25 Winter Activities for Toddlers
Winter brings chilly days and frosty fun, making it the perfect season to keep little ones entertained with creative and engaging activities.
Whether you’re staying cozy indoors or bundling up for outdoor adventures, finding ways to channel your toddler’s energy is key.
This list of 25 winter activities for toddlers is packed with ideas that are simple, fun, and toddler-approved.
From snow play to sensory crafts, you’ll find plenty of inspiration to make the season magical and memorable for your little ones.
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Winter Activities for Toddlers
1. Penguin Sensory Bin
A penguin sensory bin combines exciting elements that inspire curiosity and creativity for toddlers.
The bin includes small penguin figurines representing the adorable Antarctic creatures, which encourage imaginative play.
To mimic their natural habitat, the bin features two distinct sections—one filled with soft, fake snow resembling icy landscapes and another with water-dyed blue to create an ocean effect.
Additional sensory treasures, like smooth ice cubes or sparkly foam pieces, can enhance the experience by adding more textures and visual appeal.
2. Snowman Collage Art
Snowman collage art brings together a delightful mix of colors, textures, and materials, perfect for sparking a toddler’s creativity.
Essential elements include white paper cutouts shaped like snowman bodies, along with colorful scarves, tiny mittens, and hats that add charm to the design.
Small buttons can be used for eyes, while orange triangles make for fitting carrot noses.
For extra snowy magic, sprinkling cotton balls or gluing shimmering white paper pieces creates a frosty effect.
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3. Melting Snowmen
Crafting melting snowmen sensory trays is an engaging way to combine fun and learning for toddlers.
Essential elements include mini snowman molds made of frozen water or snow, tiny carrots for noses, and small twigs to act as arms.
Add googly eyes for a playful touch, along with small fabric scraps or buttons for scarves and decorations.
Warm water and a shallow tray complete the setup, providing toddlers with the tools to explore and experiment.
4. Beaded Snowflakes
Beaded snowflakes are a delightful craft for toddlers, combining creativity and skill development.
The materials are simple yet engaging—colorful beads add a vibrant touch, while pipe cleaners are soft, bendable, and safe for little fingers.
These craft items allow children to experiment with colors, shapes, and patterns, sparking their imagination.
The shiny beads catch the light, creating mesmerizing effects that captivate young minds.
5. Snowman Drawing Game
Building a snowman on paper provides endless opportunities for a child’s imagination to shine.
The features of a snowman can include a round body that mimics real snowballs stacked together.
Add fun details like top hats, cozy scarves in colorful patterns, or tall boots for a quirky touch.
Hands can be drawn as stick arms, holding tiny objects like a broom or a gift bag.
6. Cotton Swab Painting
Cotton swab painting is an engaging activity that combines creativity and sensory play.
Using cotton swabs as brushes gives toddlers a fun way to experiment with textures while painting.
The soft tips of the swabs work well to make dotted patterns or explore smooth strokes, perfect for creating snowy landscapes or abstract art.
Adding clothespins ensures an easy grip for tiny hands, improving their fine motor skills as they paint.
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7. Bubble Wrap Trees
Bubble wrap trees are a simple yet creative activity that toddlers will enjoy, especially during the chilly winter months.
The elements involved are straightforward and engaging for little hands.
Bubble wrap serves as the main sensory tool, offering a unique texture for painting.
Non-toxic paint in wintery colors like white, silver, or light blue brings out a snowy theme.
8. Ice Block Colors
Imagine the delight on a toddler’s face as vibrant, jewel-colored ice blocks glimmer against the snowy white backdrop.
These frozen blocks of color stand out brilliantly, catching light in ways that make them almost magical.
Perfect for stacking into tiny towers or sorting by color, they provide endless opportunities for exploration.
The contrast of the cold, smooth ice and the soft snow creates a sensory experience toddlers find fascinating.
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9. Snowman Jar Craft
A Snowman Jar Craft is a fun, simple project perfect for little hands.
These small jars can be easily transformed into festive decorations.
The jar becomes the “body” of the snowman, featuring adorable hand-drawn or sticker faces with happy smiles, carrot noses, and coal-like eyes.
Inside the jar, faux snow adds a wintery charm, creating a snowy scene contained within.
You can add tiny accents like mini scarves or hats made from craft materials to give each snowman a personality.
10. Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes
Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes are a delightful way to spark creativity and keep toddlers entertained during winter.
The materials needed are simple and safe for young hands, making the activity ideal for small children.
You’ll need colorful pipe cleaners, which are easy to bend into shapes, fluffy pom-poms in various sizes, and child-safe glue to hold everything together securely.
These components are inexpensive and readily available at most craft stores or online.
11. Snowy Beach Play
Creating a snowy beach setup brings the wonder of winter indoors with a playful twist.
Cotton balls mimic soft snow, creating a sensory-rich experience for toddlers.
Add colorful buckets, child-sized shovels, and small figurines like trucks or animals to inspire creativity.
You can also include textured elements such as plastic shells or rubber starfish to expand the theme.
12. Fill the Snowman
Building a snowman doesn’t always require snow.
For toddlers, a tray activity with soft materials like cotton balls, pom-poms, or even torn pieces of tissue can be just as fun.
Using a pre-drawn snowman outline as a guide, this activity offers a sensory experience, allowing children to interact with textures and shapes.
Cotton balls mimic the fluffy look of snow, while pom-poms can add a playful splash of color.
13. Arctic Sensory Bin
An arctic sensory bin is a creative way to immerse toddlers in a miniature icy world.
