Safety first: Always supervise little ones, and skip small parts for kids who still put things in their mouths. Please read our play safety notes before you start.
Key takeaways
- Sort 50 cards into three colors by energy: red (high), yellow (medium) and green (calm).
- The adult picks the color and the child pulls the card, so there is nothing to negotiate.
- Pull green cards in the hour before dinner and red cards right after breakfast.
- Balloons, scissors, glue and small items are for the ages listed, with an adult nearby.
- Keep the jar and its paper strips out of reach of children under 3.
In this post16 sections
- Bored Jar Ideas for Kids: How the Three-Color Jar Works
- Make Your Christmas Break Bored Jar in 20 Minutes
- Red Cards: 17 High-Energy Ideas to Burn It Off
- 1. Reindeer races
- 2. Living room obstacle course
- 3. Balloon keep-up
- Yellow Cards: 17 Medium-Energy Hands-On Ideas
- 18. Paper snowflakes
- 19. Cardboard box sleigh
- 20. Playdough cookie bakery
- Green Cards: 16 Calm Ideas for the Quiet Hour
- 35. Flashlight story in a blanket fort
- 36. Reusable sticker scene
- 37. Large-piece Christmas puzzle
- How to Keep the Bored Jar Working All Break
- FAQ
Bored Jar Ideas for Kids: How the Three-Color Jar Works
A bored jar is a jar of idea cards that a child pulls when they say "I'm bored." This one sorts the 50 cards into three colors by energy level: red for high energy, yellow for medium and green for calm. The adult picks the color, the child pulls the card, and nobody argues about what to do.
| Moment | Pull | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Right after breakfast on a cold day | Red | Spends energy before the day gets long |
| Mid-afternoon slump or a rainy day | Yellow | Hands-on, with a little setup and a clear end |
| The hour before dinner while you cook | Green | Quiet cards a child can start alone |
| Guests are coming over | Yellow | Busy enough to hold attention, calm enough to stay in one room |
| Wound up after a party or a trip | Green | Winds the day down |
Make Your Christmas Break Bored Jar in 20 Minutes
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Step 1: Cut the strips
Cut red, yellow and green paper into strips about 1 inch by 5 inches. An adult does the cutting, and 15 strips per color is enough to start.
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Step 2: Write one idea per strip
Copy the cards below, or let older kids add their own. Add the ages so you can skip cards that do not fit.
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Step 3: Fold and fill
Fold each strip in half and drop it in a sturdy jar with a lid. Use plastic if little siblings are around.
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Step 4: Set the pull rule
The adult picks the color. The child pulls the card, with one swap allowed per day.
If you would rather not write 50 cards by hand, the Indoor Day Rescue Kit ($7) has 100 boredom cards sorted by energy level, ready to print. For the two weeks of winter break, our free winter break plan puts one activity on every morning from December 20 to January 2.
Red Cards: 17 High-Energy Ideas to Burn It Off
Use these when the house feels too small. Clear a path, move sharp corners and keep the tree out of the way.
- Reindeer races: hop, gallop or crawl down the hall (ages 2+)
- Living room obstacle course with cushions and a blanket tunnel (ages 2+)
- Balloon keep-up: keep a balloon off the floor (ages 5+, adult watching)
- Freeze dance to Christmas songs (ages 2+)
- Santa says: Simon says with Christmas moves (ages 3+)
- Sock snowball toss into a laundry basket (ages 2+)
- Sleigh ride: pull a stuffed animal in a box across the rug (ages 2+)
- Elf relay: carry a plush elf on a big spoon (ages 4+)
- Snowman melt: stand tall, then slowly melt to the floor (ages 2+)
- Gift box bowling with empty tissue boxes and a soft ball (ages 3+)
- Scarf dance party with hand-length scarves (ages 2+)
- Find five red things around the house (ages 3+)
- Penguin waddle with a soft ball between the knees (ages 3+)
- Jumping jack countdown: one jump for each present (ages 4+)
- Bean bag snowball toss at taped circles on the floor (ages 2+)
- Candy cane hop along a curvy line of masking tape (ages 2+)
- Stuffed reindeer relay: carry a toy to a family member (ages 3+)
1Reindeer races
Mark a start and finish line with masking tape down a hall or across a room. Your child picks how to move: hop, gallop, crawl or tiptoe. Cheer for a different reindeer each round.
