100+ Boredom Jar Ideas (Free and Low-Cost)

We made our first boredom jar a couple of school holidays ago. I was tired of being asked what there was to do before I’d even had a coffee, so I figured it was worth trying properly instead of just saying “I’ll think of something” for the tenth time that morning.

A boredom jar is just a container with slips of paper inside, each one a different activity. When the kids say they’re bored, they pull one out instead of me having to come up with an answer on the spot. Ours has changed containers twice since we started — an old Vegemite jar, then a shoebox, now a takeaway container, because that’s what was closest when the shoebox fell apart. The idea’s stayed the same the whole time.

Below is everything from our jar, plus a bunch more I’ve added since. I’ve split them into free, low-cost, and “save it for a special day” categories, along with a screen-free section and a couple split by age, because a five-year-old and a twelve-year-old are not going to want the same slip of paper.

Free — Indoors

1. Build a blanket fort and read in it with a torch
2. Freeze dance to whatever’s on the radio
3. Indoor scavenger hunt — ten random household items, one timer
4. Shadow puppets on the wall once it’s dark
5. Turn a cardboard box into a car, boat or rocket
6. Blanket cinema on the lounge room floor, no talking allowed
7. Make up a secret handshake with a sibling
8. Draw a self-portrait with your eyes closed
9. Write and perform a two-minute play for the rest of the family
10. Sock puppet show
11. Indoor obstacle course using couch cushions
12. Set up a pretend restaurant and take everyone’s order
13. Reorganise your room however you want
14. Race to finish a jigsaw against the clock
15. Learn a magic trick and perform it at dinner
16. Make paper planes and test whose flies furthest
17. Hide and seek in the dark with torches
18. Build the tallest tower you can out of stuff from the pantry
19. Write a letter to your future self, seal it, open it next year
20. Do 20 star jumps in every room of the house
21. Invent a secret language with a sibling
22. Draw a treasure map of your own house
23. Set up a mini “escape room” using clues hidden around the house
24. Practise a dance routine to one song, on repeat, until it’s perfect
25. Build a domino run and knock it down
26. Family karaoke, no judging
27. Draw a comic strip, three panels minimum

Free — Outdoors

28. Chalk obstacle course on the driveway
29. Backyard cricket, even with just two players
30. Bug hunt with a jar and a magnifying glass
31. Build a cubby out of whatever’s lying around the yard
32. Water balloon fight (summer only, for fairly obvious reasons)
33. Cloud watching — find shapes for ten minutes
34. Bird spotting — see how many kinds you can name
35. Wash the family car, bucket and sponge and all
36. Skipping rope challenge — how many in a row
37. Backyard camping, even if you cave and sleep inside by ten
38. Hula hoop competition
39. Handstand or cartwheel practice on the grass
40. Make mud pies and decorate them properly
41. Twenty minutes straight on the trampoline
42. Bike or scooter lap of the block
43. Build a rock or stick sculpture somewhere in the garden
44. Nature scavenger hunt — a leaf, a feather, a flower, a round rock
45. Backyard picnic, even if it’s ten metres from the kitchen
46. Keepy-uppies with a soccer ball, see who lasts longest
47. Star gazing after dinner, try to spot a satellite passing over

Low-Cost (Under $10–20)

48. Trip to the local library — most run free holiday programs
49. Explore a park near you that you’ve never actually been to
50. Op-shop mission with a five-dollar budget each
51. Beachcombing with a bucket, no real agenda
52. Swim at the local council pool
53. Skate park, even just to sit and watch
54. Servo slushie as a “we made it through the morning” treat
55. Bunnings sausage sizzle if there’s one on that weekend
56. A playground with a flying fox, worth the drive if yours doesn’t have one
57. Feed the ducks at a local lake or pond
58. Check your council’s website for free holiday programs on that week
59. Bushwalk or nature trail near home
60. Community garden visit
61. Wander a local market, even without buying anything
62. Window shop at the local shopping centre, kids pick their “dream” item
63. Ice cream from the servo instead of a cafe
64. New walking track you’ve never tried
65. Rock pooling, if you’re anywhere near the coast
66. Fish and chips eaten on the beach or in a park
67. Local trivia session, if your library or RSL runs one over the break
68. Visit a pet shop just to look, for the animal-obsessed kid

If you want more ideas than what’s in the jar, our school holiday activities directory lets you search by suburb. We use it when the jar’s already been raided for the week.

Special Treat

Save these for one or two days a holiday period, not every day, or they stop feeling like a treat.

69. Zoo or wildlife park
70. Cinema
71. Theme park or water park day
72. Trampoline park session
73. Indoor climbing centre
74. Mini golf
75. Bowling
76. Go-karting
77. Museum or science centre
78. Day trip somewhere the kids have never been
79. Escape room, for kids old enough to actually solve one

Screen-Free Together Time

80. Write a letter to a grandparent or a pen pal
81. Family recipe cook-off, judged by whoever didn’t cook
82. Interview a grandparent or older relative about their childhood
83. Board game tournament, full bracket
84. Family trivia night, everyone writes five questions
85. Photo scavenger hunt with an old camera or phone
86. Teach a grandparent something you learned at school this term
87. Make a family time capsule to open in five years
88. Write thank-you notes to a teacher or coach from last term
89. Start a family reading challenge, everyone picks a book
90. Plan and cook a full “restaurant night” menu together, courses and all

For Little Kids (Under 5)

91. Sensory bin with rice or pasta and small toys hidden inside
92. Colour sorting game around the house
93. Puppet show with socks or paper bags
94. Sticker book or activity book
95. Water play in a tub outside
96. Simple treasure hunt with picture clues instead of words

For Tweens & Older Kids

97. Cook an entire meal solo, start to finish
98. Learn a new skill from a free online tutorial
99. Start a mini business for the holidays — lemonade stand, dog walking, car wash for neighbours
100. Write a short story or start a journal
101. Learn five words in a new language
102. Redesign or declutter their own bedroom
103. Plan a full day out on a set budget and organise it themselves
104. Learn to sew on a button or do basic mending
105. Try a sport they’ve never played before

A few things that keep ours going

We top it up in between school holidays, not halfway through one. If you try to add ideas mid-break, it’s usually empty right when someone actually wants to use it.

I let the kids add their own slips too. My youngest wrote “pat the dog for ten minutes” as a joke and it gets picked more than most of the ones I came up with.

It sits on the kitchen bench during the holidays but nobody has to use it. Some days we go out and do something else instead and the jar just doesn’t come up.

Common questions

What is a boredom jar? A jar or container filled with slips of paper, each one an activity idea. Kids pull one out when they say they’re bored, instead of a parent having to think of something on the spot.

What should go in a school holiday boredom jar? A mix works best. We use free ideas, low-cost ones, and a few bigger treats saved for special days, so there’s something to match however much time or money you’ve got that day.

Do boredom jars work for teenagers? Yes, but swap some of the ideas. Older kids respond better to things with a bit of independence in them, like cooking a full meal by themselves or planning a day out on a budget.

How often should you top up a boredom jar? Between school holidays, not during one. If you leave it until the break’s already started, it tends to be half empty right when the kids want to use it.

Need the actual dates before you plan any of this? Here’s school holiday and term dates for every Australian state. For a bigger written-out list to raid for more ideas, see our top 26 school holiday activities to do at home, or browse the activities directory for what’s on near you.