Tag: fun

After school activities

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Build a den

Building a den can be done anywhere! Under the stairs, in the garden, in the woods! Even on rainy days you can build a den out of blankets and pillows at home and on sunny days it’s the perfect outdoor fun.

Pooh sticks

Possibly one of the easiest, cheapest and enduring children’s fun activities you can do with your kids. A relaxing walk on a beautiful evening, and the thrill and excitement of your pooh stick crossing the finishing line first. Remember to take care near fast flowing or deep water!

Hold a Play Park Marathon

There are two ways to do this!

Version one: Simple; use play equipment as a ‘circuit’ and set the timer on your phone to track how speedy, or slowly your little ones can complete the course.

Version two: Harder ; This one is so much fun if you live in a big town or city. How many parks can you visit in one evening? Planning is the key here! Work out a route with your little ones that takes in as many parks as possible before bedtime!

Do a Beach Clean

Do you live near a beach? Why not take a picnic tea to the beach and on your way back take more litter home than you make. Plastic bottles are one of the worst offenders. There are thousands of tonnes of them drifting in the oceans, and washing ashore on our beaches. A black bag full of these little blighters is easy to carry and encourages our little ones the importance of recycling.

Chalk Fun Outdoors

Chalk is great for using to draw on pavements and driveways and easily washes away. From expressing their artistic talents to practising maths sums and playing games, it will keep the kids amused!

Dressing Up Stories

Get the kids using their imaginations and write a story – it could simply be their favourite fairy tale changed! They then have to act out their stories complete with costumes and props. Of course, you’ll need to put your acting skills to the test and join in with them!

Board Games

Ditch electronic games and play with traditional board games. Snakes and Ladders, Guess Who, Monopoly…which games keep your little ones entertained?

Visit a kids indoor play centre

If the kids need to burn off some serious energy before tea and bedtime, indoor soft play centres are a great, safe, fun environment and allow the kids to run riot. Activities can include jumping into ball pits, obstacle courses, slides, and lots of climbing!

 

Amazing adventures FREE from entrance fees

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Mugdock Country Park, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland

One of Scotland’s most popular tourist attractions, Mugdock Country Park is a fantastic place to bring the family. The area is steeped in history, with buildings dating as far back as the 1300’s! Be sure to stop by the visitor centre nestled within the estate, which has plenty of information about the local area and the semi-natural countryside of the park.

The Glasgow Botanical Gardens

The Glasgow Botanical Gardens are beautiful and make a great place to take the family for an autumnal walk. As you walk through the gardens, you’ll marvel at the gorgeous designs and plant collections. The restored Kibble Palace was designed by John Kibble and is a stunning sight. There’s an array of plant collections, and even some tropical ponds.

Royal Armouries Leeds

Bring the kids here for a fun and educational day out! You’ll find over 8,500 objects displayed throughout the 5 galleries of War, Tournament, Oriental, Self Defence and Hunting. Expect to see ancient weapons from many different cultures and learn about how they were used, all set by the canal in Leeds.

Museum Of Science & Industry, Manchester

MOSI is an exciting museum full of interactive displays and an ever changing variety of exhibitions exploring science and industries. You’ll find exhibitions about how tornadoes are made, a 4D cinema, how the human body works, the history of communications in Manchester and more. You’ll also walk through a recreation of a Victorian sewer (smells included), air and space hall, animation exhibition and a hall dedicated to locomotives.

Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford, Shropshire

Visit the Royal Air Force Museum for an action packed day out with over 70 aircraft housed in three wartime hangars! There’s also a National Cold War Museum Exhibition, which is located right next to an active airfield! Throughout the museum the fascinating exhibitions bring to life the history of aviation for all ages and there’s even a Fun ‘n’ Flight hands on kids zone!

BBC Birmingham Public Space

The kids will absolutely love a day here as there’s plenty of exciting children’s activities to get stuck into, including having a go at  presenting Newsround and getting their photo taken with Dr Who’s TARDIS and an old Dalek!  The parents can take a touch-screen-tour of the radio drama studio and look through the windows into radio studios used by the Asian Network and BBC WM.

Berkhamsted Castle, Hertfordshire

Come and explore this motte-and-bailey castle, which was built in the 11th century and was occupied by key figures of the Middle Ages, such as Thomas Becket, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and the Black Prince!