Ages: 2 and up
Prep: 2 minutes
Mess: Low
Supplies: masking tape, a clear hallway, a stuffed reindeer or two for cheering
Safety: clear toys and sharp corners, use bare feet or grippy socks, and keep racing to a rug-free or tacked-down floor.
- Time each run with a song instead of a clock.
2Living room obstacle course
Line up couch cushions to climb over, drape a blanket over two chairs for a tunnel and set a hula hoop to step through. Walk the course once with your child, then let them redesign it.
Ages: 2 and up
Prep: 10 minutes
Mess: Medium
Supplies: couch cushions, a blanket, two chairs, a hula hoop (optional)
Safety: keep the course away from the tree, stairs and glass, and weigh down the blanket tunnel so it cannot slide.
- Add a "present" to carry from start to finish.
3Balloon keep-up
Blow up a balloon yourself and challenge your child to keep it from touching the floor. Change the rule each round: only elbows, only knees, only heads. It burns energy in a small space.
Ages: 5 and up, with an adult watching
Prep: 1 minute
Mess: Low
Supplies: a balloon (inflated by an adult), a clear room
Safety: balloons are a choking hazard when they pop, so skip them for children under 5, pick up every piece right away and keep latex away from anyone with an allergy.
- Play a Christmas song and stop the game when the song stops.
Yellow Cards: 17 Medium-Energy Hands-On Ideas
These need a few supplies and about 10 minutes of setup, then hold attention for a while. Most work at a kitchen table or on the floor.
- Paper snowflakes: fold, cut and tape them on a window (ages 4+, adult for scissors)
- Cardboard box sleigh to pull stuffed animals (ages 2+)
- Playdough cookie bakery with star cutters (ages 2+, see our Christmas pretend play setups)
- Sticker Christmas card for a grandparent (ages 3+)
- Crayon rubbings of a doily, bark and the Christmas tree skirt (ages 3+)
- Paper chain countdown: one loop for each day left (ages 4+)
- Paper cookies: cut circles and draw the frosting (ages 3+)
- Cardboard gingerbread house decorated with washable markers (ages 4+)
- Painter's tape tree on the window or wall (ages 3+)
- Wrap a present for a stuffed animal (ages 2+)
- Wrapping paper scrap collage with a glue stick (ages 3+)
- Christmas I spy: find ten things around the tree (ages 3+)
- Draw or write a letter to Santa (ages 3+, see our letter to Santa template)
- Sort plastic ornaments by color, with an adult nearby (ages 3+)
- Build a pretend post office from a shoebox (ages 3+)
- Block city for Santa's sleigh to land in (ages 2+)
- Paper plate wreath made with green paper scraps and a glue stick (ages 3+)
18Paper snowflakes
Fold a square of white paper in half, then in half again, and an adult or an older child cuts notches along the edges. Open it up and tape it to a window. Make a whole blizzard and count the snowflakes.
Ages: 4 and up (an adult cuts for younger kids)
Prep: 5 minutes
Mess: Medium
Supplies: white printer paper, child-safe scissors, tape
Safety: use blunt scissors, sweep up paper scraps from the floor and keep tape away from mouths.
- Hang them with a loop of tape so they peel off without leaving marks.
19Cardboard box sleigh
Decorate a large box with markers and tape a ribbon rope to the front. Stuffed animals ride, and your child pulls the sleigh around the house on its delivery route.
Ages: 2 and up
Prep: 10 minutes
Mess: Medium
Supplies: a large cardboard box, washable markers, a ribbon or soft rope, stuffed animals
Safety: keep the rope hand length, tape it down and use the sleigh for toys only, never for children to ride in.
- Turn it into a delivery game by taping an address to each door.
20Playdough cookie bakery
Roll playdough flat and cut stars and trees with cookie cutters. Bake them on a baking sheet in a muffin tin "oven" and serve to a customer. See our Christmas playdough ideas for more.
Ages: 2 and up
Prep: 5 minutes
Mess: Medium
Supplies: playdough, cookie cutters, a rolling pin, a muffin tin, large felt shapes
Safety: playdough is not food, so stay close, skip sprinkles and beads for decorating and wash hands afterward.
