Things to do on a rainy day: a menu for two, by time of day and mood

Start with the weather you actually have

"Rainy" covers a lot of ground. A light drizzle on a Saturday morning is a different day from a storm that keeps everyone indoors, and both are different from the grey, wet week in November when the light never really arrives. Before you pick an activity, name the kind of rain you are dealing with and the kind of energy you both have. A plan that ignores either one usually ends with two people on the sofa, each on a phone.

Ask three quick questions over breakfast:

1. Do we have to leave the house today? If yes, plan around the errands. If not, you have a whole day that belongs to you.
2. How much energy do we have? Be honest. Low-energy days need low-effort plans.
3. Do we want to be together, or do we want some quiet apart? A rainy day does not have to be a date. Sometimes the best plan is two people in the same room doing separate things.

This page is a menu, not a schedule. It is written for people who share a home or see each other often, and it is deliberately wider than dating: projects, rest, learning and small rituals all count. If you want rainy plans that are specifically romantic, our rainy day date ideas cover that side in detail, and date night ideas at home has more evening plans.

Slow mornings: the first two hours

Rain gives you permission to start late. Use the morning to set the tone rather than to catch up on your phone.

• Make a proper breakfast. Pancakes, eggs on toast, a fry-up, porridge with toppings. Cooking something that takes twenty minutes feels luxurious on a day with nowhere to be.
• Read in the same room. Each of you takes a book, a magazine or a long article. Read for an hour, then swap one thing you liked.
• Open the window a little. The sound and smell of rain are free and do more for the mood than most candles.
• Write a list of what you want from the day. One thing each, nothing more. It might be "a nap" or "finish the puzzle" or "pasta for dinner".
• Put on a record or an album from start to finish. An album is shorter than a day and longer than a song. Treat it as the soundtrack to breakfast.
• Do a short stretch or yoga session. Fifteen minutes in the living room, with a video or just your own routine, makes the stillness that follows feel earned.

Things to do indoors together

Games and play

• Board games and card games. Pick one you can finish in an hour. A long game is fine, but a short one leaves room for a rematch.
• A jigsaw puzzle. Clear the table and leave it up all day. People wander over, add a few pieces and wander off. It is a quiet way to spend time near each other.
• Build something. A blanket fort, a card tower, a model, a Lego set. Building gives your hands a job and leaves your mind free to talk.
• Make up a tournament. Three rounds of three different games, a silly trophy, a small forfeit for the loser. Competition on a rainy day goes a long way.
• Charades or drawing games. Paper and a pen are all you need. Bad drawings are half the fun.

Screens, done on purpose

• Pick a film series and watch the whole thing. Choose before you start so that you do not spend an hour scrolling for something to watch.
• Take turns choosing. You choose one, they choose one. The rule is that you cannot comment negatively on the other person's pick until it finishes.
• Watch a documentary about something neither of you knows. Then talk about it over tea.
• Play a video game together. A co-op game or a split-screen racing game can turn a grey afternoon into an event.
• Re-watch something from the start of your relationship. A show you watched in the early weeks has a built-in memory attached.

Making and creating

• Bake something that takes all afternoon. Bread, a layered cake, a batch of biscuits to decorate.
• Paint, draw or colour. You do not need talent. Put on music, give each other a subject and see what comes out.
• Write a story together. One of you writes a sentence, the other adds the next. Stop after twenty minutes and read it aloud.
• Build a playlist for a future trip. Pick songs for a drive you have not taken yet.
• Make a photo book or a digital album. Rain is the right weather for sorting photos you have not looked at in months.

Productive things that do not feel like chores

Some rainy days feel like the right moment to finally do the jobs that have been waiting. The trick is to make them feel like a project instead of a punishment.

• Clear one drawer or one shelf each. Set a thirty-minute timer, put on music and finish. Small areas are satisfying to complete.
• Sort the photo library. Delete duplicates, make an album of the best from the year, and send a few to each other.
• Cook and freeze meals for the week. Make a big pot of soup, a stew or a tray of something. Next Tuesday will be grateful.
• Update your shared plans. Calendar, holiday ideas, birthday list, budget. Do it with a hot drink and call it a meeting with snacks.
• Redecorate a corner. Move the furniture, hang a picture, add a plant or a lamp. A small change can make a room feel new.
• Write the thank-you notes or letters you owe. A rainy afternoon is perfect for the cards you have been meaning to send.

If you tend to argue over chores, make this part of the day short and clearly divided. Agree who does what before you start, and stop when the timer ends.

Learning something on a wet day

A rainy day is a good day to learn, because there is no reason to be outside. Two people learning something at the same level also removes the usual role of expert and beginner.

• Learn ten phrases in a language. Choose somewhere you might travel together. Test each other over dinner.
• Follow a video lesson. Drawing, knitting, guitar chords, basic magic tricks, a dance routine for the kitchen floor.
• Take a recipe from a country you have never cooked. Shop for the ingredients in advance if you can.
• Teach each other something. Each of you prepares a ten-minute mini lesson on something you know well, from how to fold a fitted sheet to how a certain game works.
• Do a quiz at home. Write ten questions each about random topics, or about each other. Our list of questions to ask your partner is a good source.
• Read the same short story or poem. Then discuss what you each noticed.

