Rainy day activities for kids: colouring pages and letter writing

There's a particular kind of afternoon — grey sky outside, everything done, screen time running short — that calls for something a bit more hands-on. Colouring and letter writing are two of the most underrated activities in this situation: they're free (or nearly so), require minimal setup, and tend to produce something a child is quietly proud of by the end.

Here's how to make the most of both.

🎨 Colouring pages

Cre8tive Hands offers a growing selection of free printable colouring pages in the same artistic style as our greeting cards — hand-drawn designs featuring animals, seasonal scenes, and patterns that work for different ages and abilities.

Setting it up without fuss

The beauty of colouring is that setup takes about ninety seconds. Print a page or two (or let older children choose their own from the screen), put out whatever colouring materials you have — pencils, felt tips, even biro works — and you're done. No instructions needed.

Ways to extend the activity

• Colour together. Adults colouring alongside children often produces a much calmer, more focused atmosphere than children colouring alone while an adult watches.
• Give it a purpose. "You could colour this and we'll send it to Grandma" instantly transforms a colouring page from a time-filler into a project with meaning.
• Make a series. Print two or three pages and suggest the child creates a "colouring book" — pages stapled together with a hand-drawn cover.
• Use it as a Christmas countdown activity. Print an Advent-themed page each day or each week through December.
• Frame it. A finished page, mounted in a £1 clip frame, makes a genuinely lovely piece of children's art for a bedroom wall.

✉️ Letter writing

Children writing letters to people they love is one of those activities that seems slightly old-fashioned until you see a grandparent's face when they receive one. Letters from grandchildren are almost universally kept for years.

Who to write to

The most natural starting point is grandparents or great-grandparents, especially those who live far away or who don't use technology much. But also consider: an older sibling at university, a cousin in another city, a former teacher, a friend who moved away, or even a pen pal through a school scheme.

What to write (when kids say "I don't know what to say")

Offer a simple framework rather than "just write what you want to say". That's too open-ended for most children. Try this:

1. Start with a greeting ("Dear Grandma,").
2. Say one thing that happened recently — at school, at home, a trip out, something funny.
3. Ask them one question — about their garden, their favourite TV programme, what the weather's like there.
4. Add a drawing — even a quick scribble of their cat or favourite animal.
5. Sign off. ("Lots of love, [name]" — encourage them to choose their own sign-off, it's a small thing they find satisfying.)

Using printable writing paper

Plain A4 is fine, but children often write more willingly (and more neatly) when the paper feels special. Cre8tive Hands has free printable writing paper in several seasonal and themed designs — the same hand-drawn style as the cards. Print a sheet, fold it, tuck it in an envelope with any drawings or photos, and post it for the price of a stamp.

The envelope is part of the fun

Let children decorate the envelope too — stickers, drawings around the edges, a wax seal if you have one. It signals to the recipient before they've even opened it: someone put care into this.

Combining both activities

The natural pairing is to colour a picture and include it with a letter. A handwritten note accompanied by a drawing is, frankly, one of the loveliest things an adult can receive from a child. It requires about half an hour, no special equipment, and the cost of a stamp — and it will almost certainly end up on a fridge or a mantlepiece for months.

On a rainy afternoon, that's a pretty good return.