St Fagan’s National History Museum, Cardiff

Voted as one of the top free attractions to visit, this museum is set within beautiful gardens and woodland. Children will learn how Welsh families lived, worked and played through time! They can even take a tractor ride in the grounds!

 

Autumn adventures with kids

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Devil’s Dyke, West Sussex

Five miles north of Brighton, Devil’s Dyke offers stunning views, from a working farm nestled among rolling hills to old chalk pits, and is vibrant and colourful all year round. In autumn the hills are transformed into a breath-taking haze of purple.

Stourhead, Wiltshire

The house has some stunning interiors and interesting history, being one of the first houses built in the fashionable Palladian style. The Walled-Garden is a fabulous place where you and the kids can explore the selection of plants and statues on display. The world famous 18th century landscape garden is truly breathtaking with a beautiful lake at its centre and fascinating temples and grottoes to explore.

Moors Valley Country Park, Ringwood

Located in the New Forest, by Ashley Heath and covering 1000 acres, there is something for everyone at Moors Valley Country Park. You can walk, cycle, go on the authentic narrow-gauge steam train or even “Go Ape” on the fantastic tree top adventure! There is plenty of fun to be had in the children’s play areas and you can relax in the restaurant.

Burley, New Forest

What better way to experience autumn than by exploring this vast forest? It used to be the home of white witch Sybil Leek in the 1950’s… perfect for Halloween visits! There are plenty of walks in Burley, meaning you can take in autumn’s changing leaves, and pay a visit to their tea rooms for any rumbling tums!

Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire

The gardens and estate are world famous at Stourhead. In autumn it’s a great place to see the huge range of colours on the trees and crunch through the mountains of leaves. There’s lots of fun children’s activities that the family can try including Tree Climbing Experiences.

Dinefwr Park, South Wales

Dinefwr’s historic parkland is famed for its abundance of wildlife and stunning valley views, making it a fab place to take in some stunning views during autumn. This is a great location for spotting wildlife, as well as a seventeenth-century mansion and medieval castle. There’s also a kid’s woodland play area where they can let off some steam and the adults can relax (or join in!).

Carding Mall Valley and the Shropshire Hills, Shropshire

This area, which covers around 2000 hectares, is renowned for having outstanding natural beauty and is hugely important for wildlife, as well as landscape, geology and archaeology. Follow the stream up to the dark-blue reservoir, and you will finish at the beautiful Lightspout waterfall.

The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland

Throughout the year these lovely gardens are full of life and colour. There’s also a magical giant treehouse that the kids will love exploring, which is one of the largest in the world! Cross the wobbly rope bridges (suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs) to find a tree tops restaurant.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan; St Austell, Cornwall

The Lost Gardens of Heligan cover over 200 acres. You can walk through the jungle where there are tropical trees, colourful plants and vibrant foliage creating an exotic oasis; it’s hard to believe you’re still in Cornwall!

 

Fun party for a 10-year-old boy

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Boys around the age of 10 are sometimes difficult to entertain because they are no longer “little kids” and they aren’t yet teenagers either. If you want to throw a fun birthday party for a 10-year-old boy, plan some children’s activities that are suitable to this age group. By engaging the kids who come to the party, you will make the experience fun for everyone, including the birthday boy.

Mummy Race

This game works especially well for children’s birthday parties that fall close to Halloween. Divide your partygoers into groups of two to four people. Give each group a few rolls of toilet paper. Instruct the teams to choose one person to be the “mummy.” When you give the signal to begin, the teams race to see which can wrap its mummy from head to toe within a certain time limit. Give the groups three to five minutes to wrap their mummies. When the time is up, let the birthday boy choose which team’s mummy is most thoroughly wrapped.

Gummy Worm Bobbing

This game offers a chilly twist on the traditional bobbing-for-apples activity. Fill a metal tub or similar container with water and ice. Sprinkle in a pack of gummy worms. Have the boys take turns sticking their heads into the icy water to grab a gummy worm with their mouths. Make sure the water isn’t too deep, since the gummy worms will sink to the bottom of the container. You can turn this into a competition by giving each player 30 seconds to see how many worms he can retrieve. The player who gets the most worms wins.