- Put a lid on each batch of dough so it stays soft for tomorrow.
Green Cards: 16 Calm Ideas for the Quiet Hour
Use these before dinner, after a party or when everyone needs to settle. Most can start alone once you hand over the tray.
- Flashlight story in a blanket fort (ages 3+)
- Reusable sticker scene on a lap tray (ages 2+)
- Large-piece Christmas puzzle (ages 2+, with chunky pieces)
- Picture book picnic: read three Christmas books on a blanket (ages 1+)
- Draw what is in Santa's bag (ages 3+)
- Sort big felt shapes into red, green and white (ages 2+)
- Listening game: close your eyes and name five sounds (ages 3+)
- Color a free Christmas page (ages 3+, see our free Christmas printables)
- Window watch: count the lights, cars or birds you can see (ages 2+)
- Tissue paper "stained glass" taped to a window (ages 3+)
- Bedtime for the reindeer: tuck in the stuffed animals (ages 2+)
- Big-lace lacing cards with Christmas shapes (ages 3+, large pieces only)
- Quiet busy bag from our busy bag ideas (ages 2+)
- Match pairs of old Christmas cards (ages 3+)
- Shadow puppets on the wall with a flashlight (ages 3+)
- Candle breath: hold up one finger as a candle and blow it out slowly (ages 2+)
35Flashlight story in a blanket fort
Drape a bedsheet over two chairs, add pillows and give each child a small flashlight. Read a short winter story inside the fort or let your child tell one and point the light at the pictures.
Ages: 3 and up
Prep: 5 minutes
Mess: Low
Supplies: a bedsheet, two chairs, pillows, flashlights, a picture book
Safety: use a kid-safe flashlight with a secure battery cover, keep lights off faces and keep the sheet away from heaters.
- Hang a sheet "door" so the fort feels like a cave.
36Reusable sticker scene
Draw a simple winter scene on paper, or tape a printed one to a lap tray, and let your child build it with reusable stickers. It is quiet, tidy and easy to carry to the couch.
Ages: 2 and up
Prep: 3 minutes
Mess: Low
Supplies: paper, crayons, reusable sticker sheets, a lap tray
Safety: stickers are for children who no longer mouth them, so stay close, and count the stickers back into the sheet at the end.
- Keep the sheets in a sandwich bag for the car.
37Large-piece Christmas puzzle
Leave a chunky Christmas puzzle on the coffee table and tell your child it is a "family puzzle" that anyone can add to. It makes a calm project that can stay out for days.
Ages: 2 and up (with big pieces)
Prep: 1 minute
Mess: Low
Supplies: a large-piece Christmas puzzle, a tray or board to carry it on
Safety: choose pieces larger than a toilet paper tube hole for children under 3, and check for loose or torn pieces.
- Slide the puzzle on a cookie sheet so it can move out of the way for dinner.
How to Keep the Bored Jar Working All Break
Pull only one card at a time, and let your child say no once per day. If a card flops, drop it back in the jar, because it may work on a different day. For the days you need a plan, see our two-week winter break plan, the rainy day ideas and the Christmas movie night plan.
The card is not the activity. The color is the plan, and the child picks the rest.
Bored jar checklist
Frequently asked questions
What do you put in a bored jar for kids?
Put in folded strips of paper with one activity on each. This jar uses three colors by energy level: red for running and jumping, yellow for crafts and building, and green for quiet play. Add the age to each strip.
How do you make a bored jar?
Cut paper into strips, write one idea on each, fold them and drop them in a jar with a lid. Use 15 strips per color to start. An adult does the cutting and picks the color, and the child pulls the card.
What age is a bored jar for?
Most cards here suit ages 2 to 8. Each card lists its minimum age, so skip the ones with scissors, glue or balloons for younger children. Keep the jar and paper strips out of reach of children under 3.
How many ideas should a bored jar have?
Aim for 30 to 50. This jar has 50, split into 17 red, 17 yellow and 16 green. If a card flops, drop it back in, because it may fit a different day.
Is there a printable version of these cards?
You can copy any card by hand onto paper strips. If you want ready-made cards, the Indoor Day Rescue Kit ($7) has 100 printable boredom cards sorted by energy level.
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