Indoor Winter Activities for Kids

Here you will find indoor winter activities for kids and indoor winter activities for families. These indoor activities are designed to help kids develop skills when it is too cold to go outside. We’ve used many of these occupational therapy activities when the weather is icy or frigid outside. Fun indoor winter activities can be essential to help kids get their energy out during winter days. This year, indoor therapy ideas may be needed to meet teletherapy needs, as well. Related: Add our Winter Fine Motor Kit to your daily toolbox, to help kids develop fine motor strength and dexterity with easy, no-prep activities.

An indoor winter activity like a winter crossword puzzle is a fun way to spend a winter day, while building skills. Let’s cover a few more indoor ideas…

Indoor winter activities for kids and indoor activities for families to help kids develop skills.

Indoor Winter Activities

I’ve sorted these activities into areas so that you can find activities to meet therapy needs. Included below are indoor activities designed to boost fine motor skills, gross motor skills, visual motor skills, sensory input, regulation, and more.

Winter Activities for Fine Motor Skills

Here are a bunch of winter fine motor activities that we’ve shared in the past.

Use these winter crafts to develop fine motor dexterity and strength.

Here are winter bird crafts and activities.

This icicle craft builds visual motor skills and scissor skills, too.

Use these winter books to pair with a fine motor craft or activity based on the book.

Make this snowman painting craft to build precision and dexterity.

Cut mini snowflakes for a fine motor activity that builds hand strength and heavy work input.

Play tic tac toe with miniature snowflakes. This is also a great sight word activity, too.

This winter snowflake stamp art is a fun fine motor activity that looks great and the kids love.

The Winter Fine Motor Kit has materials to print-and-go, including arctic animal finger puppets to develop finger isolation, toothpick art activities with winter themes, crumble art pages, coloring and pencil control activities for building strength and endurance in the hands. All of these materials are included in a 100 page packet with winter themes: snowmen, mittens, snowflakes, penguins, polar bears, arctic animals, and more.

Indoor Winter Activities for Gross Motor Skills

Here are winter-themed bilateral coordination activities to work on motor planning and coordination skills.

Here are indoor recess activities to use during the winter months

Use these winter brain break activities to add movement and gross motor work during the indoor months.

Try this snowflake theme balance beam for indoor play, balance, coordination, and motor planning.

Use this indoor snowball fight to work on eye-hand coordination skills.

Winter Sensory Activities

Try these snow and ice themed activities.

Here is a snowflake themed proprioceptive activity that helps kids develop motor planning skills, coordination, and strengthening.

This indoor snowball activity adds vestibular input as well as eye-hand coordination skills.

Use a blanket to create a sensory winter themed heavy work activity.

These winter mindfulness activities can help with self-regulation, awareness, and social emotional skills.

Use these January occupational therapy calendars for vestibular and proprioceptive sensory input.

Try these snowball theme activities to incorporate movement and learning during winter months.

Here are winter science experiments that incorporate the senses and hands-on learning.

winter fine motor kit

Click here to access the Winter Fine Motor Kit and develop fine motor skills and dexterity with winter themes.


Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

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