Our Favorite Under-$25 Activities to Fight Cabin Fever (Without Screens)

Finger painting is a fun activity for toddlers, but the mess that needs to be cleaned up afterward can challenge even the most patient of parents. This set from Crayola actually keeps the pain contained the paint under a layer of plastic, allowing your child to make a masterpiece with her fingers above the protective surface. The end result: She doesn't get messy, but still has a creation at the end of her play.

Puzzles can provide hours of entertainment, and this Melissa & Doug set ensures even the littlest ones can join in on the fun. Bonus: The set includes six puzzles in one, keeping kids engaged even longer. The large, smooth cubes are easy for tiny hands to handle, and the included tray helps keep the pieces in place. While the minimum recommended age is 3 years old, 2- and even 1-year-olds can enjoy this toy with an adult's help. 

If your child has mastered the ABCs, it’s time to take learning to the next level. Part spelling game, part phonics lesson, this 80-piece set helps your child develop vocabulary, word association and more. (It can even be used earlier in life to assist with color and letter recognition, as well as fine motor skills.) The set includes 52 wooden blocks and 28 double-sided flashcards, offering hours of educational fun. Bonus: It comes with a cute storage bag for easy cleanup and makes a great travel toy.

Imaginative play can keep kids entertained for hours, and having a few physical items can make the fun last even longer. Parents love Fisher-Price’s doctor kit, which includes six pieces of medical equipment and a cute storage bag. This toy offers great value: not only is it perfect for 3- to 6-year-olds, but it also lets kids imagine themselves as a doctor, veterinarian, or in a variety of other roles.

Word books are great, but they often require adult assistance. Enter these talking flashcards, which read the word on the selected card to your child, allowing them to both see and hear over 200 words. The device is easy for little hands to operate — kids can even adjust the volume on their own. When fully charged, it lasts for up to four hours, making it an excellent travel toy as well.

Unleash your child's creativity again and again with the jumbo Crayola Scribble Scrubbie. This 6-inch cat figurine can be colored using the included markers and then washed clean for endless artistic fun. Bonus: The cat’s movable head, tail, and legs allow your child to play with it like a regular toy. The jumbo figurine is also available as a French bulldog, and for older children, you can explore the many pint-sized Scribble Scrubbies.

If your little paleontologist is tired of mini excavations, try switching it up with this DIY science experiment. Each kit includes everything needed to make six soaps shaped like a T-Rex, Styracosaurus, and Stegosaurus. You can even choose between two fragrances — green apple and lemon — to give the soaps a unique scent. Parents love that the soaps are ready within an hour, making it easy to turn this into a full afternoon of DIY fun.

Set up an art station for your toddler and let her go wild with this fun, washable dot markers set. A nice change from the typical crayons,  your little one will have fun making patterns on paper or filling out the included activity book. (Parent tip: Make copies of the pages for extended fun.) When you’re done, smears and smudges on hands and furniture can easily be wiped away with soap and water.

Let your child create her own scene with this reusable sticker pad. It features five scenes and over 165 coordinating stickers that can be placed (and moved) wherever your little one wants. Fair warning: They may try to stick these on the windows, mirrors and even the fridge. Available in seven different themes, including Habitats, Under the Sea and My Town, you can grab a few to keep your child occupied all winter — and even on trips! 

Truth be told, you can have too many LEGOs. But if you haven’t already invested in these building blocks, this LEGO suitcase is the only purchase you need to make. For only $20, you'll get over 200 pieces in various sizes and colors, ensuring your child will never run out of creative possibilities. And on the off chance they do, the kit provides online access to instructions, ideas, and inspiration to further enhance the play.

You get a lot for a little with this fun Play-Doh set. It features six different cans of Play-Doh, along with 25 different cutters to create all kinds of cool shapes. There’s even a tool to help your child squeeze out stars, zig-zags and more shapes. It's also a great group activity if you have multiple kids stuck in the house. Though there are similar models on the market, parents praise this one for being easy for little hands to manipulate. 

Playtime becomes even more enriching with this wooden puzzle set. An age-appropriate twist on tangrams, this set includes 120 colorful sticks and rings that your child can use to recreate the 40 images featured in the deck of cards. (Of course, there’s no rule against creating their own designs!) The set even includes a wooden base to hold the cards, giving your child a clear view of the image they’re working on. In addition to offering educational entertainment, this toy enhances fine motor skills, color recognition, and imaginative play."

It might be too cold and gross out for your kid to enjoy sandbox play — so bring the sandbox indoors with this fun set. Kinetic Sand is infinitely moldable, making it a fun sensory experience for toddlers. Your little one will have hours of fun digging, building tiny sandcastles and more. It comes with a box to help keep play contained, though parents note it’s easy to clean up. Since it's not sticky, you can easily sweep it into a pile and roll it into a ball. 

This toy bundle comes with a stacking rings set and a wooden shape sorter — two developmentally-friendly toys that will keep your little one entertained indoors. She can work on getting the wooden blocks (shaped like squares, stars, triangles and more) through the holes on the shape sorter, or have fun stacking and restacking the brightly colored rings. The rings also have a maze and a rattler to add to the experience. And everything fits inside the sorting bucket for easy cleanup. 

Encourage your child to create images while developing their color and shape recognition, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving skills. This compact tin (perfect for travel, by the way) includes 60 cards, each featuring a unique image that your child can recreate using any combination of the 36 included wooden puzzle pieces. Parents love the structured play it offers, but as kids grow older, they can set aside the cards and let their imaginations run wild to create their own unique art.

Your baby is bound to log plenty of tummy time hours this winter, but you have to keep him engaged. This baby-safe mirror and flashcard set is sure to make things extra entertaining. The high-contrast pictures on the flashcards are easy for developing eyes to see, and the mirror will give her something to focus on during tummy time or hangouts in a playard. 

Part craft, part learning tool, this Melissa & Doug stamp set is a great way to get your child excited about writing, counting, and more. Each of the 71 wooden stamps — featuring numbers, letters, and symbols — has a handle, making them easier for kids to hold. The set also includes a 25-page stamp-and-learn book filled with activities designed to help your child master vocabulary and basic math. Of course, the stamps can be used beyond the activity book. Parents say their kids have used them to create cards, enhance illustrations, and more.

If your budding architect has grown bored with their Magna-Tiles, consider trying an alternative magnet toy. One standout option? These oversized magnetic cubes. Thanks to their smooth, durable material, they’re safe for use as early as 1 year old, yet versatile enough to entertain kids up to 8 years old — making them perfect for siblings of various ages. Bonus: The set includes a booklet with ideas on how kids of different ages can make the most of these magnetic blocks.

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to relive your childhood, now’s the perfect time. Connect 4 has long been loved for being an easy-to-play, strategy-based game that's fun for all who play. If you want to get your under-6-year-old in on the fun, you can use the discs as a tool to teach colors, counting and even shapes. Or you can simplify the game by having your child try to get four discs vertical or horizontal.