I have fallen victim to “Pinterest ideals” on how to entertain my twin toddlers more than once. All the elaborate crafts, sensory boxes, and advanced STEM projects catch my eye, and then, 5 seconds into the activity, my twins lose interest, and I instantly regret my actions and start rethinking all of my life decisions. If you can relate (and I know you can), you are in luck. We have a list of REALISTIC twin toddler activities that are simple to produce and will keep your toddler’s attention for at least 10 minutes at a time!
A toddler’s attention span typically lasts about 3 to 5 minutes per year of age, though it can often feel even shorter. This means there’s a wide window for activities to keep toddlers occupied from morning until nap time or beyond! When it comes to entertaining twin toddlers, I find that simpler activities are often better. Who has the time for elaborate crafts or outings, not to mention the cleanup? (I, for one, have been known to avoid painting like the plague simply because of the cleanup involved.)
Relax, mama. We’ve got a list of activities for your twins that even the most exhausted twin mom can manage. These crafts, games, and other realistic activities for twin toddlers are simple to implement, and no exotic supplies or a party planning committee are needed!
Twin Toddler Activities with Water
Bath Time For Toys
Set up a plastic bin outside, fill it with water, add some dish soap, and let your twins bathe their plastic toys. They can use sponges, cups for pouring, and even toothbrushes to scrub those toys clean. This is a great activity for a nice day outside.
Pom Poms in the Tub
If you’re going to have to do bath time anyway, you might as well take advantage of it. Turn bath time into a fun activity that will keep your twins busy for a little longer while you sit and enjoy a moment of “sitter-vising”. In this realistic twin toddler activity, you only need a bunch of colorful pom poms to drop into the tub and maybe a cup or bucket for scooping up those pom poms. The pom poms dry just fine (I scoop them out with a colander and squeeze out all the extra water). Just be sure to watch younger toddlers extra carefully, who may think the pom poms look delicious.
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Popsicle Bath
Another spin on a bath time activity is the popsicle bath. I credit this brilliance to @busytoddler, and it is as simple as it sounds: let your twins have a popsicle in the bath! It contains the mess, and the toddlers will calmly and happily suck away. Even if they drop the popsicle into the water, it is so diluted that it won’t matter.
Squirt Bottle Races
My family and I set this up during a 4th of July barbeque, and it was a huge hit amongst the kids. You will need 2 long pieces of string, two disposable plastic cups, 2 squirt bottles, 1 plastic straw, a little bit of tape, and twins! Cut the straw in half and tape one half vertically to the side of a cup. Run a string through the straw. Do this with the second cup, too. Secure both ends of each string to trees or anything sturdy you have outside. They should be at about toddler shoulder level and parallel to each other. Now give each twin a squirt bottle filled with water (set to “stream” rather than “mist”) and instruct them to squirt into the cup to make it move along the string. Let the games begin!
Freeze Some Toys in Ice
Pretend that Elsa has come and frozen your twins’ toys in ice! Select some of their plastic toys to put into containers filled with water. Place them in the freezer overnight, and voila, you have a simple and realistic twin toddler activity. This will get their creative juices flowing as they try to figure out how to free their toys from the ice. They can use toy tools to chip away at the ice or spray bottles with warm water. When the fun wears off, or they get frustrated, just put the ice blocks in water and watch it melt.
Twiniversity Tip: When you first take the ice out of the freezer, let it sit until you can remove it from the container. Silicone containers also make it easier to remove.
Realistic twin toddler crafts
Painter’s Tape
There is a WORLD of ideas on the internet for painter’s tape activities. Painter’s tape is great because it’s not super sticky and won’t ruin anything you attach it to. You can make painter’s tape roads on the floor for their toy cars or painter’s tape bridges from one counter to the next in the kitchen and let them balance pom poms, popsicle sticks, or small toys on it. Run tape across a doorway/hallway at different heights and let them try to climb over or under it. You can even get different colors of tape and have your toddlers practice color-sorting their toys according to the colors of the tape. The possibilities are endless, and the cleanup is practically non-existent.
Paper Bag Puppets
I am possibly the least crafty mom in the history of twin moms, and I have even done this craft! Paper bags are already hand puppets, so all you need to do is decorate them. You do not have to use paint if you don’t want to. Instead, you can use stickers, tape, markers, a glue stick, googly eyes, felt, or colored construction paper to create animals, monsters, holiday-themed puppets, or my personal favorite, Baby Yoda. You can also let your toddlers go wild with no plan in mind and see what they come up with (as long as you wield the scissors). Plus, after their puppets are created, they can spend time playing with them and bringing them to life!
Trace Twins on a Large Roll of Paper
Lay a large roll of craft paper or butcher paper out on the floor and trace the outline of each twin. Now, let them decorate themselves! My go-to supplies are dot markers, crayons, stickers, and glue sticks with tissue paper. You can also let them practice tracing their hands and feet for more craft-paper fun.
Paper Plate Shaker
This is an activity that I remember doing as a kid. You only need paper plates, some dried beans, a stapler, and things to decorate the shaker with. Let your twins decorate the paper plates first, then fold them in half and staple them almost all the way closed, leaving an opening to pour the beans into. Once the beans are inside, staple it completely closed. Now put on some Disney Radio and let them shake to their hearts’ content.
Scavenger Hunt
Toddlers love exploring and discovering new things. A scavenger hunt is the perfect twin toddler activity to foster this sense of adventure. This can be done outside during any season or also inside for a rainy-day activity. Make a list of about 10 things you want your toddlers to find. Since most toddlers aren’t readers, you can draw pictures of the items. Or show them examples, or verbally tell them as you go along. There are also templates online with pictures you can print off if the pinecones you draw look more like rocks. Now, walk around and watch them search! I’ve played this with my twins at the park, at a birthday party, during camping trips, and on small hikes. They have loved it every time! If you are playing inside, you can have them search for specific-colored things or toys you hide.
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Bonus Activity: If you have them collect different types of leaves, do some leaf rubbings at home afterward. Place a leaf under a piece of paper, turn a crayon sideways, and rub over the leaf and onto the paper.
Box Activities
If you just received your latest Amazon delivery, don’t throw away the box! Save it and put your children in it. They can color the inside of the box, AND it keeps them contained. You can also tie a string to the box and pull them around for some amusem*nt park-level entertainment (this also works great in a laundry basket).
When they get bored of the activity, don’t throw the box out just yet! Instead, crumple up some newspaper and let your twins practice throwing it into the box like a basketball hoop. Or, turn the box on its side and let them try to kick a ball into it like a soccer goal. Finally, cut a hole in the side of the box, pretend it’s a hungry monster. Let your kids “feed” the monster with things they find that will fit in the hole.
Even though these realistic twin toddler activities are simple, novelty is on your side with toddlers! Sometimes, the simplest of ideas can bring the most entertainment and save you some much-needed sanity in the process. You might even have enough brain power left to figure out how to get your twins to eat something besides mac n’ cheese (and if you do, let me know).
Maddison Ellison is a mom to vibrant and mischievous twin toddler girls. She works as a nurse in the Denver metro area and enjoys getting outside with her twins, husband, and sheepadoodle, Rosie. Maddison is inspired by health, wellness, the magic of everyday life, and of course, coffee.
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