November Kids Activities: Great Indoor Activities for November Days?
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November has a reputation as the hardest month, and honestly, I understand why. Halloween is over, Christmas feels too far away to get excited about yet, and the days are short, dark, and often relentlessly wet. But I’ve been thinking about November differently lately, and I think it’s actually a month worth embracing rather than just enduring. The cosiness is real, Bonfire Night is brilliant, and the long dark evenings are genuinely good for creative activities that get overlooked in busier months. Here’s how I’m approaching November with kids this year.
Reframing November – It’s Better Than You Think
The key to enjoying November with kids is adjusting your expectations and leaning into what the month actually offers rather than wishing it were different. November is not an outdoor month, at least not primarily. It’s not a month of big events and excitement. What it is, genuinely and reliably, is a cosy, creative, indoors kind of month.
Children who are allowed to slow down in November, to make things, read, play imaginatively, and spend long evenings doing unhurried activities often thrive in a way the busier months don’t allow. The pressure to be constantly active and stimulated drops away, and something quieter and more creative can take its place.
November is also the month when family routines feel most established after the September return to school. The newness has worn off, homework patterns are set, and there’s a settled quality to the weeks that actually makes planning activities easier, not harder.
The Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley has an interesting piece on the importance of awe and wonder for children that’s very relevant to a month where slowing down and noticing things becomes more possible.
Bonfire Night – The November Highlight
Bonfire Night on the 5th of November is the undisputed highlight of the month for most UK families, and it deserves to be celebrated properly. If you planned ahead in October as we suggested in the last post, the actual night should feel enjoyable rather than stressful.
Attending a community fireworks display is almost always better than doing fireworks at home. Professional displays are more spectacular, safer, and often more sociable. Finding your local display and getting there early for a good spot is worth the effort.
The build-up to Bonfire Night is as enjoyable as the night itself for many children. Making toffee apples together in the days before is a brilliant November activity. The process of dipping apples into toffee feels magical, and the results are delicious. BBC Good Food’s toffee apple recipe is reliable and straightforward.
Sparkler safety is worth discussing with children before Bonfire Night, particularly for younger ones who may be encountering sparklers for the first time. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has clear guidance on firework and sparkler safety that’s worth reading as a family beforehand.
Bonfire Night food is a lovely excuse for November cooking. Jacket potatoes in the bonfire embers, hot dogs, warming soups, and parkin, the traditional northern English gingerbread cake, are all wonderful November food activities to do with children.
Getting Outside in November – Yes, Really
I know November outdoor activities sound unappealing, but I want to make the case for them because children who get outside regularly in November are almost always in better moods and better shape than those who don’t.
The key is dressing for it and committing to it rather than treating it as something to be endured. Waterproof coats, warm layers, and wellies transform November outdoors from miserable to genuinely enjoyable. A wet woodland walk in November has its own particular beauty that’s worth experiencing.
Muddy walks are one of November’s great offerings for children. Jumping in puddles, splashing through mud, and generally making a mess in ways that are fully permitted and expected is enormously liberating for children. The mess washes off, and the mood improvement is real and lasting.
November is also a brilliant month for feeding garden birds. As natural food sources dwindle, birds become increasingly reliant on supplementary feeding. Making a simple bird feeder from a pinecone rolled in fat and seeds, or a bird cake pressed into half a coconut shell, is a wonderful November nature activity. Setting it up in the garden and watching the birds come is rewarding for children of all ages.
The RSPB’s garden birds guide is excellent for helping children identify the birds visiting your garden. For US readers, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has an equally brilliant bird identification resource.
Remembrance Day – Marking November 11th With Children
Remembrance Day on the 11th of November is an occasion that many families want to mark meaningfully with their children, but aren’t always sure how to approach it. Getting the level of detail and weight right for different ages takes some thought.
For younger children, the focus on poppies, the idea of people being remembered, and the concept of peace is usually enough. Making paper poppies together is a lovely and very gentle way to mark the occasion. Simple tissue-paper poppies are achievable even for very young children. And connecting the craft to its meaning gives it real significance.
For older children, a more substantive conversation about what Remembrance Day marks, why we observe a two-minute silence, and why it still matters today is both appropriate and valuable. Looking at photographs, reading age-appropriate books about the wars, and watching a short documentary together are all good approaches.
