52 Fun & Easy Play Ideas for Screen-Free Week or Any Week

Looking for something fun to do with your kids that doesn’t involve a ton of time, money, or effort? We’ve got you covered—especially with Screen-Free Week on the calendars from May 1-7! (If you need some extra support coming up with play ideas to keep the kids off their devices for Screen-Free Week, this list can be a big resource to draw inspiration from.)

Here is a list of 52 easy family play ideas for the whole year! We included a mix of activities and ideas that can work whether you have a 2-year-old, 3-year-old, 4-year-old, 5-year-old, or older child! Think of these ideas as “sparks”—try one and see if it inspires even more ways to play!

52 Screen-Free Play Activities for Family Fun!

1. Create a play calendar (Kids can draw pictures of how they played--or plan to play—each week)

2. Have an indoor campout

3. Make up a nonsense language and label items around the house

4. Put together a jigsaw puzzle

5. Have a "kickoff," by kicking balls of different shapes and sizes

6. Make paper snowflakes

7. Host a family dance party

8. Create an indoor obstacle course

9. Create a gallery of kid art

10. Show kids how to play your favorite childhood game

11. Look for a 4-leaf clover

12. Go on a family bike ride

13. Fly a kite

14. Make paper airplanes

15. Create a pretend store, stock it, and shop it

16. Go on an A to Z scavenger hunt, looking for items that start with each letter

17. Have a fancy day - talk fancy, wear fancy clothes, eat fancy foods

18. Give kids assorted ingredients and challenge them to come up with a concoction

19. Make paper flower bouquets

20. Go on a nature walk and collect treasures to make a collage

21. Collect and paint rocks

22. Build a tiny town in the dirt or sandbox

23. Blow bubbles and chase them

24. Create a time capsule and bury it in the backyard

25. Paint with ice by first freezing washable paint in ice cube trays

26. Make firework designs by dipping a fork in washable paint and pressing the tines onto white paper in a circle

27. Start a collection (seashells, pretty pebbles, bottle caps)

28. Explore the night sky

29. Set up a lemonade stand (but sell something other than lemonade!)

30. Make art outside

31. Make paper boats and race them in a kiddie pool using a straw to blow them across the water

32. Set up an outdoor obstacle course with things to climb over, under, and around

33. Create a temporary outdoor playroom with a tent filled with toys, books, and stuffed animal friends

34. Make a sidewalk chalk mural

35. Play flashlight tag

36. Make handprint art to give to grandparents (e.g. Turn a handprint into a flower and write "Grandparents help us grow!")

37. Transform a cardboard box

38. Cook a family meal together

39. Make homemade Halloween decorations

40. Visit a fire station and learn about its history

41. Have an indoor family picnic on a blanket

42. Create a leaf collection

43. Stock a dress-up bin, then see how many characters you can come up with

44. Make a blanket fort

45. Make personalized placemats for each family member

46. Create a family handshake

47. Create your own restaurant (complete with name, menu and decor)

48. Put on a puppet show

49. Make homemade holiday decorations

50. Create, color, and mail a greeting card

51. Do a blindfold smell test of different ingredients and spices

52. Create end-of-year "Best of" lists covering topics such as playgrounds, meals, toys, bedtime books!

Have fun!