As we enter the last week of lockdown you may be pulling your hair out trying to think of ways to entertain your children. But don’t fear! We’ve come up with some great ideas to fill the winter days with fun for all the family.
- Bake 🎂 – We are all a fan of the Great British Bake Off so why not pull up some of the recipes from previous shows and challenge your family members to a ‘who can bake the best?’ competition. Split into teams if little ones need a helping hand.
- Build a Fort ⛺️ – It kind of already feels like we are in some sort of Covid apocalypse so how about building a zombie apocalypse fort with your kids. They have to defend the fort with magic wands while you (the zombie) are theatrically attacking.
- Board game bonanza ♟ – Perfect for a rainy day or a family bonding night. A games night can be a huge success no matter the age of the players! Whether it’s Jenga or Monopoly, you’re in for a lot of laughs and an opportunity to take your mind off all things Covid.
- Autumn leaf collage 🍂 – Get yourself out and about and collect the finest collection of leaves that you can as a family. Put newspaper over the living room floor so that your carpet survives the mayhem. Place some sellotaped plain paper on top, as your canvas. You can then create a magnificent lion’s mane with the leaves, or a dragon! Use paint (if you don’t mind getting extra messy) to incorporate your handprints into your artwork. I find this one fun at any age – but maybe that’s just me.
- The floor is lava, ball edition 🏀 – Get outside and take a ball, stand in a circle formation and pass the ball around without letting it touch the floor. Whoever loses has to do 10 press ups. For younger children a balloon can be used. This is a great way to sneak exercise into the day without the kids noticing.
- Obstacle course 🏑 – Whether indoors or out, create your own obstacle course as a team and time each other. Who can jump, spin, crawl and hula hoop the fastest?
- Wilderness walk 🐛 – See who can find the weirdest animal or plant on your walk into the wilderness (any nearby green area). As you go, play a memory game like ‘I’m going to the shop and I’m going to buy some apples, bread, chocolate…’ take it in turns to add an item to the shopping list and see who’s the last to forget the order!
- Consequences story time ✍️ – Have one piece of paper each and write down the first line of your made-up story. Pass it onto the next person so they can see what you’ve written and they can write the second line. The second person then folds over the paper to hide the first line and passes it onto the next person. Keep going until you have passed round all the sheets of paper twice. Unfold your paper and read it out loud. You can end up with some hilarious stories!
- Pamper evening 🧖♀️ – That’s right, dad’s included! Concoct a face mask of your choice (all you need is some avocado, organic yogurt and honey) and stick some cucumbers on your eyes. Heck, why not push the boat out and paint each others’ nails!
- Shrek night 🧟 – Paint each other’s faces green and speak in Scottish accents the entire way through dinner and then watch a Shrek film, or three.
- Christmas decorations ❄️ – Get your creativity flowing and illuminate your interior with Christmas cheer, snowflakes and glitter galore!
- Christmas letters 🎅 – Get your children to write a Christmas letter to a local care home, detailing the best parts of their year. It will teach them a valuable lesson of reaching out to others who may be feeling lonely. Not to mention it will keep them quiet for 10 minutes!
That should keep you and your kids busy for a while! Remember, you are an awesome parent, and you have awesome kids! Don’t beat yourself up if you have let your kids sit in front of the TV or become glued to their phones over the last three weeks. But have a crack at doing something different and hilarious together. After all, laughter is food for the soul.
