March break comes at kind of a weird time. It's usually too warm for true winter activities but it's not exactly balmy in most parts of the country. And if you're not going away or signing the kids up for camp or other programming, it can be difficult to know how you're going to fill a week of time at home with your brood. Don't worry, we've got you—we've rounded up 50 ideas to help you plan the best spring break itinerary ever.

  1. Make homemade bird feeders for the backyard. Good ol’ pinecones smeared with nut butter and rolled in bird seed will do the trick!
  2. Go geocaching. There are many geocaching apps you can download for free to score some cool finds in your area.
  3. Visit a maple syrup festival.
  4. Start an indoor garden, or start the seeds you’ll transplant outdoors when spring fully arrives.
  5. Plan a picnic. If the weather isn’t great, have a living room picnic.
  6. Volunteer as a family at your local food bank.
  7. Plan a spring cleaning competition. Split the family into teams, assign tasks and make it a race.
  8. Create a neighbourhood car rally (a scavenger hunt in cars!).
  9. Host a board game March Madness-style tournament.
  10. Give your kids a pile of supplies (paper, tape, stickers, etc.) and have them create a large-scale board game, hopscotch or four-square court on the floor.
  11. Hike the local trails (or venture a little further afield to check out a trail you’ve never visited before).
  12. Visit a zoo.
  13. Visit local museums. They often have March break programming, which takes care of the kid entertainment for you.
  14. Take a bus tour of your city.  You will learn loads about your local town.
  15. Have a movie marathon/pyjama day. Let everyone in the family pick a flick.
  16. Go vintage shopping. Give each kid a budget and see what they find.
  17. Organize a neighbourhood spring cleanup in a nearby park.
  18. Have a karaoke night.
  19. Add glowsticks to the bath for a water rave.
  20. Make a TikTok recipe.
  21. Bake a few batches of cookies and deliver them to friends and family.
  22. Google easy kitchen experiments (like these ones!) and play mad scientist for an afternoon.
  23. Have a spa day with face masks, manis and pedis and maybe even a bath bomb-making session.
  24. Create your own masterchef competition. Designate someone in the family to create a mystery box of ingredients for the other family members to use in a snack or meal.
  25. Book a hotel (even if just in your own city or town!) for a close-to-home staycation.
  26. Try your hand at a multistep craft project (papier mâché, anyone?).
  27. Have a tea party. Get kids to write invitations to their favourite dolls and stuffies.
  28. Make oven s’mores.
  29. Do a new puzzle together.
  30. Get pictures printed and make photo albums or scrapbooks.
  31. Pick a series (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Hunger Games, etc) and watch one movie each day.
  32. Do an epic story time with a ton of books. For school-aged kids who can read, take turns being the narrator.
  33. Tie-dye. Need we say more?
  34. Visit the library (get library cards for the littles in your house—they’ll feel so special!).
  35. Visit the bank so your kids can open their first bank accounts.
  36. Make doll clothing or furniture for a dollhouse.
  37. Make a diorama.
  38. Teach kids a handicraft like knitting, crocheting, embroidering, etc. (Don’t worry—there are kits for this!)
  39. Make milkshakes, smoothies or root beer floats.
  40. Make homemade ice cream.
  41. Have a garage sale (weather permitting!).
  42. Go swimming at a municipal pool.
  43. Go to a restaurant you’ve never tried before and order sharing plates of new foods (or not, if the kids aren’t into the unknown!).
  44. Theme the whole week. Make each day a different theme and challenge kids to create costumes to match.
  45. Send snail mail to grandparents or other relatives who would love to receive cards or pictures from your little ones.
  46. Go on a mystery road trip.
  47. Host a very merry unbirthday party a la the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland with decorations and cake.
  48. Paint a room in your house a new, fun colour.
  49. Write the script for a play and perform it for friends and family (parents, you can be the directors…and the costume department…and the concession stand…).
  50. Have family nap time (we all wish, right?).

Originally published in March 2022.