Toddler proof activities hour by hour! Any ideas?

[HelloMama]

I need some toddler proof activities lasting around an hour? I have been working FT for the last 8 months and feel totally de-skilled and am freaking at the prospect of keeping DS (aged 26 months) amused. I don't have many friends here as we are new to the area (and only 1 has a child too) so need to try and think of things he and I can do happily together, particularly during the 'witching hour' of 4-5pm

On my list so far:
Playdough
'Washing up' (he loves splashing about)
Walking to local park (5 mins away)
Pottering in the garden, digging
Hoovering (he genuinely loves helping me out!)
DVD (thomas the tank engine current favourite)

Do you have any tried and tested favourites I can add? Any ideas are welcome!

Swimming
Cooking
Stories
Shopping
Making tent/house with box/blankets

pipe cleaners - ds loves to make these into weird and wonderful objets d'art.

Making your own sandwich - give a plate with butter, grated cheese, bit and bobs, and give 2cm square pieces of bread, to make tiny little sandwiches.

Finding leaves and feathers for sticking on paper - make hats!

well i would set an activity up in a diff room each day so you can do your jobs ie
make a big bubble bath for him to splash in while you clean bathroom
watch dvd while you dust/iron
make beds together
peg washing out/bring it in together
play ourdoor while you weed your garden
get him to play the pans while you make tea

Painting. Obvious, but always a hit.

Also I cut up old magazines (we have a big stack of kids' ones) and give the dds a pritt stick each and some paper or boxes and they get sticking.

And you can't beat a Brio type railway.

Thanks for these great idea!
Brio railway currently also a hit in our house. In fact, we even wake up to 'MUMMY!!! PLAY TRAINS' !

What area are you new to HelloMama?

Devon, JollyRogerMamaG. I grew up here but have lived in London for 6 years and left all my antenatal group friends and best mates behind Spent an ill-fated 6 months in Oxford where i ended up quite depressed because we were so lonely, thus the reason why I am quite scared of being at home on my own with DS again. We moved back home to be closer to family and it is going ok so far, but I am still a bit nervous about it all again, which is silly really....

Devon's lovely. Really nice place for your DS to grow up

Yeah it is and thats why we left London in the first place really. I know we will be really happy here, its just the settling in period thats really scary.

of course it is. We moved to Cumbria from Leeds 2 years ago and didn't know anybody.

buy digestive biscuits and icing pens and decorate the biscuits.

Go online to netmums.co.uk and check out some playgroups in your area.

Thanks collision - netmums is a great link - loads of useful info

netmums is great and saved my life on more than one occasion!!!!

Glad it helped.

bump for the tea time crowd!

there is a v good book called "the Toddler's busy book" by Trish someone. The library may have a copy. Lots of great ideas; often really cheap things. eg making road on the carpet using masking tape; washing the money in mummy's purse; painting stones etc etc. there is also a Preschooler's one. My fave being putting cooked spaghetti in the paddling pool...