Arts, crafts and cookery are ideal rainy day activities for children of all ages, and for anyone young at heart. From sketching to baking, there are plenty of ways to get creative and have fun. Wherever you are, here are some lovely ways to add in local history and culture to make some very special memories and keepsake photos. Follow our easy recipes for homemade landmark-inspired pizzas and iced cookies - or use our quick and convenient cheats for anyone who doesn't want to cook.

Wherever you are with children it’s often a good idea to have some basic arts supplies with you. Just a pencil and paper can mean the difference between a bored toddler and a happy child, it’s as simple as that sometimes. Add in a rainbow array of coloured pencils and paper and you could have an inspired future artist in the making! Helping them to create sketches, coloured pictures, sculptures made from card or their own edible works of art is a wonderful way to bring their imagination to life and for you to spend quality time ‘making memories’ with your children.

Planning Your Rainy Day Arts Activities

Exploring the beauty and the heritage of the UK with children can be a lot easier than jetting off to far flung shores, even if it’s not dry and sunny every day. If you know it’s due to rain, plan days out in nature while it’s dry and collect leaves, flowers or pine cones for arty inspiration on that rainy day you stay in. If you and your children have exhausted the excitement of the coloured pencils and paper, then creating edible works of art is another fun way to keep the children entertained.

Wherever you are, there will be a landscape, landmark or local attraction you can plan your creations around, making your arty day in as educational as it is fun. Finding out a little of the history of the region in which you’re staying can be interesting for all the family. 

Get Creative in Scotland

If you’re in Scotland, you could focus on Edinburgh Castle or tell your children the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. You could design your own tartan or draw traditional Scotsmen, or teddy bears, in kilts. If you’re staying near Loch Tay, you could find inspiration in the water sports enjoyed on the loch, from canoeing to stand-up paddle boarding. 

Get Creative in Wales

If you’re in Wales, then the mountains are a stunning natural landscape that are easy to recreate. The iconic Welsh red dragon is another slightly more challenging symbol that you could try to create, and in springtime the Welsh daffodil provides colourful inspiration in nature. If you’re staying near Snowdonia, Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales and you can walk up it or take the mountain train, which will provide amazing inspiration for your children’s artwork. 

Get Creative in Cornwall

Famous for its surfing and beaches, if you're in Cornwall then you could base your entertainment around the themes of nature and ecology, beach scenes and surfboards or sandcastles and fossils. You could recreate colourful surfboards made of icing on cookies or use bell peppers on pizzas. 

How to make Cookies

Baking and decorating cookies is always popular with children of all ages – my teenagers still love to do this. You could get them to help you bake simple biscuits or gingerbread cookies yourself and buy some small icing pens and sprinkles, or easier still, buy ready-made cookies, icing pens and small sweets, sprinkles and stars.

Here’s a simple recipe for homemade biscuits and icing that don’t need cookie cutters:

• 175g butter, softened

• 50g golden caster sugar

• 50g icing sugar

• 2 egg yolks

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 300g plain flour

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200c and add baking paper to a baking sheet. Mix the butter, sugars, egg yolks and vanilla extract until creamy, then mix in the flour gradually. Roll the dough into small balls and press onto a baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 mins until golden, then leave to cool.

Divide between children and have fun decorating!

How to make pizza

You can buy ready-made pizza bases at most supermarkets. Simply add a swirl of tomato sauce, your favourite toppings, a sprinkle of cheese and bake! If you want to make your own pizza, here’s a simple recipe that makes 4 medium pizzas or 6 small ones, depending on how thin you want the crust:

How to make your own pizza:

• 500g strong white bread flour plus extra for dusting

• 2tsp fast action yeast

• 2tbsp olive oil

• 2-3 tsp salt

• 300ml tepid water

Topping for 1 pizza:

• 1 tbsp cherry tomato pasta sauce

• ½ ball mozzarella cut into pieces

• Sweetcorn/ cherry tomatoes/ peppers/red onion/courgette/olives

• Fresh basil leaves/ dried oregano

Method:

Mix together the flour, yeast, olive oil, salt and water, until just combined.

Sprinkle some flour on your worktop and knead the dough for 5 minutes, until it feels smooth and elastic. Transfer it to an oiled bowl and then cover with cling film and set aside for around 45 minutes until it has doubled in size.

Heat the oven to 230c and divide the dough into 4 equal sections. Dust the worktop with more flour and roll the dough into a ball using a rolling pin and your hands being careful not to roll it too thinly.

Transfer each pizza base to a floured baking sheet and then spread with 1tbsp tomato sauce and have fun adding your chosen toppings. Bake for around 10 minutes.

Whatever you create, make sure you take a photograph, especially if it’s an edible masterpiece that quickly disappears. You could look back on that photo in years to come with fond memories of the rainy days and the works of art you created! And if you're looking for something to make you smile, read our Funny Travel Stories.