76 Cozy Things to Do on a Rainy Day

Rainy days soften the edges of the world. They hush the noise and ask you to pause, breathe, and notice what you might normally overlook. Whenever I find myself stuck indoors under a gray sky, I return to this growing list—a collection of small joys, creative sparks, and ways to feel a little more alive, even as the rain falls. Maybe one will meet you where you are.

1. Make a second cup of coffee and sip it slowly by the window.
2. Write a letter—by hand—to someone who crossed your mind.
3. Light a candle that smells like memory (mine is cedar or vanilla).
4. Take a nap with the sound of rain as your lullaby.
5. Start a new book. Let it pull you somewhere else.
6. Sketch without a plan. Doodle like a kid again.
7. Sort old photos and make a tiny album just for yourself.
8. Write a short poem about how the rain feels today.
9. Bake something that makes the house smell like home.
10. Put on a record or playlist that makes your heart slow down.
11. Journal about what the rain reminds you of.
12. Rewatch a comfort movie in pajamas under a blanket.
13. Make soup from scratch and taste it often as it simmers.
14. Try a new tea flavor and sip it without distraction.
15. Light incense or essential oils and let the scent shift the room.
16. Make a collage from magazine clippings or found objects.
17. Press flowers from an old bouquet between pages of a book.
18. Reorganize a drawer. Just one.
19. Write your favorite quotes on sticky notes and hide them around your home.
20. Play an instrument—flawed, out of tune, joyful.
21. Water your plants slowly and tell them something kind.
22. Dance slowly in the living room with socks on.
23. Write a story about the first person you see outside your window.
24. Record a voice memo to your future self.
25. Do a puzzle and let your mind go quiet.
26. Start a gratitude list. Don’t stop at ten.
27. Color in a coloring book or create your own outlines to fill in.
28. Play a board game—even if it’s against yourself.
29. Make homemade granola and snack on it warm from the oven.
30. Do a slow stretch session with no music, just breath and rain.
31. Write a tiny love note and leave it somewhere unexpected.
32. Try a meditation app or guide and sit in stillness for ten minutes.
33. Revisit a childhood snack or cartoon just for the nostalgia.
34. Sew on that button you’ve been meaning to fix for months.
35. Make a mini zine about how the rain makes you feel.
36. Use watercolor paint to capture what the sky looks like right now.
37. Listen to the rain with the lights off and your eyes closed.
38. Sort through your books and pull out five to reread someday soon.
39. Pick a recipe from a cookbook at random and try it.
40. Write a one-sentence story inspired by a sound.
41. Fold origami shapes from scrap paper and string them together.
42. Start a dream journal—even if today’s dream was strange.
43. Record the ambient sounds outside your window.
44. Wrap yourself in a quilt and watch the world blur.
45. Paint your nails a color that matches the sky.
46. Call someone you haven’t spoken to in months.
47. Make a tiny altar of things that comfort you.
48. Write down five things you’re forgiving yourself for.
49. Rearrange your bookshelf by mood or memory.
50. Light a candle in memory of someone and just sit with them for a moment.
51. Go outside with an umbrella and listen to your footsteps.
52. Invent a recipe with only what you have in the pantry.
53. Make shadow puppets on the wall. Yes, seriously.
54. Record a 60-second video journal entry.
55. Write “rain” in five different languages and draw how each one feels.
56. Make a fort from blankets and pretend you’re seven again.
57. Take one item from every room and clean it deeply.
58. Put on red lipstick or your fanciest socks for absolutely no reason.
59. Read a poem out loud like you mean it.
60. Make paper boats and float them in the sink.
61. Write a list of things you loved as a child. Try one today.
62. Handwrite your favorite recipe and pin it somewhere visible.
63. Start a collection of beautiful words in a notebook.
64. Draw a map of a place that doesn’t exist yet.
65. Polish your shoes. Slowly. Like they’re a ritual object.
66. Put together an outfit that tells a story.
67. Light every candle in your home just to see the flicker.
68. Revisit a piece of writing you abandoned. Read it kindly.
69. Make a list of people you’d like to thank, then start.
70. Write a letter to your rainiest self—the one that needs gentleness.
71. Print a photo and tape it on the fridge like it matters.
72. Invent a character who lives in your house but only comes out when it rains.
73. Make a rain-themed playlist and give it a strange name.
74. Sit by the window and narrate the weather like a novel.
75. Let yourself be completely unproductive for an hour. Intentionally.
76. Make something imperfect on purpose—and love it anyway.

Some days, I only do one of these. Other days, I get caught up in three or four. You don’t need a reason to make your rainy day beautiful. You just need the willingness to listen, soften, and say yes to the slower rhythms. I hope one of these becomes a tiny ritual you return to again and again.