Looking for suggestions of activities

[Chlandy]

Sorry this is the wrong category but couldn't find an appropriate one!

I'm a SAHM to my son who has just turned 1, as of tomorrow I'm starting to have my little sister who is 3 twice a week... just looking for cheap/free suggestions of activities and things to do with them both! I've got lots of craft activities for the run up to Xmas and thought of local parks and play gyms etc but after that I'm stuck!

Any suggestions welcome!

Thank you x

Have you had a look to see if there are any free activities on at your library (if you still have one!). A pool near to us has parent and toddler sessions that are manageable with 2. How about playgroups? Feeding the ducks is always a good way to fill in some time around here 🙂

And we a,ways went to the library at least once a week to choose new books.

Do you have any nearby attractions that sell annual passes? We have membership to our local zoo and although an expensive initial outlay, it's excellent value for money. I have a 1yo and 3yo and we go most weeks, more in the summer. There is so much to do that it never gets dull for them and isn't too bad for me either. We went for a couple of hours today and only saw a mara and an owl, spent the rest of our visit in the softplay!
Other things I do with them are playgroups, play doh, colouring, going for walks/country parks, picnics if not too freezing, swimming lessons (centre with a creche. One in whilst the other swims, then swap), Ikea (try out all the sofas, open all the drawers, finish with a cheap meal in the cafe), parks, play dates, play gym at local gymnastics club, reading books, and things like Forest school at our children's centres. We covered the kitchen in train tracks yesterday and spent quite a bit of time pushing the trains around it. I do baking with the older one, and sometimes we make dinner together if pizza etc. I also let the 3yo choose a film which we all watch a couple of times a week if we've had a tiring day or a bad night.
I'm looking forward to life in another 6m time (when 1yo turns 2) as hopefully their interests and abilities will be more closely matched and we'll have more choice of what to do together.

I hadn't thought of the library I'll have a look at that thank you! My sister can't go swimming sadly, she has severe eczema so her parents only like her to go in summer when it's not as bad. We don't have any local attractions either I'm in Leeds. We do have a German market now which id like to take them to and I'm sorry if this is the dumbest question on earth, but there is a carousel there and wondering if I could take them on it? Would the 3 yo need me to hold her on the horse still like my 1yo would as if so, I wouldn't be able to take them as couldn't manage both on my own... or could I put my 1yo on my back in his carrier and ride same horse as 3 yo? Not sure how it works! I'm a FTM if people can't tell 🙈 thank you x.

Is this near to you *Chlandy?

I’d post in MN local as well to see if you can get recommendations of things to do which are local to you 🙂

My 3yo was allowed to ride a carousel horse this summer but only with someone on the horse with her. The 1yo wasn't allowed on a horse even with a parent, and I wouldn't want her in a carrier on my back whether allowed or not TBH. How about one of the carriages on the carousel? That way you can all sit together and it would only be the 1yo that you'd need to keep hold of.

I'm sure there must be some attractions somewhere nearby? In addition to the zoo, there are 2 open farms (with softpay), a safari park, a theme park (with attached dinosaur park and indoor splash park), trampoline arena, and several softplays which all offer annual membership within a 30min drive of us. Obviously your area will have a different mix, but there must be something?
If you are in the city are there any museums? They often have activities on for children too.

There will be lots of toddler groups, library story time, toddler gym sessions, toddler music classes, etc near you. Mother and toddler groups are normally only 50p -£1 and you get to chat with other mums while the kids play, them you will find out about other classes etc in the area.