To ask your best childhood memories?

[Lesserspottedmama]

I feel lately I have just been 'plodding along' as a mum and haven't being doing as much as I could to give my children a really happy childhood. I feel our lives are mundane and drab with too much moaning and saying no from myself. Please inspire me with your lovely childhood memories so I can get some ideas in creating some wonderful memories for my DC

What ages are they?

One of my earliest memories of really playing with my parents was when I was about 4 my dad used to work Saturday mornings and mum would be home with me but we would just have a relaxing morning and not do much until dad was home and we'd do something in the afternoon.

One Sat mum got a few blankets out and we made a small fort in the dining room, put some cushions in it and had our lunch sitting in our fort giggling together. When dad got home he brought his lunch into the fort and joined us!

It was a really simple spur of the moment bit of silliness that I bet neither parent now remembers. It was never repeated. But I remember it, we'd probably done all sorts of things in the months either side which would have been for my benefit. But I remember the morning of relaxed silliness as it's these moments that matter.

Afternoons on the garden / park/ beach playing cricket / football / Frisbee with mum dad brothers and dog.
Saturday morning tv with a pile of toast and a pot of tea.
Picking blackberries with dad then making jam with him & mum.
Going for walks with the dog & dad pointing out the wildlife.
Word games after Sunday dinner& being helpless with laughter.

Favourite memories growing up in the 80s/90s - what felt like endless weeks in rented caravan in Wales, near hilly walks and beach. Was probably only ever two weeks at a time at most. Maybe a week at Easter as well if we were lucky. Also inside pool nearby for rainy days. Saving up 2ps to use in the arcade the day before we went home.

Playing in the garden on sunny days.

Having picnics.

Playing board games with one or both parents.

Going to summer fairs at school, getting involved in treasure hunts etc.

I think DF took us to Alton Towers twice which was a real treat.

Loved Christmas time as went to church school, nativity, singing carols in church by candlelight. Putting the Christmas tree up. The Christmas eve walk with DF.

Watching my older brother play on his Commodore 64 then later his PC.

Going to friends birthday parties at their houses and having birthday parties and party games at home.

Dancing at my grandparents house to their old records. Playing card games with grandparents.

One DB is five years older than me and one five years younger so were not the absolute closest of siblings when we were young but that sort of thing didn't cross my mind as a child.

All my favourite memories all seem really simple!!

Getting woken up on a school day in the summer and being told we were skiving to go to Blackpool for the day. Sitting on the beach eating cheese butties and biscuits brought from home. Walking back to the train station at night eating hot sugared doughnuts. Loved our Blackpool days out.

Coming back from a cousins party with loads of left over food and being allowed a picnic tea in the garden with my sister.

Me, mum, nana, and my brother and sister sat watching Gladiatiors on a Saturday night with a big bar of chocolate my nana had bought us.

Staying at my nanas and being allowed to stay up late eating crumpets and watching silence of the lambs in exchange for a foot rub, then getting into her bed with the electric blanket on.

Going to the big fireworks display school put on every year. They used to sell cups of beer to the adults

They aged 3 and 18 months. We'd like one more at some point. Absolutely loving the memories so far, please keep them coming! It actually makes me feel a bit emotional, perhaps it's just because I'm sleep deprived
Many of them are so simple too, it really doesn't take much to create wonderful memories does it

Absolutely agree with thinking everyone else is always doing fab stuff at the weekend which we cant afford.

But... I loved making blanket dens as a kid. Our parents never minded about the upheaval of the room. We also used to make outlines of boats with playing cards, and populate the interior with the contents of the food cupboard (tins, boxes, not fridge stuffs!) and play at captains.

Oh and another top memory- making a wendy house out of the enormous box the dishwasher came in. We cut out windows and stuck teatowels on for curtains, and even had little picnics in there. Such a shame white goods only come in polystyrene and clingfilm now.

I randomly remembered one earlier today.

My mum made my two brothers (both a lot older than me so we didn't play together much) and myself packed lunches and put them in rucksacks with blankets. We then used rope and went 'mountain climbing' up the stairs. Must of taken us about an hour to get up and then we set up camp in a cave (under a table covered with the blankets) and had our sandwiches.

I remember bugging them to play it again but they must have been in their early teens and just weren't interested.

Riding bikes, taking a bottle of pop and jam sandwich for a 'picnic'.
Playing in garden.
Board games.
Swimming