Toddlers are so much fun, but they have short attention spans and buying new toys gets expensive! There are many free and fun things to do with a toddler that I have discovered lately. I have also included a few free and cheap fun things to do with a toddler.
Disclaimer: For the items that do require a little money, I have linked them to my affiliate link.
50 Free and Cheap Fun Things to do with a Toddler
- Go for a walk outside
- Dance to music
- Finger paint
- Blow bubbles
- Paint using Q-tips
- Build a fort
- Color (Bonus: Color with Washable Markers if you are brave)
- Visit the local library during storytime
- Have your toddler select a book from the library to take home.
- Read your books and do a craft afterwards that relates to the craft.
- Pick flowers and make a bouquet out of them
- Visit a splash pad close to your home.
- Buy an inflatable swimming pool to splash around in. Well worth the investment.
- Spray shaving cream on a high chair and let your toddler draw with his or her fingers. Bonus: Add food color to the cream for added excitement!
- Skip, Roll and do a few Jumping Jacks
- Jumping Contest
- Eat popsicles or Flavor Ice
- Find leaves in yard, cover them with a piece of paper, and color over them to see outline.
- Paint with watercolors
- Sidewalk chalk fun
- Play dress up
- Visit a local playground and enjoy the slides and swings
- Visit a shelter and let your toddler see the animals. (Bonus: Take a furry friend home and I promise they will be friends for life.)
- Hook up your sprinkler and let your toddler run back and forth.
- Play with legos
- Watch a movie
- Visit the beach
- Slip n slide in the backyard
- Facepaint on your toddler’s face (Bonus: let them paint on your face. Brave mom!)
- Paint your toddler’s nails if they can stay focused. (Shockingly mine did!)
- Kick a ball back and forth. Put laundry baskets on the ends to see if they can kick the ball into the “goal”.
- Hit balloons back and forth
- Hit balloons with pool noodles back and forth
- Bounce balls on the kitchen floor
- Roll balls on the kitchen floor
- Trace each other’s hands using crayons on a large sheet of paper (Bonus: Frame it to save for years to come!)
- Let your toddler run wild in a racquetball court. Sounds weird, but it works. Your fitness neighbors may not like it, but they will get over it.
- Give your toddler a stack of business cards and watch the magic begin. Mines loves to sort and organize them.
- Alphabet magnets on the fridge can be fun!
- Host a pretend tea party
- Play with toy cars and race each other
- Fold laundry – funny, but mine thinks chores like this are a game. More like a game to frustrate mom, but it is entertaining for them and it’s a free activity.
- Peak a Boo – she still loves it!
- Where’s Mommy? Sneak away and let them find you. Fun when they finally do find you!
- Wash your car and let your toddler play in the soap and water. Make sure someone else is helping out for added safety.
- Playdoh fun!
- Go hiking and explore nature! Bring a lot of water.
- Check out a local firehouse and see if they will let you get in the firetruck. I know a lot of cities will host an Open House where the public can explore the fire station.
- Play hopscotch
- Walk or run across bubblewrap. Works. Every. Time.
What free and fun things things does your toddler enjoy? Do you find it challenging to keep up with your toddler’s interests?
Please comment below and let us know! I am always looking for new and fun ideas to challenge and entertain my toddler! Plus, who I am kidding, I love to do most of them as I will always be a kid at heart!
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These are great, easy ideas! Toddlers will have so much fun with all of these! I love that they all focus on getting up and moving, learning, or creativity!
Thank you! Watching TV all day can be tempting, but these are a little bit more active 🙂 Have fun!
So many fabulous and fun ideas…. we loved hitting the balloons back and forth! Pinning now to my toddler board to share with my baby mamas!
Thank you Joann! Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that we get the most joy out of! I remember the kids loved it when we hit balloons with fly swatters that I bought from the dollar store! ha
It’s been a long time since I had toddlers but I remember giving mine paint brushes and bowls of water and letting them “paint” the patio – hours of fun.!
I remember a bowl of soapy water outside and lots of plastic toys was always good for passing some time too and they toys would get a clean too – bonus.
And finally a confession, we had something delivered the other day with bubble wrap and my 20 year old daughter and I jumped on it for at least 10 minutes, just hope no one was watching through the window!
So many great ideas! My kids are obsessed with playdough, they spend hours playing with the stuff and who knew “folding” laundry could be so much fun! They have a blast helping me out!!
Great list! I never counted how many things we did, but it looks like almost 50!
Great ideas! Thanks for joining us at the #HomeMattersParty!
You had me at free! I have a 2 yr old grand baby, and we’ve done some of these. As much as she loves books, I’ve yet to take her to the library. What’s wrong with me??
Here from HomeMatters.