piece Panorama Puzzle
Create your very own Disney orchestra scene with this brilliant 1000 Piece Panorama Jigsaw Puzzle from Clementoni. This beautifully detailed puzzle features many of Disney's most well-loved characters. Full of dazzling and enchanting details, kids and adults alike will love piecing this puzzle together and spotting all of their favourite characters that are hidden in the audience or performing on the stage.
Create a Reading Nook
Dedicate a space in your home or your child’s bedroom as a cosy reading nook. We stock a fantastic collection of children’s books which can be found here. The Little People, BIG DREAMS illustrated biography series for kids celebrates triumph over adversity and introduces your child to the lives of outstanding people. Discover the lives of extraordinary people throughout history including Marie Curie, Stephen Hawking and Maya Angelou.
We also stock a stunning selection of classic children’s stories. All are available in a beautiful hardback edition that has been created in partnership with the world-famous V&A Museum, London. They feature stunning cover designs that have been adapted from the works of Arts and Crafts pioneer William Morris.
Host a Tea Party
Host the perfect tea part with the Tender Leaf Toys Birdie Tea Set. It features a pretty bird motif on the saucers and the side of a solid wood teapot. As well as encouraging pretend play, children can develop their all-important language skills and learn to balance all the items on the tray, thus improving manual dexterity.
Don’t forget the cakes! This two-tier sweet treats and cake stand role playset comes with a delicious selection of wooden cakes and tasty treats. The cake stand is topped with a pretty chocolate coloured bird, and children can learn to balance all the petit fours on the stand, thus developing fine motor skills.
No tea party is complete without guests. All of the soft toys in the Les Schmouks collection from Moulin Roty would make the perfect tea time guests. Boubou is a big softie with a huge smile and crazy pink fur, Choukette is a big fluffy fur ball monster with a long mustard tail and mustard toes to match, Plok the Leopard is a big softie with big floppy ears and crazy pink hands and Pidou is a funny looking dog made from soft orange fleece with a bright blue head of messy hair and a big toothy grin!
Drawing & Painting
A great way for your child to have fun and be creative at the same time, our children’s colouring selection is full of exciting colouring and painting activities. Here are a few of our favourties:
Djeco Colouring Velvet - Wonderland
This Djeco Colouring Velvet set, called Wonderland (Fabuleuse Contree) features a series of 5 sheets with different designs waiting to be coloured in. The designs have been printed with black flock velvet which helps to create a dramatic contrast with your chosen colours, and which will aid you to colour in within the lines. This set features beautiful fantastical designs embracing an imaginary wonderland.
Eggnogg Colour In Giant Poster - Space
The Eggnogg Colour-in Space Giant Poster/Tablecloth is the perfect way to keep the little ones entertained indoors. This fun-filled colouring-in craft activity is suitable for all ages and all occasions including, rainy days and playtime. Featuring quirky characters, interesting animals and iconic objects, this giant colouring-in poster makes a fantastic play mat and provides the perfect antidote to screen time!
Magic Painting Book - Under the Sea
Brush water over the stylish, black and white patterns and underwater scenes in this Magic Painting Book and watch the vibrant colours magically appear to reveal sharks, sea turtles, jellyfish, a school of tropical fish and lots more. There’s a handy flap at the back of the book to stop paint seeping through to the page below and 16 detailed scenes to paint.
Throw a Puppet Show
Puppet play is a great way to inspire creative and imaginative play sessions and to build confidence. Children can develop their storytelling skills, build vocabulary and dexterity and learn about different emotions with the Bigjigs Toys Table Top Theatre.
The theatre features a sturdy wooden frame with red silk effect curtains and a chalkboard to inform spectators of the next show. There are loops on either side of the stage that keep the curtains open during the show!
Bring the cinema and theatre experience of popcorn to your home with this unique and compact vintage wooden popcorn machine from Le Toy Van. It features a "pop handle” that you hold down, release, then watch them pop!
Comes complete with 5 felt play popcorns to collect from the drawer and a colourful popcorn pot to serve them. The packaging features show tickets and sweet/salty popcorn tickets to cut out for extended play value.
Baking
Baking a great activity for your little ones to take part ii, with the added bonus of (hopefull) delicious treats as a result! This comprehensive Baking Set from Bigjigs Toys will encourage every young chef to develop their skills!
Includes a six-bun baking tray, a ramekin, loaf tin, a whisk, a wooden rolling pin and six pastry cutters. Supplied complete with an oven glove and a set of measuring spoons that will inspire and delight youngsters to enjoy creative time in the kitchen.
This large jar of brightly coloured Pastry Cutters from Bigjigs Toys will delight young bakers. Easy to clean, and can be stored tidily in the large jar, this colourful assortment of pastry cutters are made from high quality, responsibly sourced materials.
Featuring plenty of fun designs including animals, plants, vehicles, people and buildings in different sizes and colours, this is the perfect set of cookie cutters to get your little one excited about baking!
Discover all of our amazing children’s arts, crafts, games and toys here. For lifestyle inspiration, product information and more, find our previous blog posts here.