Need some inspiration over the school holidays? We have come up with our top five activities you can enjoy with your kids from the comfort of your own home.
The main idea is to keep it simple. Quality time as a family can be felt when everyone is spending time together, feels connected and included.
Get cooking
Cooking with kids is something we can easily skip doing when we feel busy and we make getting dinner on the table as quick and easy as possible. But these holidays, slow it down and take the time to show your kids how to make simple, tasty meals.
Turn the TV off and put on their favourite music. Then get them involved with washing the veggies, peeling the potatoes, mixing and pouring – there’s no task too small. You don’t need to be a master chef, keep it simple and encourage them to get involved. Food has a wonderful ability to connect us and help our kids develop a great life skill.
Make decluttering your friend
There’s no better time to get your kids involved with the normally avoidable task of decluttering. To help your kids maintain focus on the task, make it as simple as possible. Start by getting three boxes or laundry baskets and label them ‘Keep’, ‘Bin’ and ‘Charity’.
Pick a room and start sorting together. Explain to them in a language they understand that when they give certain things away, it can help make another little boy or girl happy. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, pick a room or area every few days and you will slowly feel more organised.
Get crafty
There are so many things you can do with your kids at home to get crafty. It does not have to be picture worthy or anything extravagant. Jump onto free apps such as Pinterest if you are stuck for ideas and get some inspiration.
Crafts such as creating paper mache bowls, painting your hands and feet then pressing them onto paper to make cute cards, or drawing pictures onto the concrete with chalk are all relatively simple to do. Even sitting down and drawing together for as little as 10 minutes can help encourage your children to focus and explore their creative side.
We often have 1000’s of digital memories stored on our phones, iPads and computers. Now is the time to get some of these great pictures printed and delivered from the comfort of your own home.
Snapfish have a great app that allows you to easily upload your photos for as little as 15c each and have them delivered to your door. Alternatively, print your photos off at home. Sitting down with your kids and selecting your favourite photos together, cutting and sticking them on each page with a little caption is not only a fun thing to do together, but can also make great gifts for our loved ones.
Get snapping
When is the last time you got dressed up as a family and took some photos? To be fair, there are a lot of kids who would not think this was enjoyable BUT you can make it fun.
Let them pull a face, bring their toys or dress up as their favourite character to make it a memorable activity. Set your phone on timer and all get in photos together.
Written by Mates4Mates Liaison Officer, Holly Higgins.
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