Backwards Relay

This activity gives your partygoers a chance to race each other in a non-typical relay game. Set up two obstacle courses before the game. Draw a starting line on the ground with spray paint. Place cones in a line extending from the starting point, being sure to leave about three feet of space between the cones. Use at least 10 cones for each line.

Divide the kids into two teams. Explain to the teams that each runner must race through the cones, alternating in and out of the cones in a zigzag fashion, until he reaches the last cone. When he circles the last cone, he must go back through the cones in the same manner until he comes back to the starting line. Upon crossing the starting line at the end of the course, he tags the next person in line to go. The catch is that everyone must complete the course by running or walking backward. If a cone is knocked over, the person must start over. The first team who moves all of its players through the course successfully, wins.

 

Winter family fun adventures

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It doesn’t always have to be gloomy in the winter, there are many things that can keep the kids entertained.  Just use a bit of imagination!!!

These fun things to do are for kids and all the family to get involved with!!

Go outdoors and find a frosty spider’s web (then make your own using PVA glue and silver glitter)

Make a puppet theatre using leftover Christmas cardboard.

Create a bird feeder using a pine cone, lard and bird seed then take pictures of the birds as they feed in your garden!

Create your own puzzles. Stick a family photo, or a child drawn picture to card and cut it into shapes

Go bowling, it’s a great indoor activity for the whole family.

Go to a castle and be a knight. Don’t forget to make a shield out of card and foil before you go!

Create a campfire and toast some marshmallows

Collect shells and create fun pictures on the beach, or in the forest with stones and twigs.

Teach your kid to thread or sew, for younger children use cardboard with holes punched in it and string as thread.

Go on a scavenger hunt. Give kids photos of things to find or set up written clues to help older children find items outside.

Visit a pottery café and create your very own masterpiece.

 

Make Shopping a fun experience

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As we’re shopping let your kids help you pick out fruit and veggies in the produce department, enjoying counting the number of apples they add to the bag, the different colours of peppers to choose from, and the funny names of the melons.

Set Expectations

Before going into the store tell your kids exactly what you expect from them.

Expect that they:

  • will stay nearby and not run through the store

  • will try to be aware of other people and not get in their way

  • will not throw a fit if they don’t get something

  • will be helpful and participate in the process.

  • Before we step foot in the store, remind them of my expectations.

Make a List

Go armed in the supermarket with clipboards, paper, and pencils, ready to check off each and everything on your lists.

  • Giving them a fun helpful task keeps them engaged in the shopping experience.

  • Make Kids your Helper

  • Continually engaging the children in the shopping process.

Not only does this keep them from getting bored and restless, it also teaches them how to shop.

If you use these new tools, most of the time you will actually enjoy your shopping trips together as a family.  It’s not always perfect and there will be times when you have a rough day, but that’s life?

But just try and make it fun and entertaining for kids!!!!

 

Family Glamping

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Are you wondering if it’s good idea to take your kids glamping? Glamping is also an eco-friendly option because many of the venues offering this type of break are made with environmentally friendly concerns foremost to the mind. It takes a lot of resources to build and run even a small hotel but nowhere near as much to build a luxury treehouse or to convert and upgrade a caravan.

Glamping is a worldwide trend that allows families to stay somewhere unique. Here in the UK we already have a wide range of exciting glamping spots. One such example is the yurt at Springhill Farm campsite in East Sussex. Complete with a double bed and inflatable furniture, the yurt is built in the style once used by Genghis Khan with a few modern touches and cooking is done in a fire pit outside. The site is near Ashdown Forest, so perfect for a family day out the next morning.

If you loved treehouses as a kid, then staying in one will be a perfect fun for all the family. There are a number of treehouse glamping providers spread around the country and these are treehouses in the lap of luxury.  Enjoy a session in the hot tub before turning in for the night or take the whole family along in a treehouse that can house up to eight people.

Why is it good?

In a study it was shown that kids who spend at least one holiday each year camping outdoors do better in school than those that don’t.

The study involved asking parents across the country a series of question studying the educational, social and psychological benefits of camping to kids of all ages. The study discovered that four out of five parents thought that camping had a positive effect on school education of their children.

