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Sleeping late and staying in jamies until lunch time is not all that bad but coming up with new ideas to keep the kids entertained over the holidays can be tough.
Share with us (below or on our Facebook page) your holiday entertainment tips and we will put you into the draw to win a 'Thank God they are back at school Gift Voucher (from us) valued at $50.00, after all we think you deserve a treat for surviving the next two weeks!
What we are looking for:
Cheap or free entertainment,
recipes and crafts,
anything out of the ordinary,
guaranteed fun
Each idea gets an entry - let us know if some one else s tip helps you out.
In the meantime why not treat the kids to some Honey Sticks The beeswax to create Honey Sticks is a natural by-product of honey production. The sustainable process causes minimal impact on the environment and gives the crayons a wonderful scent of honey.
The unique chubby shape of Honey Sticks makes them easier for small hands to hold but much more difficult for small hands to break!
31 comments:
A dancing ring!!
A great one for girls.
Cut some flowers, butterfly, star shapes from strong cardboard and have your little ones colour them in.
Once finished place them out on the floor and put on some music for dancing too.
You can add in some fun ways to dance (tip-toes, twirling) and have them dance around inside the ring for hours!
I enrolled them for some swimming lessons. They enjoy it and at the same time they are making new friends too.
So far we've:
Gone for a walk & a bikeride in the local forest/park.
Gone to the library
Made mudpies
Made rice bubble cake
Make huts/play with their sleeping bags.
Had a McD's icecream (80c ea!)
Gone whitebaiting & a walk along the beach/throwing stones in the ocean.
Gotten the waterslide out & had a go (them, not me!)
Invited friends over
Make creations out of recycling (which is what they're doing right now)
Planted some capsicum/tomato/basil/peas seeds
This arvo we're going to have a picnic on the beach (sushi) in another sneaky way to get the kids to come whitebaiting with us again (boy are they going to be sick of it by the end of Nov!)
I've been doing some more thinking this morning while I study & the kids play (relatively) nicely...
Write letters to grandparents & post them - snail mail.
Post stickers/letters to their same age cousins
Spend pocket money that's been saved up every week since last holidays
Clean out clothing drawers - get out winter stuff & put in summer stuff.
Write shopping list for what clothes you need for this summer so you can keep an eye on the specials
Swap winter duvets for summer.
Go to the local pools or hot pools.
Trip to $2 shop (ours are into GoGo Crazy Bones & Mighty Beans atm, which are loads cheaper there) or for crafty stuff.
Oil all your squeaky doors
Discover new playgrounds - go outside your comfort zone
Go geocaching if you have a GPS. http://www.geocaching.com/about/default.aspx
Plant fruit trees or straw/black/blue berries or grapes before it's too late. yum!
Do some water painting on the concrete.
We always enjoy a walk in the forest where we find a nice spot and have a picnic lunch. A trip to your local museum where you can get in for free or donation. The library to get books and read at the park.
We head to Western springs about 3 times a week. Its free, and there are so many things to do there! Feed ducks, play on the playground, Kick a ball on the field.. the list is endless!
School holiday fun - being that the sun has shown it's face a little - a picnic at a local park, (after a detour to a coffee shop for Mum!) and a play on the playground!
We have been down to visit the riding club too - (though DD is only little) to see all the horses!!
take a group of kids to the park or gardens. set up activities like treasure hunts, confidence course,ball games and the list goes on. there are some really great parks that have free bbq's for use or pack a picnic.
weve been decorating pots (yogurt pottles) then we are going to plant seeds in them, sunflowers pumpkins etc, easy seeds for te kids to handle,
another thing weve been doing is making bread dough by hand waiting for it to rise etc, and making our own bread and pizza's
fulls in time, and makes tea simple for me :O)
Well we had 2 days of fine weather so planted some flowers... and during the bad weather we do loads of baking
Trip to the beach
Picnic in the park
"Sleepover" in the lounge or tent in backyard
Gather flowers, petals, sticks, dried leaves, feathers etc from the park. Cut some paper/card to make into a card. PVA glue your bit and pieces onto the front of the card. Wait until glue completely dries then cover the whole card with some clear book cover wrap. And there you have some gorgeous home made cards!
I have a 4yr old and 2yr old and #3 due next week (yippee!) so we are having a quieter school holidays, lots of playdoh, arts and craft, baking and lots of playdates! Hubby is off next week for the new arrival on Wed (c-section) so will take my daughter iceskating and maybe the zoo before bubs arrives!