The Imperial War Museum’s learning resources are excellent for UK families wanting age-appropriate material about the World Wars. For US readers, the National World War II Museum has brilliant educational resources for families.
November Crafts and Creative Activities
November is craft season in a way that no other month quite matches. The long evenings. An unwillingness to go outside on dark, wet days. And the absence of the specific themes that dominate October and December means there’s a lovely, open, creative space in November that’s worth filling.
Making seasonal nature crafts using materials collected on autumn walks is a wonderful November activity. Pinecone animals and creatures, leaf-frame pictures, acorn-cap people, and twig sculptures are all achievable with simple craft supplies and materials gathered from the ground outside.
Textile crafts are brilliant for November evenings. Simple weaving using a cardboard loom and wool, basic hand sewing on hessian fabric, and decorating plain fabric bags or cushion covers with fabric paint are all activities that older children, in particular, find absorbing and satisfying.
Model making is another excellent November activity. Building a model from a kit. Creating a diorama of a scene from a favourite book or constructing something from scratch using cardboard, glue, and craft materials keeps children engaged for hours. The results are something to be genuinely proud of.
Meri Cherry is an excellent art and craft resource for children with a huge archive of project ideas that work particularly well for indoor November afternoons.
Books and Stories for November
November is the best reading month of the whole year, and I feel strongly about this. Long evenings, cosy interiors, and a general mood of quiet introspection combine to make November the most naturally reading-friendly month in the calendar.
Establishing or refreshing a family reading routine in November pays dividends that last right through winter. Reading aloud together, even to older children who can read independently, is a shared experience that many families find becomes something they all genuinely look forward to.
November is a good time to find an autumn or winter-themed book series to work through together. Classic options for different ages include The Chronicles of Narnia and Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. Roald Dahl’s novels, and for younger children, the Paddington books or anything by Julia Donaldson. The wintery themes in many of these feel particularly right in November.
The Book Trust’s booklist finder is brilliant for finding the right book for different ages and interests. For US readers, Common Sense Media’s book reviews are well organised and thoughtful in terms of age appropriateness and content.
Visiting the library together on a November Saturday morning. Choosing books freely, and coming home with a stack of reading for the week is a lovely ritual that costs nothing and gives the whole family something to look forward to.
Getting Ready for Christmas – Just the Start of It
I know it’s only November, but the reality of modern family life is that some Christmas preparation genuinely does need to start this month. The question is how to do it in a way that feels enjoyable and anticipatory rather than stressful and premature.
Making Christmas cards by hand in November is a wonderful family activity. Cards made by children are almost always more appreciated than bought ones, and the process of making them, painting, printing, and sticking, is absorbing and seasonal. Starting in November means there’s no rush, and children can make something genuinely beautiful.
Writing letters to Santa or creating Christmas wish lists in mid to late November is something younger children love. And it’s genuinely helpful for family members buying gifts. Making the list itself a creative activity, drawing pictures of wished-for items, decorating the envelope, and choosing the right paper, extends the enjoyment beyond just writing a list.
Planning Christmas baking projects for December and gathering recipes is a lovely, low-key November activity. Looking through recipe books together, deciding what to make, and writing a baking calendar for December gives children something to look forward to without jumping the gun on the actual festive preparations.
The BBC Good Food Christmas baking section is a brilliant starting point for planning the December baking calendar with children.
November Kids Activity Checklist
November rewards a shift in mindset more than anything else. Here’s a framework for getting the most from it.
Attend a community fireworks display for Bonfire Night and make toffee apples beforehand. Get outside at least a few times a week, regardless of the weather, and embrace the mud. Set up a bird feeder and start identifying garden visitors. Mark Remembrance Day on the 11th in an age-appropriate way with a craft or conversation. Lean into craft season with pinecone creatures, weaving, and model making. Establish a family reading routine that can carry through winter. Start making Christmas cards in the second half of November. And resist the urge to wish away November because it genuinely has its own magic if you look for it.
For ongoing activity inspiration, Netmums and Parents.com are both worth checking for November-specific ideas throughout the month.
How do you approach November with your kids? I’d love to know if anyone has a Bonfire Night tradition they love, a November craft they come back to every year, or a book they always read with their children at this time of year. November gets a bad press, but I genuinely think it has something special to offer if you lean into it.
