30 do-it-yourself activities to cure kids’ boredom

Kids bored again? Try these DIY kid activities that are anything but passive.

Burn energy with an indoor parkour track, design a cell phone case, or draw on the walls with (removable) chalk wallpaper. There’s even a cleaning tip for kids that we promise will be fun.

Introduce these 30 DIY activities to kids of any age and never again despair at the question, “What are we doing today?”

Tumble through a parkour track

Make a parkour track using party streamers, transparent tape and an empty room. After you clear out furniture, tape streamers from one end of the room to the other in a criss-cross style. Then jump, duck and roll through each section.

Play Cat’s Cradle

All you need is a piece of string and five fingers to play “Cat’s Cradle,” a two-player game. Create different geometric shapes by seamlessly passing the string back and forth between hands. The elaborate game, best explained in a video tutorial, can help with dexterity.

Cut cardboard into picture frames

Display your photos in a cardboard frame: Cut a space for the pic (4x6, 5x7, 6x8) and decorate the borders with paint or crayons.

Get beauty treatments

Mix up homemade (and edible) skin treatments. For example, sugar acts like an exfoliator, yogurt moisturizes and cucumbers can lower inflammation.

Sketch your own coloring books

Draw outlines of famous characters, then fill in with color. Or, download printable coloring pages.

Create a snow globe

Grab a mason jar, glitter, waterproof glue and a figurine centerpiece, and when it’s finished, shake up your snow globe.

Do pasta faces

Glue dried pasta of any shape onto a paper plate or a poster board and make silly faces.

Make scrapbooks

Every junk drawer is filled with a concert ticket stub, award certificate or random photo. Give your memories a home in a DIY scrapbook.

Produce a nature landscape

Make a fall-worthy portrait on poster board using fallen leaves, grass, sticks and anything else you find in nature. Glue the items to the board or paint them to use as stamps.

Make your own chalk

Street art is more beautiful with homemade chalk. Follow these instructions to making chalk, then decorate the sidewalk.

Hang up snowflakes

Ready for winter? Make snowflakes with popsicle sticks, glitter and double-stick tape or glue, then hang them on the wall.

Give your salt shaker a festive makeover

Decorate the exterior of a glass salt shaker with felt, yarn, sequins or cotton. The salt acts as “snow.”

Paint stones

Grab a bunch of rocks and stones and paint them vibrant colors, then set them on window sills or coffee tables to brighten your home.

Build your own board game

Bored of your board games? Map out a new game on a slab of cardboard with action figures as pawns. You make the rules!

Try an IKEA hack

There are so many ways to spice up plain IKEA furniture. Buy an affordable chair, coffee table or vase and transform it into a one-of-a-kind piece. Visit the website IKEA Hackers for ideas.

Open a car wash

Fill buckets with gentle dishwashing fluid and play “car wash” with your vehicle.

Design your own phone case

Kids with phones can decorate clear cases with dried flowers, stickers or photos.

Stick googly eyes everywhere

Give your home more personality by sticking googly eyes on everything from your front door to your remote control and coffee maker.

Build a fort

Blankets transform a room into a reading nook, fortress or private getaway. No grownups allowed!

Splatter that paint

Splatter paint over white paper plates and let your inner Jackson Pollock shine.

Bake a childhood treat

Who remembers baking Rice Krispies treats? Compile ingredients from the official recipe (butter, Rice Krispies, marshmallows) and enjoy!

Personalize coffee cups

Can’t find a mug with that clever phrase or image? Make it yourself using acrylic paint.

Make vision boards

Practice manifestation on a vision board with photos of a tropical location, personal goals, or wise quotes. Hang it up and dream away!

Follow the yellow brick road

Make like Dorothy and skip down your own brick road. Using yellow masking tape, create a road map on your floor with unexpected turns. Then, you’re off to see the wizard!

Save your place with an eye-catching bookmark

Make your own bookmark with card stock, markers, feathers, buttons and more.

Try origami

Origami is the Japanese art form of folding paper into beautiful shapes. Use an instruction guide to make animals and flowers.

Redesign school book covers

Kids won’t misplace textbooks when they look so unique. Cover books with sheets of craft paper and decorate as you please.

Draw on the walls

Removable chalk wallpaper lets kids draw on your walls without consequence. A lower-effort idea: Use fun wall decals.

Blow balloon animals

Use a balloon artistry kit or a tutorial to produce inflatable dogs, bows and fish.

Weave friendship bracelets

You don’t have to be a Taylor Swift fan to make friendship bracelets. Order a bracelet-making kit or use your own string and beads.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com