to ask for advice on 10 days in hotel quarantine with DD 6 & 9!?

[newtoedinburgh]

We are moving back to the UK in a few weeks, we face 10 days in a hotel room with our 2 daughters. We would wait until post pandemic but we can't, our visas are about to expire where we are. Looking for any tips from anyone who has done it already. We will be flying up to Edinburgh but seems we will quarantine first in a Heathrow hotel. 10 days is a fuckin g long time in one room let alone with my 2 children. But there we go. Has anyone seen any blogs or brilliant articles on how other people have coped. I should add my DH is also travelling. We may be the 4 of us in interconnecting rooms, but if there are none available we will be split for the entire stay, I will have DD6 he will have DD10.

Not looking for advice on how to avoid it, just how to 'cope' so to speak
THANKS x

Soap bubbles for the bathroom, post-it notes to stick silly messages for each other, if you’re going to wrap things up anyway use bubble wrap (the one you can actually pop!) and I would pack hand washing powder and some pegs and also my own pillows..

@newtoedinburgh I’m a preschool teacher, I don’t like noise and the children (and parents) seem to absolutely love it! 😂 Also the balloons fly pretty slowly so suitable for even small children.

You can cook couscous using just a kettle (just pour water into a bowl with the couscous in and leave it a bit). Add dried fruit and call it dinner. Not bad. Good backup if reports on the food are to be believed.

Pack of cards ! Small and easy to pack. Learn new games on line and it's educational (at a push)

Also, take laundry detergent! Some hotels are charging three pounds to wash a pair of socks...

You could try stop animation and make films. You can buy little movable figures and download an app that allows you to make films on your phones / iPads. They could probably edit and add music too.

www.amazon.co.uk/Zing-StikBot-Zanimation-Studio-Pets/dp/B01HGTMPHS/ref=asc_df_B01HGTMPHS/?hvlocphy=1006702&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=309757378209&hvpone&hvlocint&th=1&hvpos&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-562266081336&hvrand=735138008818016588

This kind of thing.

Podcasts will help pass the time. There are some which are stories aimed at children. My DD listened to one called 6 minutes when she was 12 but I’m sure there are some aimed at younger kids.

Madfit is a ytube channel with a lot of dance based exercise videos to popular music. All 15 mins or less
A friend who did quarantine said the first thing she did was move the bed so she had a bigger clear space in the room so feel free to rearrange the furniture to suit you
School type projects you could do include looking at the flags of the world, choose your favourite, etc. Also look at the life a child their age would have led 100 years ago.
If your girls have long hair you could try out some new hair styles.
Take lolly pops as treats - they take a long time to eat.

Also dobble and sleeping queens are 2 small board games that are easily packed that your kids would enjoy
I’d also pop in some hot chocolate sachets and marshmallows assuming you will have a kettle

@newtoedinburgh

Yes my DH thought theme days might work well..

If you go with theme days, perhaps choose your themes now and then put together an activity pack for each theme (book/game/stuff printed off net/program or film downloaded that links) and then pick out of the hat each morning, to make it a bit exciting.

I would help your DC write a journal at the end of each day about what they did that day.

Not only will it be good to read back in the future as a memento of this (hopefully) once in a lifetime strange experience, it will take up time at the end of the day and will also make you all think of things to do to fill the journal

@ILoveYou3000’s idea is great. Pre planning theme days will get the kids excited before you go.

You could put each activity pack in an A4 envelope/plastic wallet. Don’t mark them and then it would be a surprise each day

Bit like an advent calendar but instead of counting down to Christmas it’s counting down the days of quarantine