Free Toddler Activities For When You Have To Get Out of The House

When I am fortunate enough to have a full day with Zoey, I typically try to get us both out of the house for a morning activity before we have to get home for lunch and a nap. While there are tons of activities to do around town with a toddler, I tend to lean towards the free activities. I never know how Zoey will react to something, how tired she might be, or if she will even enjoy what we are doing. So, until I learn more what she enjoys to do, or until she can straight up tell me, I usually stick to free activities.

Our girl likes to have a leisurely morning on weekends rather than race out of the house to daycare, so we have some at home play time in the mornings before breakfast and usually do not head out for our morning activity until close to 8:30-9. Most of the activities we choose involve places where Zoey can walk by herself as the kid absolutely refuses to ride in the stroller. We are also in the midst of struggling to get her into a carseat more often than not as she hates being strapped down.

Regardless, we really try to make our morning activities fun and new. These are the free toddler activities I tend to rotate through when I want to be sure we get out of the house.

Mall play places. Too cold, too windy, to rainy, whatever it might be, our malls have some great, soft-bottomed play places for young children. It usually takes Zoey a few minutes to warm up to all the activity and then she is off exploring and watching other kids play.

Try a new playground. We have our local neighborhood playground we can walk to, but Zoey adores exploring new ones. A bunch of snacks packed, a quick car ride, and over an hour later I am usually forcing her back into the car so we can head home for lunch and a nap.

Library story time. These are less and less frequent for us since Zoey just wants to read all the books on her own, but our library puts on a good weekend story time session. There is usually bubbles, songs, scarves, a story, and some alphabet/letter work. This is another good option when the weather is not cooperating.

Explore a new library. Different libraries around our town have different play areas for children. Picking a new one to go explore and play in for a bit is always fun for Zoey, and it takes the mundane out of it for me.

Littleton Museum (locals only). If you are local to Denver, the Littleton Museum is a hidden gem in the Littleton area. With animals to look at, period buildings to explore, and an indoor museum complete with a little kitchen for kids to play in, Zoey and I can easily spend two or more hours here. While you cannot have food on the grounds, I have snacks ready to go for the car ride home. It never fails that after a morning at the Littleton Museum Zoey passes out hard for her nap.

Museum free days. The Denver museums and zoo have a few free days each year and we capitalize on that opportunity. Check if your local museums offer a similar thing. My biggest recommendation is to arrive when they open and before it gets way too crowded.

Short Hikes. With Zoey’s love of walking (and almost running), we cannot get her to sit in a stroller, much less a hiking backpack. We took our first family hike a few weekends ago in which we did not bring anything to carry Zoey in. She had a blast! We chose a flat, wide path along a river and let her play in the water, throw sticks off the bridge, and say hi to all the dogs. Sure, we only made it about half a mile in total, but the kiddo had a blast with all the action, fresh air, and being on her own two feet.

Cool down at a splash pad. Depending on the weather, splash pads are the perfect way to cool down on the cheap. Armed with a change of clothes, a warm towel, and snacks (LINK), Zoey would spend hours at the splash pad and only leave when she she is too tired to stand (and even then it is a bit iffy).

Take a ball to the park. One of Zoey’s absolute favorite words is “ball” and she has at least five somewhere in the house. Bringing a ball to an open field that she can throw, kick and run with

Local concerts. Free, local concerts that do not interrupt dinner time are on the more rare side of things, but if you need a night time activity, they are a ton of fun. Many of them let you bring food and we like to bring a big blanket and a dinner picnic. Zoey gets to eat (her favorite thing to do) and people watch (her other favorite thing to do).

Walk around the neighborhood. Sure this is not the most structured activity, but Zoey loves to just walk around the neighborhood either with a ball or using her Strider bike. Circling our block can take a half hour as she stops to looks at everything, run, throw, and point in the direction every single dog she hears or sees.

These are our favorite free things to do out of the house when we do not have other errands to run. Our post-nap time is usually spent either going for a walk around the neighborhood or just playing at the house. My goal is usually to wear her out in the mornings!

What are your favorite out of the house activities to do with your toddler?