After waiting all year for the summer holidays to arrive, it’s unfortunate when the weather forecast looks gloomy. Even though we’ve been having lovely sunny days here recently, it’s almost inevitable that a couple of days will be drizzly during the long summer break. So what can you do with the kids when they’re stuck inside on grey days? I’ve come up with a couple of ideas to keep little ones entertained but that don’t cost a fortune.
Cooking
I love to bake with my niece and nephew and try to do it as often as I can. It’s so lovely to watch them get stuck into stirring up a recipe and see the concentration on their faces as they follow the recipe instructions. Add the ingredients to your weekly shopping in the run up to the summer holidays and you could have everything you need in the cupboard, ready for a rainy day. You can mix up a simple can’t-go-wrong recipe for milk loaf with the kids in the morning, and they can turn it into sandwiches by lunchtime. Baking scones or cornflake cakes during the afternoon guarantees a calm tea-time as they sit down to enjoy the treats they made.
Build a den
Remember how much fun it was to build a den when you were little? It costs nothing to make – you just need some sheets, pegs and bits of furniture. Use a drying rack to prop up blankets as a roof, and throw duvets and cushions on the floor for comfort. And when your den is complete, take some snacks and treats (perhaps something they’ve baked themselves) inside it to enjoy an indoor picnic, or get out the colouring books.
Scrapbooking
As you go on day trips throughout the school break, be sure to get the kids to collect up postcards, brochures, maps and leaves from all the places they’ve visited. When they’re stuck indoors on a drizzly day, they can get stuck into (literally!) their summer holiday scrap book. If you print photos as you go along these can be included too. The scrapbook itself could be an exercise book or sugar-paper book from the pound shop and printing photos don’t have to cost too much either. There are plenty of £1 for 100 6×4 prints offers online (send photos to print as soon as you take them to make sure you’ve got them delivered in time for that rainy day), or just take your memory card into the supermarket photo processing lab and pay-per-print for instant photos. Just make sure you cover the table with newspaper before you get let the kids loose with the glue!
Boardgames
Rediscover your old favourites and get the next generation interested in playing board games too. All you need for this rainy day activity is a collection of retro board games. Pick them up throughout the year at carboot sales or from charity shops for only a few pounds. These games can provide hours of entertainment (remember how long Monopoly can go on for?!) and it’s much better for kids to play together as a family rather than independently on iPads, phones or laptops. Old board games can be education too, so your kids will be learning without realising it. Boggle helps with spelling and adding up the scores on your WOT cards helps with maths.
I hope some of these ideas will help to entertain your little ones on drizzly days during the school holidays and stop them from uttering that dreaded phrase ‘I’m bored”. Let me know if you have any other low-cost activity suggestions, I’m sure we could all use some more ideas for the holidays! Leave a comment below with your tips.
