Unfortunately, the chant “rain, rain go away” doesn’t work during the spring season. To get to the warm—sometimes unbearably hot—weather most crave, we must endure the damp air and unfortunate downpour of April and May. Such weather entails an involuntary, unfavorable number of rainchecks and creativity to make those rainy days a little bit better. 

Some enjoy rainy days, while others find them boring and sad. Either way, rainy days shouldn’t be a reason to cut a fun day short. Here are some rainy-day activities that you can do from the comfort of your home:   

1. Host a movie night. 

Movie night might seem like an obvious rainy-day activity—it’s the easiest, requires no effort, and entails relaxation. But try switching things up for a change. Instead of just turning on a movie and snoozing on the couch, try putting some effort into the movie night. Think of it as an at-home movie theater experience. Get some nice snacks, make the room nice and dark, pick a good movie you have been meaning to watch for a while now and enjoy from the comfort of your pajamas and couch (or bed.) 

1. Create your own at-home restaurant menu. 

This activity is perfect for those who enjoy eating out. For a change, you can try making your own menu with all your own favorite foods, and whether you decide to cook the dishes or not is entirely up to you but creating your own restaurant menu warrants fun.  

1. Spa day.  

Spa days are hard to come by for the busy bees, so when nature allows for a day spent indoors, it is best to indulge in some self-care. Take a load off by putting on a face mask, lighting some candles, taking a bath, deep conditioning your hair, etc.  

1. DIY crafts. 

Do you have any empty shoe boxes laying around or empty soup cans in the recycle bin? If you do, you should try crafting something out of these materials. Those shoe boxes could be decorated into a memory box or a mini foosball table, and those cans could be painted into pencil cups or votive candle holders. On a rainy day, anything can be upcycled into anything with a little bit of DIY creativity.  

1. Indoor treasure hunt.  

Planning and solving treasure hunts can take up a good portion of the day and can distract you from the monsoon that is occurring outside of your windows. Treasure hunts are fun and easy to prepare; not much is needed, just some index cards, a pen, some tape and a prize at the end of it all. If you are indoors with a group of people, a treasure hunt might just be the perfect rainy-day activity for a good time.  

1. Make some baked goods. 

Nothing says “rainy day” like some baked goods and sweet tooth indulgences. If you can’t go out to buy that pack of chocolate chip cookies, try baking them yourself. Challenge yourself to start a new hobby and enjoy the fruit that hobby bears, which is a sweet treat in this case.   

1. Read a book. 

Sometimes it only feels right to read a book when it’s raining outside. Many people say they don’t read simply because they don’t have the attention span or the time to do so. But rain sounds can serve as white noise and help people who have a hard time focusing actually concentrate. Also, if you are reading this article, chances are you have time to read a book.  

1. Enjoy the downtime.  

Not so much an activity, enjoying the downtime that comes with spring showers is the best rainy-day activity anyone could do. It isn’t often that college students or those working nine-to-fives get a chance to just sit back and let the world pass by, and rainy days are the perfect time to do so. Enjoy the downtime before you have to be out and about again.