Rainy days out, if you want to leave the house

Some days the walls close in. When they do, there are places where rain is not a problem.

• Museums and galleries. Choose one floor or one exhibition instead of trying to see everything. Pick a favourite object each and explain why.
• A library or a second-hand bookshop. Pick a book for the other person. Give a one-line reason.
• A cafe with a window seat. Take a notebook, or a pack of cards, and stay for a long time.
• A covered market or an indoor food hall. Eat your way around it, sharing small portions.
• A cinema. See whatever is on, including the film you would never pick.
• A swimming pool, sauna or spa. Warm water on a cold wet day is its own kind of treat.
• Bowling, climbing wall, mini golf or an arcade. Anywhere indoors that gives you something to do with your hands.
• A pottery or craft studio. Many offer one-off sessions. You make something that you can keep.

If you do not mind getting wet, a walk in the rain can be great. Waterproof coats, a flask, and a route that ends somewhere warm are the whole recipe. Our rainy day date ideas page has a section on outdoor plans in wet weather.

Cosy rituals for the afternoon

The middle of a rainy day can sag. These small rituals pull it back up.

• A second round of tea or coffee at four o'clock. Serve it with something on a plate. A fixed time makes it a ritual.
• A bath or a long shower. Warm yourself up properly. If you share a home, swap turns to make the other a drink while they soak.
• A nap with a deadline. Thirty minutes, an alarm set, a blanket. Naps are an underrated rainy-day luxury.
• A foot or shoulder rub swap. Ten minutes each way.
• Light candles at four. The days are short enough in autumn and winter that lamps and candles on early make everything feel warmer.
• Look at old messages. Scroll back to the first week of your chats and read a few out loud.

Rainy day ideas by mood

A sample plan for a free Saturday

1. 09:30 Slow breakfast, one thing you each want from the day.
2. 10:30 Thirty minutes to clear one shelf or drawer each, music on.
3. 11:30 A short walk in coats to the nearest bakery, or a cafe if you want to leave the house.
4. 12:30 Lunch cooked together, something with a few steps.
5. 14:00 Jigsaw or board game. Leave the phones in the other room.
6. 16:00 Tea, cake, candles. Read or nap.
7. 18:00 Start dinner, something from a country you do not often cook.
8. 20:00 A film chosen before the evening started.

Treat the times as a guide. If the jigsaw takes over the afternoon, that is the day working.

Rainy days with other people

Rain does not only happen to couples. If friends or family are around, some of the above still works, with a few changes.

• With another couple. Do a cooking evening, a game night or a film marathon. See double date ideas for more.
• With children. Blanket forts, baking, treasure hunts in the house, a puppet show, a cinema day in the living room with popcorn.
• With a friend. A long cafe afternoon, a shared project, a walk in the rain with a flask.
• Alone. A long bath, a book, a film you wanted to see, a call to someone you have not spoken to for a while. Time alone is a good rainy-day plan too.

Mistakes that spoil rainy days

• Waiting for the rain to stop. If you wait, the day passes. Pick something now.
• Letting the phone run the day. It fills any gap. Put it in a drawer for the first activity and see how you feel.
• Planning too much. Three activities are plenty. Leave room for naps, snacks and the odd long conversation.
• Turning it into a chore day only. A rainy day can be useful, but if all of it goes to jobs, you will feel cheated by the evening. Mix work and play.
• Not agreeing on the plan. Ask what the other person wants. A "yes, anything" is not an answer.
• Staying in the same room all day. Move around. A change of room, light or activity breaks up the grey.

When the rain lasts for days

A long wet spell can drain the mood of a household. Instead of fighting it, plan small things to look forward to. A Friday film with takeaway, a Sunday bake, a midweek game. Go outside every day for at least ten minutes, even in the wet; the light, even grey, helps. Keep a short list on the fridge of rainy-day ideas so you do not have to invent a plan from scratch. If it is dragging you down for weeks, talk to a doctor or someone you trust rather than putting it down to weather alone.

For more ideas for colder months see winter date ideas and the winter bucket list.

Where Buffaly fits

A good rainy day is exactly the kind of time you can log. If you spent an afternoon on a game or a long dinner, you can add it as Have Fun (+40 percentage points) or Date (+80). Buffaly is an iPhone app for couples who are already together. You connect with a 4-character code and share one heart. Compliment, Hug and Kiss each add 15 percentage points, a Conversation adds 25 and a Date adds 80. The heart slowly empties, so it shows when you last made time for each other. It is meant to make small moments easier to remember, and it will not make a relationship good by itself.

What Buffaly is not: it is not a quiz or content app, not a messaging app, and it does not share your location. It is an entertainment tool, not a medical, psychological or counselling service. The download is free. Using Buffaly needs a subscription, and one subscription covers both partners; the price is shown in the App Store in your own currency before you subscribe. It needs an iPhone with iOS 17 or later; there is no Android version yet.

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