After a long school day, most kids want something to do that isn't more screen time — but that also doesn't require much setup. Printing activities at home ticks both boxes. A few sheets of paper and some ink is all it takes to keep them busy, creative, and away from a device for an hour or two.
Here are some of the best things to print for kids after school, whether they're five or fifteen.
Colouring Pages
Printable colouring pages are a classic for good reason. They're calming, creative, and suitable for almost any age — you can find simple outlines for younger children and intricate patterns for older ones. Themes are endless: animals, vehicles, fantasy worlds, seasonal scenes, and much more. Sites like Canon Creative Park and HP Printables offer well-designed free colouring pages that actually look good on the page.
Colour printing brings these pages to life, but black and white works perfectly well too — especially for anything the kids will be colouring in themselves.
Puzzles and Games
Word searches, crosswords, spot-the-difference pages, and simple mazes are quick to print and easy to set up on the kitchen table. They require a bit of thought without feeling like schoolwork, which makes them ideal for winding down after lessons. You can find age-appropriate versions of most puzzle types online for free, and many can be adjusted in difficulty to suit different children.
Printable board games and card games are worth exploring too — there are some surprisingly well-made free versions available that the whole family can enjoy.
Craft Projects
Printable craft templates let kids make something physical — which is often exactly what they need after a day of sitting at a desk. Paper animals, origami guides, pop-up cards, decorations, and simple models are all easy to find as free templates. The only other things you typically need are scissors, glue, and a bit of patience.
Both Canon Creative Park and HP Printables are particularly good for this — between them they offer a huge range of craft templates, from simple paper toys to more ambitious builds. Well worth bookmarking.
Learning Worksheets
Short worksheets for spelling, times tables, handwriting, or reading comprehension can be a gentle way to keep skills ticking over without it feeling like extra homework. The key is keeping it light — one or two pages at most, focused on something the child finds manageable. There are plenty of free curriculum-aligned worksheets online pitched at different year groups.
Story Starters and Writing Prompts
Printable writing prompts are great for children who like stories but aren't sure where to begin. A single sentence or illustration on a page — "You open a door and find a world made entirely of sweets…" — can be enough to get a reluctant writer going. These work well as a quiet activity and can lead to surprisingly imaginative results.
Reward Charts
Star charts and reward trackers are useful at any age for building good habits — whether that's reading before bed, tidying a bedroom, or practising an instrument. Printing a fresh chart each week gives kids something tangible to work towards, and it costs next to nothing. You can find customisable templates online, or keep it simple and make your own in a word processor.
Seasonal and Holiday Printables
Themed printables are a nice way to mark the time of year — Halloween activity sheets, Christmas decorations to cut and fold, Easter cards to colour and send. They give printing a sense of occasion, and they're something children often look forward to. Keeping a small folder of seasonal templates bookmarked means you're always ready when a holiday approaches. Both Canon Creative Park and HP Printables refresh their seasonal content regularly, so it's worth checking back throughout the year.
A Few Practical Tips
If your kids are going to be printing regularly, it's worth keeping a few things in mind. Use draft mode for worksheets and puzzles — it uses noticeably less ink and the quality is more than adequate for anything that's just going to be written on. Save better quality settings for photos, craft templates, and anything that will be displayed or kept.
It also pays to keep an eye on ink levels before a printing session rather than during one. Running out halfway through a craft project is the kind of minor frustration that tends to derail the whole activity. Keeping a spare set of genuine cartridges to hand means you're never caught short — you can browse Canon ink cartridges and HP ink cartridges at Crazy Kangaroo, with free UK delivery on every order.