Conclusion

So the evidence is clear from the study – camping is good for the whole family and great fun. For people who aren’t so keen on putting up the tent in the middle of a field, there are now plenty of other options that allow all the benefits of camping with a little luxury included as well. And after the holiday is over, the kids will go back to school invigorated and filled with exciting stories to tell their teachers and friends that will continue to benefit them for some time afterwards.

 

October half term ideas

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The school summer holidays have nearly come to an and end and the October half term is nearly upon us.

The October half term is often the last chance that the family get to take a break together in the year before the preparations for Christmas begin and the weather takes a serious decline.  Autumn can be a beautiful time to have a short holiday in the UK and there are plenty of places offering deals for the October half term break as well as special events taking place.

Visiting the countryside

One of the best places to head in autumn is to the forest – with the wealth of colours on show, the forest is a spectacular scene.  Add to that the wildlife can be a little easier to spot after their breeding season is finished while seasonal plants such as mushrooms and berries appear, there is plenty to see.

One of the top places to get close to wildlife is to stay at one of the Centre Parcs resorts around the country.  There are five notable forest locations on offer from the chain – Whinfell Forest, Sherwood Forest, Elveden Forest, Woburn Forest and Longleat Forest.

Whinfell Forest is within the Lake District area and sits on the side of the lake so can offer a range of watersports as well as wildlife spotting opportunities.  The centre is at the heart of a 400-acre woodland site while indoor features include a subtropical swimming pool with a daredevil ride called the Canyon Ride for the bravest.

Sherwood Forest is one of the most well-known forests in the country with its connections to the story of Robin Hood.  The Centre Parcs venue in the forest offers the chance to explore the famous woodland as well as enjoy a number of activities that are best in the woods such as quad biking or owl encounters.

Elveden Forest is a 400-acre site in Suffolk, offering a great range of outdoor activities as well as the calming effect of the forest itself for walks.  There is even a unique experience called cable water skiing to try as well as kayaking, canoeing and even raft building.

Woburn Forest is just over an hour from London and is one of the newest sites, covering some 365 acres of woodland as well as lakes and beautiful views across the countryside.  There are aerial trekking routes, abseiling and climbing opportunities as well as the indoor facilities such as the subtropical swimming pool.

Longleat Forest is close to the famous Longleat Estate and its Safari Park so is a great place to use as a base to visit both. The Wiltshire park allows the chance to see the century old Giant Redwoods as well as tour the forest with the land train or join in water activities on the lake.

Haven are another big name in the holiday business that offer a range of special deals for the October half term. These include special deals for the whole family as well as touring and camping offers that are ideal for those who prefer something a little less formal for their breaks.

Bluestone are also offering a range of competitive deals for the October break that combine the chance to get up close to nature with the indoor facilities and workshops such as the climbing wall and the swimming pool. Close by is an impressive children’s outdoor activity centre with a challenging zip wire course some 60 feet in the air as well as tree top walks and the chance to watch the sun go down from a campfire among the trees.

 

Get crafty this Halloween

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Lots of kids either have a craft side or simply enjoy making something, regardless of the end result and Halloween is a perfect time to go this.  There are hundreds of different children’s craft ideas around the theme ranging from simple pot decoration to more complex children’s activities.

For the little ones, painting a pot is a good idea. Cover a pot in some white paper the day before, stick it down and leave it to set for a blank canvas.  Then the kids can paint it orange, cut out some black eyes, nose and mouth and add a stalk and leaf in glittery paper to make a cup pumpkin lantern. Or paint it luminous green, draw on some face features as well as a big black gash with stitches then paint the rim black. Add a couple of metallic T-shapes on either side and you have a Frankenstein pot!  Once decorated, they can fill them with sweets to give out on the night to trick or treaters or for a children’s party.

If you’re having a children’s party, a Halloween decoration or ten are compulsory.  For the younger kids, you can start simple.  Buy some wooden blocks, one for each letter of Happy Halloween.  Let them paint them orange or whatever colour they want then write a letter on each in a black marker. Either glue them together to form the word or if you are handy with a drill, drill holes through them and string them onto some thick card.