It typically includes soft, fake snow that mimics the texture of real snow, offering a cool and fluffy sensation.
Adding small animal figurines, such as polar bears, penguins, and seals, helps introduce children to the wildlife of the polar regions.
Icy water can be incorporated to enhance the chilly atmosphere, allowing toddlers to interact with a cold, smooth surface.
14. Cotton Swab Snowflakes
Creating cotton swab snowflakes is a delightful way to engage toddlers in winter-themed crafts.
This activity involves using simple materials like cotton swabs, which mimic the delicate look of snowflake patterns, and decorative gems that add sparkle and color.
The cotton swabs can be cut or arranged in varying sizes to create intricate, snowflake-like shapes.
The gems, available in different colors and sizes, bring a shimmering aesthetic to the craft, making each snowflake unique.
15. Polar Animal Play
Polar animal play can create a magical experience for toddlers, blending sensory exploration with creative imagination.
The artificial snow provides a soft and chilly texture, offering a tactile experience that mimics real snow without the mess.
The polar animal figurines, such as penguins, polar bears, and seals, add an exciting element of discovery, sparking curiosity about arctic wildlife.
The bin acts as a mini icy world, where toddlers can immerse themselves in playful storytelling and role-playing.
16. Bubble Wrap Snowmen
Bubble Wrap Snowmen are a delightful winter activity that combines creativity with sensory fun.
The key element here is bubble wrap, providing a unique, bumpy texture that adds excitement to the crafting process.
Toddlers can work with paints to bring their snowmen to life, enjoying how colors interact with the textured surface.
Accessories play an important role in personalizing the snowmen, such as colorful hats, tiny scarves, or even stick-on buttons to create playful details.
17. Indoor Snow Tray
An indoor snow tray is a delightful sensory activity that brings the magic of winter into the warmth of your home.
The tray can be filled with real snow if available or artificial alternatives that mimic the texture.
Complement it with a variety of simple tools like small cups, spoons, and scoops. Adding items such as cookie cutters or miniature figurines can inspire creative play.
The combination of textures, shapes, and tools encourages toddlers to explore while building hand-eye coordination.
18. Glittery Cloud Craft
Winter crafts like the glittery cloud activity bring joy and creativity to little ones.
The craft uses simple elements, perfect for small hands to explore.
Start with a white paper cloud cutout, ideal for creating a wintry look. Add blue glitter for a frosty sparkle that mimics icy mornings.
For variety, include blue or white paper squares that toddlers can stick on, enhancing their color recognition.
19. Decorate the Snowman
Decorating a snowman indoors brings endless fun and unleashes creativity for toddlers.
The snowman outline can feature a cheerful smile and open arms, setting the stage for imaginative accessorizing.
Toddlers can use soft cotton balls to mimic fluffy snow, colorful buttons to create playful patterns or even represent eyes and attire, and vibrant pieces of paper to design hats, scarves, and other fun details.
Adding pipe cleaners for arms or crafting little mittens gives the snowman an extra layer of charm.
20. Winter Sorting Station
A winter sorting station can be a fun, interactive way for toddlers to develop fine motor skills and learn basic concepts like colors and organization.
The activity involves a tray filled with soft, colorful pom-poms that represent winter tones such as white, blue, and silver.
Add a pair of child-friendly tweezers to encourage grasping and picking up small objects, which enhances hand-eye coordination.
To tie in the seasonal theme, include winter-themed visuals like snowflakes, mittens, or snowmen as a backdrop or decorative elements.
21. Egg Carton Snowmen
Egg carton snowmen are a delightful way to repurpose old materials while engaging toddlers in a fun activity.
These snowmen can be made using simple elements like egg carton pieces as the foundation, which are perfect for little hands.
Add colorful scarves crafted from fabric scraps and tiny hats, which could be bottle caps or paper cones, to bring them to life.
Googly eyes give the snowmen a playful expression, while buttons or beads can serve as decorations for their bodies.
22. Playdough Snowflakes
Playdough Snowflakes are a fantastic winter-themed activity that combines creativity with sensory play.
The soft, pliable texture of blue playdough invites toddlers to touch, press, and shape, engaging their senses while keeping their little hands busy.
Using snowflake templates adds a seasonal twist, sparking their imagination as they mold unique designs.
This activity encourages fine motor skill development, strengthening hand muscles as toddlers pinch, roll, and flatten the dough.
23. Ice Exploration
Ice exploration is an exciting indoor activity that captivates toddlers with its sensory appeal.
Trays of ice provide a cool and tactile surface for little hands to explore.
Add small tools like spoons, mini hammers, or child-friendly tongs to the mix for interactive engagement.
The hard, slippery texture of the ice introduces children to unique physical sensations.
24. Marshmallow Snowmen
Marshmallow Snowmen are a delightful combination of treats and creativity, perfect for little hands.
Start with large, fluffy marshmallows as the snowman’s body and head.
Add colorful candy pieces like gumdrops or chocolate buttons for the eyes, nose, and buttons.
Pretzel sticks are great for arms, while mini cookies can be transformed into hats or bases.
25. Snowman Craft Station
A snowman craft station can be a wonderful winter activity to spark creativity in toddlers.
Include materials like colorful paper cutouts for the snowman’s body and features, such as hats, scarves, and carrot noses.
Add soft cotton balls for a fluffy snow-like effect and pipe cleaners to create arms or fun accessories.
Googly eyes and buttons can bring the snowman to life, while glue sticks keep things mess-free and simple for little hands.
