definitive guide to surviving the summer hols - add your ideas here

[milknosugar]

right, 5 days a week for 6 weeks (im excluding weekends because the kids are normally home then anyway) - thats only 30 days to find stuff to do.

i need to write a list for myself and i cant find a thread so thought i may as well write it on here and then i can use it, if you are stuck for inspiration just look down the list and find something to do. make a picnic in the evening so you can just grab it and go following day. it might not be original but when they are driving you crazy it can be a lot easier to read a list than think something up yourself. some ideas are only good if you are in north west, but i bet most have equivalents around the country. add your own ideas too please

1 train ride to anywhere

2 park or playground - different one each day, walk there as it takes longer. thats 4 in our local area so 4 days with something to do.

3 beach

4 butterfly house / petting zoo

5 knowsley safari

6 zoo - blackpool (with dinosaurs) or dalton in furness

7 fell foot park, trip on the ferry (about £2 for the short ferry ride)

8 camping

9 cinema

10 house cinema - aka watching a dvd and eating popcorn with curtains shut

11 swimming

12 soft play

13 visit granny

14 museum - town museum, toy musuem, science museum

15 let the kids loose with a baking kit

16 visit farm

17 make bread

18 go through all photos, get some printed, put them in albums, frame some.

19 painting - fingers, stamps, vegetables, feet or even brushes

20 fill the room with balloons

21 salt dough ornaments

22 decorate t shirts, pillow cases etc with fabric paints

23 blackpool tower

24 let the kids plan a picnic - decide on food, go and buy it, let them prepare it then go out and eat it

25 badminton

26 puppet show, let them make puppets out of wooden spoons and let them video it

27 paddling pool & water pistols

28 build a den with chairs and sheets

29 pull all toys out of cupboard. chuck broken ones, kids will enjoy discovering old toys

30 toy shop to spend birthday / xmas money

31 ride on canal bus

32 library

33 maize maze

34 brockhole visitor centre

35 scooter / bike ride

36 fancy dress. make your own costumes.

37 cardboard boxes. get a load from local shop

38 decorate bedroom, either with paint or posters and streamers.

39 splash park

40 decorate biscuits / fairy cakes

41 pick your own fruit

42 cornflour and water space putty.

i just strated this thread abn hour oir so ago!!!!

lol, i couldnt see it. link please!

43 outdoor painting with water

44 chalk on pavement

here

bubbles

didnt think to look in chat, have clicked to watch that thread too, thanks!

45 let your kids set up an email account now and give the address to their mates so they can stay in touch over the hols. also give out house address so they can all send each other postcards from wherever they go

My DH has the summer off with the kids this year, (the first in 9 years that I will be working!), their activities are likely to include,

46. Football (lots of football)

47. Dismantling and re-assembling various engines

48. Nature reserves.

49. Archealogical dig in the garden, searching for old coins that he buried the night before. This game gets more elaborate by the year and now involves a forensics tent, microscopes, metal detector, aprons, gloves, masks and the loss of any remaining summer bedding plants.

50. Cycling in Delamere Forest.

51. Washing the car.

52. Flower arranging.

53. Fishing.

54. Mini golf, free in local park or they can use holes in lawn left over from said archealogical dig.

55. Mothing, this involves staying up late though so I will probably be home for this one.

56. The formation of some sort of rock band.

ooh, my kids would love to be in a rock band, will have to assemble some instruments for them to 'play' and get the camcorder out

relax
let kids lead
let kids do nothing
lgo for walks
relax
don't expect too much

1. work full time so avoid children

what about time to just BE them selves.

we tend to start and end the day with being themselves. when they get bored they fight and at that point we need to do something. dont worry, am not complete control freak, i just prefer my chaos to be ever so slightly organised

I'm going to send my kids round to milknosugar's house. Sounds like fun.

sorry milk, I was just a bit worried.

if i didnt give them time to be themselves when would i mn?????? was a valid point, no offence taken!

58. Edit home video into a clip to their favourite tune (easy with Windows Movie Maker which is free)

59. Go to free London museums (NHM, Science, V&A, Hornimanns)

60. Let kids make all rules for one day. Need a little bravery, and no pride for this one hence recent sideways salsa day.

61. Let them do their own facepaints (then take photos for perusal at 18th birthday [arties as revenge for 60)

62. Make your own pizzas with any toppings, but you must eat your own. They choose ingredints.

63. Roll down a hill.

64. Roll down it again.

science day - do experiments, make a mess

art day - draw round each other then paint in, finger painting, potato prints (ah, no.19 on your list)

nature day - go for a walk, take bird book/butterfly book, identify things, count up how many birds you can see, take a picnic

cinema day at home - they make tickets,set chairs out, you rent a DVD of their choice within limits, get popcorn and ice cream, draw the curtains, do your own adverts in between (for a rainy day/evening)

Send them to a playscheme so you can have a day or two off (money permitting)!

Love the cinema idea. That's really cool

movie maker sounds great, have never heard of that but will get it found asap. ds1 would explode with excitement at science day, have got a pack of mentos and a bottle of diet coke lying around im sure.

remember i bought sticky photo paper and labels from £1 shop, let them edit photos and print them off as stickers

Check out this website for idea on days out

MNS - If you go to the Windows Update page (it'll be on your list of programs on your PC), Movie Maker is free. You can make all sorts of things, and it accepts most formats. It's brilliant.

I print the stickers too.

Science day is a cool idea too. Theres lots of websites for experiements. Discovery Channel Kids is brilliant. I'm dying to do the mentos thing. And apparently if you youtube it you can see people doing that by eating the mentos and then drinking the coke. It's gross...but very funny

Just planned our cinema day, thanks

Thinking of taking my 2 (7 & 13) to the Westminster Lido always wanted to check this out. Just found out there's a Lido in a Pub garden in Loughton - could be even better!!!

www.kingsoakhighbeach.co.uk/about_oak.htm

number 49 sounds AMAZING - can my DS come please?? He can bring his own metal detector...

More than welcome flatmouse. The neighbours have got used to it now and no longer think its a murder investigation.

Actually I am a bit worried that my original post makes us sound like really bossy parents, reality is these are all activites that DH will do wether the kids are there or not!! (with the possible exception of mini golf!). He never really grew up himself, which is what I really love about him.