Low energy activity ideas for two girls aged six and seven

[Aveno432]

I have my friend's two children for a few days this weekend. They are girls aged 6 and 7. They can be pretty exhausting. Any ideas of low energy activities that will keep them entertained with slightly less energy input from an exhausted me? They aren't allowed a lot of screen time so the cinema isn't really an option.
I was going to do some crafting, some baking, maybe some painting but I can't imagine those things will take too long.
I don't mind having them but I'm already knackered before even having them 😴

Just go to a park so they can run around and you can sit and watch? Or put them out in the garden and let them play?

Honestly baking and crafts sounds more tiring than taking them out somewhere 🙈😂

Big box of mixed Lego.

Yeah don’t do stuff like baking or crafts, that’s loads of work and cleaning up for you! Just take them to parks, playgrounds, soft play. Tire them out while you sit around.

Get them some colouring books or sticker books, no complicated crafts they’ll need your help with.

They aren't allowed a lot of screen time so the cinema isn't really an option.

Im assuming youre doing your friend a huge favour. In which case she can cut you some slack! Also cinema doesn't count as screen time in my book.

A few days, plural?! That is a massive massive favour. You've saved her about a grand in babysitting costs so you should feel zero qualms about putting them in front of the TV or iPad for a bit.

Also, what sort of CF expects a friend looking after both her children for multiple days to abide by her zero screentime rules. Massive cheek of it

I thought this

Do you have a big box?
Can you get a big box?
Let them colour and play with the box.

Yeah I don’t think the cinema counts as ‘screen time’ in the same way as mindlessly watching vapid YouTubers does (am aware that there’s some interesting and good stuff on YouTube as well!).

Look for soft play or trampoline parks then you get to sit down whilst they maraud around for a few hours

Steam beads are good, they make things and you iron them so the plastic sticks together, you can get lots on amazon
loom bands plus YouTube tutorials on how to make bracelets
water play outside of hot weather eg water plus giant paint brushes on the walls of your house or freeze two giant blocks of ice with toys in and let them hack them out

id also instil half an hour of rest per day, set by you, with a timer that you set. The rule is nobody speaks to each other for that half hour, everyone sits in a different room doing something quietly

You can buy audiobooks on Amazon or audible, I’d invest in children’s headphones and download to your phone, they can listen whilst colouring eg famous five books are three pounds each and take three hours to listen to

The question is also what sort of entertainment budget OP is being given. Presumably she's not expected to spend her own money to keep both of her friend's kids entertained for days. A cinema trip or trampoline park can easily exceed £100 for two kids & 1 adult, plus food and drink. And that's only a half day's worth of entertainment.

Check if there is anything going on for free locally. Libraries often do holiday events, local museums, markets - browsing and a cake/ice cream,

I definitely would go back to the mum and say that there will be one movie afternoon at least - you do a massive favour, she has to accept that.
Pizza and ice cream.

Be careful with baking as it can be lots of mess and prep for five mins of joy. Eg if making biscuits, prep the dough in advance then they help roll out and cut out, don’t make the dough together. If baking a cake you bake it they just help decoratE, if making pizzas use tortilla wraps as bases with pre grated cheese

Making a tray garden. A tray each. Some potting compost or sand. They pick up leaves, twigs, pebbles etc to make a garden. Tinfoil for a pond. Or same activity but a picture, feathers, petals, etc.

If you want a quiet sit down, play hair dressers and beauty salons. Give them your brushes and some plastic, non cutting scissors. They can do you a hair style. Manicures and pedicures- body lotion and an emery board. My twins would sit for quite a while doing madam’s hair. It was bliss.

Buys copious amounts of hairbobbles and play hairdressers, you sit one does your hair you do one in front of you. Photograph swap and repeat. You could invest in glitter spray or clips

daily treasure hunt around your house, you make a map of your house in advance and photocopy, hide clues all over the place and reward is simple eg and icelolly, you can drag this out for ages eg hide all the cutlery from your cutlery drawer like an Easter egg hunt

Charity shop dressing up, each person can spend up to five pounds

Is there a splash park anywhere near you?
A “different” park? There was one half an hour from us which had a fake beach in the summer and another a similar distance away which had loads of water tunnels and things.
Any farm parks? I never understood the pricing of these as some are £££ and others were only £

There's a small splash park.

Thanks for all the ideas everyone.

Buy a couple of super soakers and let them get on with it.

If you have some toys and craft things and some balls/skipping ropes/ garden games, then could you not try to help them entertain themselves for a bit. If they say they’re bored then ‘oh dear, I’m sure you’ll find some way to entertain yourself’. You don’t need to be a cruise ship entertainment officer. Do you know what they usually do or play with at home?

If you have or could get some wool, plaiting fills up some time after a run around. And any simple crafts with wool, ideas on YouTube. .

The only thing your cf friend should be saying to you is thank you so don’t worry about putting them in front of a film.

Are you local to any nice walks? Could take a picnic and let them run around.

Swimming
Park
Museum , some do free activities or trails.
Get them to bring barbies or lego and play with them.
Drawing and colouring
I would be including screen time.

Outside treasure hunt, you sit nd say get me fifteen blades of grass or first child to get me 27 flower petals wins a sweet. We used to play dogs for ages too, I’d sit and throw a ball, my kids would be a pretend dog and fetch it, sit, roll over etc and grapes were the doggie treats