Navratri Activities for Kids: Easy Ideas for All 9 Days

Tia says:

Nine nights, nine colours and lots to make and play. Let's pick tonight's idea together!Nine nights, nine colours and lots to make and play. Let's pick tonight's idea together!

• 3 to 45 minutes each
• Things from home
• Whole family
• Free Navratri printables

The easiest Navratri activities for kids are ones you can do at home with what you already have: roll newspaper dandiya sticks, hunt for the colour of the day, draw a chalk dot rangoli, make a foil mirror-work hanging and dance garba in the living room. Navratri 2026 runs from Sunday 11 October to Monday 19 October, and Dussehra follows on Tuesday 20 October.

Below, the ideas are grouped by type: crafts, colour-of-the-day games, music and movement, and quiet activities for winding down. Each one has a short description and a link to the full step-by-step page with photos. A colour hunt takes three minutes; the mirror-work hanging takes about 45, and you can split it over two evenings.

Which Navratri activities for kids work best at home?

The ones with short steps and everyday materials. Old newspaper, kitchen foil, chalk and the toys already on the floor go a long way. Mix one busy idea (a craft or a dance) with one calm idea (a rangoli or a worksheet) each day, and nobody gets overtired before the evening garba.

What Navratri crafts can kids make?

DIY dandiya sticks from newspaper

Roll old newspaper tightly into two thin sticks, wrap them in bright tape and add mirror stickers, ribbons and a small bell. It takes about 15 minutes, and the sticks are light enough for small hands. See the full steps in DIY dandiya sticks for kids.

Everything for the dandiya sticks, laid out on one tray before starting.

Mirror-work wall hanging, no sewing

Mirror work is the shiny embroidery on chaniya cholis and torans. Children make the mirrors from foil-covered card circles, glue wool along pencil lines as the "stitching" and finish with tassels, so there are no needles or glass. Follow the mirror work craft for kids and hang it by the door.

How do you play with the colour of the day?

Each of the nine days has its own colour, from orange on Day 1 to peacock green on Day 9. If you're wondering who picks them, our post on Navratri colours 2026 explains it. For children, the colour is a ready-made game: a new one every morning.

Navratri colour hunt

Set a three-minute timer and hunt round the house for five things in today's colour. Then line them up, name them, count them and sort them from smallest to biggest. The full game is in our Navratri colour hunt for kids.

Two quick colour games

• What's missing? Put six things in today's colour on a tray. Look for 30 seconds, cover the tray with a cloth and take one away. Can your child say what's gone?
• Touch it fast! Call out "Touch something blue!" and everyone races. The last one to touch it calls the next colour.

How can kids enjoy garba and dandiya at home?

Once the dandiya sticks are made, play tap-a-rhythm: you tap a short pattern such as tap-tap-clap, your child copies it, then you swap. Each round adds one more beat, so there's a little more to remember. It's all on the dandiya sticks page.

For garba, clear a space, put on a garba song and move round in a circle together, clapping on the beat. Little ones can simply walk and clap; older children can try clapping with a partner as they pass. It's a good way to practise for a community garba night, and a good way to use up energy before bed.

What are some quiet Navratri activities?

Easy chalk dot rangoli

Every design uses the same three steps: put down the dots, join them, then colour. The dots show where each line goes, so children get a neat result without drawing freehand, and a damp cloth wipes it away. Choose from eight designs in easy rangoli for kids.

Navratri printables

For a calm half hour, print a page from our free Navratri worksheets: colour words and bangle matching, bead patterns, a rangoli colour by number and even a garba pot light experiment with a paper cup and a torch. They're handy for a rainy evening, a long car journey to a garba night or the quiet time after a busy day.

One more craft: bandhani paper, the tie-dye dots of a chaniya choli made with paper towels, a dropper and a few drops of food colouring. For the story behind the dolls on steps, read what is Golu?

Can't decide? Spin for today's idea

What do kids learn from Navratri activities?