Are your little ones (or slightly bigger ones) off school and you’re already uncertain of how to keep them entertained? Well, we’ve got you covered! We’ve created a list of 12 activities that you can do at home with little to no pennies, with each activity able to take as little or as much time as you like. We’ve grouped these to organise, however, you know your child best, and can decide whether you think an activity would be a good fit, or whether it could be unsafe.
Please, let us know how you get on, and if you’re comfortable, send us pictures or a review for us to pop on our socials!
Have fun!
For small children:
Host a Teddy Bears Picnic
Select a few (or a lot) of your little persons teddy bears and some finger food; set up a picnic either in the front room, garden, or in a near-by park. Create party-hats by rolling paper cones, decorating, and attaching some string to tie around the ‘head’ of each guest. Involve your little person to decorate the hats and paper placemats, which will provide another fun activity in itself. Do you have friends with little ones also? Why not ask them to join!
Creating Christmas Cards
Yes, it’s early, but why not when you’ve got the time! Write a list of everyone that needs a Christmas card, and put your little helper(s) to work! Why not create stamps by carving Christmas shapes (tree, bauble, present, star) into vegetables such as potatoes; you could even get a roll of plain paper from The Works and have your very own personalised wrapping paper!
Great Gifting
Sticking with the holiday theme, why not get even more ahead, and start on a couple of Christmas presents, or even Birthday gifts. Using clay or salt-dough (simple recipes can be found online), you can create anything, from a hanging ornament to a pencil holder. This, finished with either a hand-print or paint squiggle from your little person, will provide the perfect gift for any occasion.
Workin’ at the Car Wash
Little people love being involved with things that us bigger people would rather avoid! Give your little person a little water in a bucket, a sponge, and anything plastic that you need ‘cleaned’. Maybe even the kitchen cupboards (with supervision, of course)! You could even incorporate some of their toys, make them ‘muddy’, and have your little person clean them up. Why not take it a step further, and create a sign out of cardboard, tokens, and an apron out of an old t-shirt.
For slightly older children:
Project Coordinator
Encourage the development of a project; help your slightly bigger person devise either a story or a newspaper on a subject of their choice. You could host weekly ‘meetings’ to check the progress, and take them out to speak to members of the family for inspiration, or to be interviewed.
Family Fun Facilitator
Give your slightly bigger person a budget (which could be for as little as £1) and ask them to plan a day of fun for you and/or the family. Have them incorporate food (which can be made at home for free-ish) and various activities. It should keep them busy for a little while whilst planning, and then for the day when hosting!
Community Cheerleader
Is your slightly bigger one a bit of an artist? Have you considered drawing or writing a letter for your local care home? We’d advise you check first, but we can’t see it being a problem! If you’re sociable, you may even wish to visit and speak to some of the residents! We’ve done something similar, and were met with open arms.
Story Stones
Bonus, this is actually two separate activities! One, rock collecting, and the second, stone painting. Take your slightly bigger person to the beach (or park), and collect medium sized stones. Take them away, wash, and decorate with any image of your choice. To ensure the image stays, why not buy modge-podge from The Works for a couple of £ which will seal the stones nicely. Once dry and ready to go, take turns using the stones to tell a story. This can be done by either putting them down randomly and letting inspiration strike, or, gathering them up and carefully selecting your next stone when working through your story. If you come up with a particularly funny or moving story, why not write it down, and add to it (or create a few short stories) over the coming weeks.
For teenagers:
Come Dine With Us
Host a ‘Come Dine with Me’ evening; create invitations (which can be made for free on Canva) and take turns hosting a night of food and games for the family. Why not make it even funnier by recording each person speaking to the ‘camera’ and watching it back afterwards.
House Manager
Provide your teen a budget, and ask them to do the family shop (with supervision). Encourage them to create a food-plan, and incorporate the likes and dislikes of other family members. It may even help them understand that sadly the money trees we all planted are still yet to bloom.
Carboot King or Queen
Does your teen have more stuff then they do space? Why not do a car-boot sale! Although the prep can take some time, you can earn good money at a car-boot sale, and get rid of some of the clutter too. You could also have your teen create some simple price tags to really draw people in.
Be a Good ‘Sport’
Do you have younger children or children within the wider family? Why not set up a sports day! ‘Hire’ your teenager to come up with each game, ask them to create medals, and watch and support as they facilitate the whole thing. Not only will they have fun themselves, this will promote leadership, and give your little ones something fun to reflect on when they return to school.