Another decoration is a nice witches broom to hang above the fireplace but using the real broom can be a bit heavy. Instead, take the inside of a roll of wrapping paper and get the kids to paint it black. Wrap a few sections of yellow around it and you have the stick. For the broom, take a piece of cloth and either stick or stick a load of threads on it then wrap it around the stick and glue it.

Costume Ideas

Going out trick or treating means that a costume is compulsory. Some kids choose to just go with a fun favourite character without regard for the time of year but others want something special to Halloween. You can buy lots of them in the shops but if you want to make something unique and spend time with the kids making it, you can create your own.

The scary spider is a simple option and all that is needed are some plain black clothes to start with. A hoodie, trousers and black shoes are the basis for the outfit. Take two pairs of black tights and stuff them with the content of an old pillow or some bubble wrapping. Stitch them onto the top and tie loops at the end so that kids can move their spider legs with their arms.

Perhaps one of the easiest costume options is the Grim Reaper. A black hooded cloak that goes all the way to the ground is all that is needed along with a white swimming cap to hide their hair. Face paints to make their faces white and add big black eyes and a cardboard scythe finish the outfit.

For the girls, a witch is a good choice. Pick up a witches hat from the shop and decorate as you like. A feathered scarf is a good addition to the outfit and a coordinating top and skirt to match the hat colour is needed. You can cut out paper or cardboard stars and other shapes to stitch onto the clothes for that witch chic. Then some makeup or face paints will finish the look.

Food

With all the elements of Halloween it is easy to find food that can be transformed into something spooky or gory. For instance, Dracula cookies are an easy quick option. Take some chocolate chip cookies and cut them in half. Put some red jam on one side of each then stick some white marshmallow pieces in to resemble teeth.  For the fangs, slide some slivers of almond between the marshmallows – instant vampire cookies.

For cupcake fans, the ideas are endless. Green icing and some witches’ legs sticking out is one design while spider’s webs iced into a flat cake is another great look. Using biscuits to make grave stones and have them sticking out of crumbly chocolate icing works well for spooky cemetery cakes while a simple iced face on a white cake makes for a ghoulishly tasty snack.

If carving a pumpkin is a bit too much for you, why not make oranges into carved lanterns instead? Cut the top off the orange and scoop out the middle then cut out eyes, a nose and a fun funny mouth. You can even add jelly inside them and leave to set before carving the face.

 

Be like a movie star

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This party are for girls (or boys) that would just love to be in the movies, a great children’s party theme…

INVITATIONS:

For the invitation, buy some really good stationery, and cut it into a star shape. Then, punch holes in it about every inch or so and thread gold or silver ribbon through the holes. Then in calligraphy write “you are cordially invited to spend (date) at the Oscars. Please arrive at (address) at approximately (time). To make your final reservation, please reply to the home of (child’s name) at (number).

DECORATIONS:

On the front walkway, lay out some red felt made to look like the red carpet, and put sticks of wood about 1 foot away from each other along the sides, where you can tie gold, silver, and white balloons to. Inside, let some more balloons float.

ACTIVITIES:

The main activity of the party is to ‘make the movie’, but before that, get all the actresses ‘ready’ by sending them to the ‘spa’. You could have a different room in the house for different spa treats to do, one could be in the birthday girl’s bedroom and the spare room, could be home too the nail and hair salon.

Your Birthday girl’s bedroom could be a dressing room, where there could be all kinds of dress up clothes that the girls could choose from. After all the girls finished at the spa, make the movie. Before the party, write a simple script based on a movie, “the Princess Diaries”, where a normal teenage girl finds out she is a princess. Hand out these  scripts, and each girl will be giving a part and five minutes to look it over quickly. Then you can film it. Afterwards, show it to the girls on video and they will be really proud of their acting skills.

Then, you can hand out the Oscars. Cut trophies out beforehand of cardboard and paint them with each girl’s name on it. For the ceremony, you can have categories (depending on how many guests there are). Some of the categories were best script remembered, funniest costume, etc. Call each girl up individually to receive her award. Then nobody gets left out.

FOOD:

Have table settings that make it look like a posh restaurant. For each girl’s plate, a typed name card, a folded cloth napkin with a napkin ring, and real silverware instead of plastic.

PARTY BAGS

When the girls were watching a movie, make  copies of the video you made. Give these out to the guests along with a bottle of nail polish.