Ambury Farm in Mangere, Auckland is also great for the littlies (and free!) and another favourite is going to the lookout point at the airport to watch the planes land and take off (also free and can sit in the car if needed!)
Paper mashay is nice cheap indoor idea. Blow up a balloon, wet newspaper in glue then cover it! Kids get a chance to get messy, without getting too messy hehe and then you can decorate it once its dry!
Going to the gardens and doing cool free stuff like feeding the ducks and playing at the park. Just take a picnic and have a blast!
Going to the gardens and doing cool free stuff like feeding the ducks and playing at the park. Just take a picnic and have a blast!
My little girl loves helping in the garden especially if it means watering the plants so there's mud for mud pies and face paint.
My son is only 3 months old but this is a blog I love reading. She ahs loads of free play ideas on this site. http://www.childhood101.com/
For FREE CHCH indoor fun, we make great use of the Mall's free holiday programs. So far on the list... Pirate & Fairy schools, Creative craft room, Angelina Ballerina Show, Space discovery, facepainting, El Grego... The list goes on. Great if its a rainy day or you just need a break.
Hi! Stopping by from MBC. Great blog.
Have a nice day!
Heres my tips:
:: Sleepovers :: With another close families child (or children), you have their child for two days, then they take your child for two days. The kids have fun, and each family gets a break for 2 whole days!! ::
:: Swimming Pools ::
:: Bike Riding ::
:: Baking/Cooking ::
:: Play Dough ::
:: Park ::
:: Creating a flower or vegetable garden ::
:: Beach ::
:: Zoo, Petting Zoo, Animal Park, Farm ::
:: Movies ::
:: Drive/visit mountain ::
:: Board Games/Card Games ::
:: Library ::
:: Visit family or friends ::
:: Bowling ::
:: Make a Pinecone Birdfeeder ::
:: Get creative and do some Tie Dying ::
:: Make some pipe cleaner art (people) ::
:: Painting/finger painting ::
Ok, thats it for now :)
There are soooo many things and good ideas that have been posted. There are a lot of activities (free or crafts etc) that can be done, I found that the most difficult bit is actually the choosing! What could work is picking a theme - say fish, or under the sea, then do everything related to it. Visit the aquarium or go to the beach, go to the library to look up and borrow books on fish and the ocean, face paint with a fish design, fish fingers for lunch and fish & chips for dinner (or vice versa), watch the Nemo DVD, find some songs about fish and wiggle to the tunes, make some playdough and make some ocean creatures, and go rummage around the bedroom for all ocean creature toys and books you have, decorate the house in blue, find some paper and do origami, etc. And the next day... Monkeys! or flowers! or rainbows!
Pack a picnic and visit parks that you've never been to before - you might discover a new favourite!
make ginger bread men/women! good practice for cheap home made Christmas Pressies...
finger painting (outside!)
Digging in the garden - def planting edibles for later!
& Swanplants - cause they are great later on too!
go puddle jumping (if the weather is still terrible!)
water painting the house!
All sorts of fun things!
lots and lots and lots of baking!
taking the dog for a walk to the park, having a play.
putting music on the ipod and having a dance-off :)
My kids are not at school yet, but here is an activity that I think all ages will enjoy (even I enjoy it as an adult) and it keeps kids occupied for a long time. First, go out and collect leaves, flowers, rocks, sticks or anything else that your kids find attractive. Then arrange it in a collage on a large carton (remember to buy non-toxic glue to stick it).
yesterday we took a bag and went to the local beach.my little one collected shells and drift wood and anything else we could find ( a spade! score!)and once we got home we made his collecion into a hanging mobile for the soon to be new baby. just used thread to thread the shells etc onto the driftwood.hes very proud he made something for his lil bro
For an easy,relaxing and inexpensive day at home i send my children out in the backyard with a container to go around and find objects to bring back and add to a collage. While they are hunting i set up a huge sheet of paper on the deck and bring out glue,crayons,glitter etc. Using whatever they have found (grass,flowers,leaves,acorns,feathers etc) they are free to create their masterpiece.
We've been getting out in the garden - wonderful entertainment as well as helping them appreciate nature! And they learn about good bugs (worms) and bad bugs (grass grubs) - and what to do with them!!
If you're in the deep south a visit to Henry the tuatara is a must and totally free! Plus the museum is free and the kids love getting scared by the seal that pops up :D
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