School holidays: The best rainy day activities

Baking is a great, interactive way to keep kids entertained, and it reaps a tasty reward at the end. Photo / Getty

The school holidays are a great time to bond with your children. That is until the relentless rain puts a dampener on your plans and you're left staring down the barrel of another day stuck indoors.

Instead of giving in and leaving them to watch Minecraft videos on YouTube all day, try these fun, fail-safe activities that will keep them engaged and you sane.

Get crafty

From creating a superhero to building a telescope, Little & Curious craft kits are great little activity boxes that will occupy and inspire your kids to get creative.

With different levels of adult supervision indicated on each pack, you can choose whether you want to be all in or leave them to it.

The best part? You don't even have to leave the house to get your hands on one because they can be delivered directly to your doorstep.

Bake it

Baking is a great interactive way to keep kids entertained, and it reaps a tasty reward at the end.

Julena Nola of New Zealand-based baking company Hunter Gatherer Gourmet says baking is a great thing to do with kids.

"They love creating things, they can learn how all the different ingredients come together, they get to see the result and eat the result."

Go old school

In a world that feels like technology and apps are slowly consuming children's minds, don't be afraid to take things old school with a jigsaw puzzle.

Not only are they an awesome activity that can include the whole family, they can also take up a fair amount of time and encourage logical thinking.

Send them on a scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunts are an ideal way to keep groups of kids entertained, especially when you've got a range of ages.

Hide treats around the house - edible or small toys - give each child a basket, designate a search area and let them go for it.

Depending on your children's age, design a set of clues to decipher in order to find the prizes.

Build a fort and have an indoor picnic

We reckon this activity is priceless for several reasons: It costs nothing, kids love creating their own space and it inspires their creativity.

Using bedsheets, cover dining chairs, a table, or utilise the back of a couch to create a kids' hideaway.

Put together some snacks - including those freshly baked goods you made earlier - and enjoy a little picnic.

Don't be afraid to mess the house up a bit, it won't take much to restore the room once the kids have gone to bed - that is if they haven't convinced you to let them spend the night in the fort.

Make a movie night

Don't feel bad about resorting to television for a bit of relief, why not share with your kids some of the movies you loved as a child, or revisit some Disney classics?

Sit down as a family for an afternoon or evening, crank out the popcorn and have some cuddle time on the couch.