Here are some easy ideas that will make your holidays with young children fun,
and not break your budget.
Photo by Elina Fairytale from Pexels
We all know that holidays can take on a life of their own if you don't preplan, or prepare (save or budget) for them... here are some fun idea's that will not break the bank, but will still create loads of fun family memories for everyone.
1) Take them out:
Kids love going out with you; they don't have to go anywhere; in particular, it's just the one-on-one or family time together that they desire.
Every community has places where you can have free fun:
* Go to the library
* Go for a walk
* Go to the local park
* Walk the streets and discuss the kinds of houses they like
* Visit family or friends
* Window shop and daydream
* Check out the local pet store and name the animals (make sure they know that you're not
taking a new pet home!)
* Take them to the local skate park
* Take them out of town and go for a walk in the bush
* Explore parts of your district you haven't been to before
* Have a picnic and let them choose the menu
2) Have a 'crazy' day:
– like a crazy hair day or a crazy clothes day. Let them dress up in the weirdest combination of clothing they can find, then invite a couple of friends over on the proviso that they dress up crazy as well! Do their hair; if you have an interested daughter, let her use your make-up (within reason) and do her face up. Go as mad as you're willing to! Trust me; they will love it and remember it for a long time.
Once their friends arrive – IF you're brave enough, let them into the kitchen to bake some muffins or a cake, and then let them decorate these as crazy as they want. Then at the end of the day, when everyone is worn out from being crazy – let them soak in a crazy bath, put some food colouring in – experiment with two colours even, it won't stain their skin, I promise, and some bubble bath, and see how much longer they stay in the bath that night!
3) Have a memory-making day:
Dig down and haul all those old photo albums out: your wedding photos, the kids' baby photos, even those old dreaded ones from your childhood (the kids will love it, I swear) and go through these together, sharing the memories and talking through the highlights. If you have most of your photos online, like we do these days, set them up as a slideshow on your computer and let them watch that.
If they're savvy enough on the computer, let them have a play and set up their own slideshows; they can be on anything, let the kids need to pick a topic and find the related photos (birthdays over the years, pets, growing up, cousins, family holidays etc.), then put them together in some order, and then let them show you their masterpieces!
On that note – why not let them make their own video or movie, as I am sure they will get sick of the photos eventually. Let them loose with the camera, your phone or the tablet (obviously, you will need guidelines around what you are comfortable with), and watch their imaginations run wild. Encourage them to work together, come up with a storyline, and then let them figure it out between them – there will be arguments, no doubt about it, but hopefully, the end product will be worth it!
4) Competitions:
There is nothing like a bit of competition, and there are so many different takes on this.
Figure out what your kids are especially interested in, develop a few competitions related to these throughout the day, and up the stakes with prizes that get them motivated (gold coins seem to work for most young children). If you're stuck on ideas, let me help you with a few:
- Who can tidy their room the quickest
- Who can finish their chores the quickest and tidiest
Okay, so these ideas suit us, but it's worth a shot!
- Who can draw the best picture for Daddy / Mummy / Grandparent etc.
- Who can answer some maths/science questions correctly first
- Who can run around the house 5x the quickest
- Who can be the quietest for the longest!
- Who can finish their meal the fastest
You can go to their school, invite some friends if you want to, and run some physical
competitions – running / biking / skipping / obstacle course / scootering (is that even a word?) / over the playground etc.
Then move on to other things as well – get them to paint a mural together (outside perhaps) that can be put up on a wall in your house somewhere once dry. Bring good old play-dough out (or even dig out the old recipe from the early days and make some fresh stuff), and get them to make more intricate things with this – a cat, a car etc. Play board games together, or card games, teach them some of your favourite games from your childhood (pick-up sticks, knucklebones, hopscotch, elastics, skipping etc.) Do a treasure hunt or a scavenger hunt in your backyard.
5) A few more random things:
- Movie Day, shut the curtains, stay in your pj's, cook popcorn and let everyone pick one movie each. You may not make it through all of them, but it's worth trying!
- Paint your daughter's nails (and let her paint yours if you're brave enough)
- Go swimming; most towns have community pools (it might not be free, but it's still cheap entertainment)
- Go bug collecting together
- Go out at night and try to count the stars
- Set up a car race track, and see which car goes the fastest
- Help them rearrange their bedrooms
- Set up some play dates with friends
- Blow bubbles
- Play war with your son, using water guns
- Let them dictate a day with you, choosing the activities to do together (within reason)
- Roast marshmallows over an open fire
- Do some arts and crafts together
- Clean the car together
- Get them helping in the garden or mowing the lawn
- Have a paper aeroplane competition
- Have a dance party in your lounge (and make sure you join in!)
- Bake together
So there are a few things to get you thinking; hopefully, something sparks your imagination!
Get out there these holidays – go crazy, go wild; make memories and enjoy these holidays with your kids; they're only young for such a brief time.
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