How to entertain the kids at home during school holidays without spending a penny
SCHOOL’S out for summer.
And that means six long weeks to keep the kids busy.
Parents spend an average of £635 entertaining their children over the long break, according to a new study.
But be clever with your cash and you can do it for a lot less.
Here are our low-cost ways to have fun at home.
1. MAKE an “I’m bored” jar: Get the kids to fill an old jar with little folded notes that have ideas for things they can do.
Whenever they feel bored, they can pull out one of the notes and do the activity.
2. CAMP in the garden: Set a tent up in the garden and spend the night outside.
Don’t forget to enjoy some stargazing and hot chocolate before snuggling down under the canvas.
3. UP and over: Create an obstacle course around the house and in the garden.
Set a timer on your phone and see who can complete it the fastest.
Get the kids to make medals to award to the winners.
4. FILM night: Turn your front room into a cinema.
Close the curtains, get the kids to make tickets for entry and cook up a batch of popcorn.
Get all the teddies involved as guests, too.
5. HOLD a bake off: Kids love to bake cakes, so use up your store cupboard ingredients with a recipe from recipes.lidl.co.uk.
Alternatively, you could try an all-in-one bake at home set.
6. WASHING-UP can be fun: Set up a car wash or dolly wash production line.
Got any outdoor ride-on toys?
Give the kids a big bowl of soapy water and chamois or cloth and set them to work on their toy cars or dollies.
7. MAKE mud pies: Dress the kids in their oldest clothes and give them plastic cups, bowls and spoons.
Best done just before bath time!
8. GET digging: Encourage little ones to care for nature with their own veg patch.
They’ll love to eat what they have grown too, so it’s an easy way to hit their five-a-day.
No outside space? Place a window box or pop pots on an inside window ledge.
9. INDOOR den: Make a den using your largest sheets, some string and pegs.
10. LIFE-size art: Get a roll of old wallpaper, lie everyone down on it, then draw around them.
It’s a fun thing to do and gives parents a five-minute lie-down.
Need more rest? Try a game of sleeping lions, where the kids — or you — have to lie very still while one player tries to make them move without touching them.
