10 fall crafts to do with kids on rainy days

Rainy fall days don’t have to mean restless kids stuck inside. With the right crafts, you can keep little hands busy and bring some seasonal fun indoors. The best projects use easy-to-find supplies and tie into the cozy, colorful themes of autumn. You don’t need fancy materials or advanced skills—just a bit of creativity and a willingness to let kids explore. These crafts are fun, manageable, and a great way to turn a dreary day into something memorable.

Leaf Rubbings

Grab some leaves, place them under paper, and let kids color over the top with crayons. The shapes and veins show through, creating instant fall art. It’s an easy way to bring the outdoors inside, even when it’s too wet to play outside.

You can use different colors to make the pictures more vibrant. Once the rubbings are finished, hang them up as decorations. It’s low-mess, inexpensive, and keeps kids engaged without needing anything more than paper and crayons.

Paper Bag Owls

Paper bags, construction paper, and markers are all you need for this craft. Kids can decorate the bag with wings, eyes, and beaks cut from paper, then color or paint them however they like. When finished, they double as puppets.

This activity is great for storytelling and pretend play afterward. It gives kids both a craft and a toy in one, making it a perfect way to stretch the fun on a rainy afternoon.

Pinecone Painting

If you’ve collected pinecones, let kids paint them in fall colors or even cover them with glitter. They can be displayed in bowls or turned into little decorations for the table. Acrylic paint works well, but washable paint is best for younger kids.

Painting pinecones gives kids a chance to work with texture, which feels different from flat paper crafts. Plus, once dry, they’re sturdy enough to handle being moved around or played with.

Pumpkin Seed Mosaics

After carving a pumpkin, save the seeds. Dry them out, then let kids glue them onto paper in different shapes and patterns. They can be painted ahead of time for more colorful designs.

This craft uses something you’d normally throw away, which makes it both thrifty and creative. Kids enjoy arranging the seeds into pictures, and the finished mosaics make fun seasonal artwork to hang on the fridge.

Handprint Trees

Have kids trace and cut out their handprints on colored paper to make tree leaves. Glue them onto a trunk drawn or cut from brown paper. Layering multiple handprints creates a full, autumn-themed tree.

It’s a good way to track how their hands grow over time too. The craft is quick, uses minimal supplies, and gives kids something personal to display once finished.

Apple Stamp Art

Cut an apple in half, dip it in paint, and let kids stamp it on paper. The shape makes a natural print that looks festive for fall. You can use red, green, or yellow paint to represent different apple varieties.

This project is hands-on and keeps kids entertained while also teaching them about patterns and repetition. It’s easy to clean up if you prep a covered work area before starting.

Coffee Filter Leaves

Flatten coffee filters, color them with washable markers, and then lightly spray them with water. The colors bleed together to look like fall leaves. Once dry, cut them into leaf shapes to hang in windows.

This craft is especially fun for kids because the colors spread in unexpected ways. It’s inexpensive, colorful, and a great way to brighten up a gray day indoors.

Sock Pumpkins

Old socks can be turned into mini pumpkins with a little stuffing and some twine. Fill the sock, tie it off at the top, and wrap twine around to shape the sections of the pumpkin. Add a stick or piece of felt for the stem.

Kids will love helping shape and decorate the pumpkins. These work well as table decorations and can be saved for future fall seasons.

Fall Collage

Set out magazines, construction paper, or printed fall images for kids to cut and paste into collages. They can make scenes of pumpkins, leaves, or anything that reminds them of autumn.

This activity helps with scissor skills and creativity while keeping kids focused indoors. Each collage will turn out differently, and you can display them on walls or the fridge as seasonal artwork.

Homemade Bird Feeders

Cover pinecones with peanut butter and roll them in birdseed, then tie on a string. Once the rain clears, kids can hang them outside for birds to enjoy. It’s a hands-on craft that also connects them to nature.

This project doesn’t require many supplies, and the payoff continues after the craft is done. Kids will be excited to watch the birds enjoy their creations once the feeders are hung.

*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.