Trust us when we say we hate it when our plans get canceled due to unpredictable weather conditions, especially on rainy days. Rather than letting the rainy days ruin our outfits, plans, and get-togethers, it’s better to curl up on your bed, get your favorite drink along with a bunch of food, and turn up your TV to Netflix, Hulu, or Disney Plus, enjoy a good book with a cup of hot cocoa or coffee, listen to music or an audiobook while meditating and relaxing, or simply sleep the stress away! But it’s more fun to do everything — even indoors — with the people you love!
Here are some fun rainy day activities and other things to do on a rainy day (aside from being lazy on your own) to make your rainy days livelier than your sunny days (and to tick off your rainy day bucket list to beat the rainy day blues)!
How the Weather Can Affect Your Mood
If you’ve been living in the Philippines or in other Asian countries that only have two climate types, you might want to thank the weather gods for tropical seasons because we receive a balance of rain and sunshine at unpredictable times to put you in the mood! But not all countries are so lucky to have bright days all the time because of the four season cycle, which also affects their mood depending on the type of weather they have (hence there are people that like the sunny, cloudy, and windy days while others like the cold rainy, stormy, and snowy days).
For instance, rainy days can lower your mood, causing you to have Seasonal Affective Disorder and seasonal depression. This is caused by a dip in your serotonin levels caused by a lack of sunshine. It’s no wonder people eat a lot more on rainy days compared to a normal sunny day such as comfort foods and carbohydrates as these increase serotonin (the happy hormone). However, these are temporary and they can’t cure depression symptoms sadly.
Aside from this, atmospheric pressure also changes on rainy days, making body pains worse in the nerves and joints and higher pain levels may lead to a lack of motivation and energy, losing the will to be productive.
Fun Activities For Kids This Rainy Season
Here are some fun activities for kids for you to have a fun day spent indoors with them:
Play Games
Whether you’re a classic games person or going with the modern way of gaming, holding a video game tournament or pulling out a bunch of board games (or card games) and getting your game on is one fun activity to pass the time on a gloomy weather (and to learn how your parents have played some games)! So get your favorite games out and have fun with your kids because everyone wins on a rainy day!
Hold a Movie Marathon
Okay, some families prefer to be lazy together. And the way to keep your kids occupied is to pick a favorite movie, whip up some popcorn with warm drinks on the side and other snacks to keep your kids (and your whole family) entertained for the entire day.
Have an Indoor Treasure Hunt
If you remember our last article, a treasure hunt is a fun version of a normal scavenger hunt, and making it indoors will be a fun rainy day activity for your kids! Let them channel their inner treasure hunters and unleash their competitive spirit in finding things around the house with this clue leading game! You could even include an indoor obstacle course to make things even more fun and challenging to become the ultimate champion!
Have an At – Home Restaurant
Make cooking fun by getting your family recipe book out and prepare some recipes (and let them help with meal planning) for everyone to enjoy! You can hold some cooking classes for them to help you in preparing those meals at the house! That way, they can have a fancy restaurant experience (minus the big bill) in the comfort of your home!
Bake Something Delicious
If you find baking therapeutic on a rainy day, you could bake your usual chocolate chip cookies with your kids or put up something different like caramel salted cookies, brownies, and many more to get your kids moving while being stuck inside! After all, kids love sweets and anything fun!
Making Science Experiments
Making an interesting science experiment will not only release their creative spirit, but it’s also a fun way for them to get some lazy afternoon learning! There are many fun how to videos online, so get that play dough and your creative side on to get that wonderful and creative science experiment done!
Have a Sleep Over
Sleepovers are great indoors, and so are sleeping bags and pillow forts, especially for older children! Go crazy with a dance party, play dress up, make paper airplanes, and have an indoor tea party as kids play and have fun with a lot of activities, especially when you combine all of the fun things to do on a rainy day with other kids!
Activities For Seniors to Lift Up Their Spirits This Rainy Season
Adults and seniors have a tendency to be more grumpy and sad during the rainy days, and we get you (since we’re also adults). So here are some of the fun things we can do on a rainy day:
Mend Old Clothes
If you’re bored on a rainy day and you want to get productive, you might want to whip out your emergency sewing kit (or your own sewing machine) and mend old clothes with missing buttons, ripped edges, and loose locks!
Have a Self Care Day
Treat yourself to a bubble bath with a moisturizing soap blend or a spa day. Go online window shopping and add things to your cart. Read books. Go through old pictures and reminisce the good old days with a cup of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. Have a solo meal while catching up on a new show. Basically, this screams a Treat Yourself Day because you deserve it after all the stress and work you’ve been through.
Go People Watching
Ditch your play cards and go to your local brewery on a rainy day and people watch. Bonus points if you’re with a group of friends and see what’s going on around you! Be more observant so that you can see how people are actually doing.
Having Fun On a Rainy Day
Being bummed out on a rainy day is one thing, but coming up with fun rainy day activities for kids and adults alike are another thing. There are more ideas out there to make rainy days more fun and enjoyable, but the fun thing about it is that your creative imagination runs wild — especially when you’re with kids! So get your kitchen table, bath toys, and a bunch of rainy day activities ready because who says rainy days are dull and boring? The magic trick there is to spice things up to lift their mood and spirits during the rainy season. Every day might not be sunshine and rainbows, but each rainy day activity can bring the fun in them!