What (at-home) activities can I do with a 19month old and a 4 year old that we will all actually enjoy and not end up in tantrums or tears???

[WaynettaSlob]

It's been a really busy couple of months with work and Christmas entertaining etc, so I have decided to stick my two fingers up at household chores this Saturday and spend the entire day doing nice stuff at home with the DSs.
Now this sounds great in theory, but trying to work out something we can all do together is really tricky. So far I've come up with:

• Dancing and singing (which will keep them amused for oh, about 10 minutes)
• face painting
• finger / hand painting

(I had thought we could play in the garden for a bit but forecast is crap)

And at that point I've run out of ideas. I can happily do baking etc with the 4yo but the 19mo would probably just chuck everything on the floor, and try and eat egg shells etc.
Both the boys love playing with their cars, but whereas the 4yo likes making very neat traffic jams, the 19mo likes to see how many he can stack on top of each other (usually by selecting cars from the aforementioned traffic jam, much to the annoyance of DS1!!!)

So that's my dilemma. Please, please, please, all you imaginative and patient people give me some ideas [pleading emoticon]

TIA.

If it is rainy, put on rain gear, and go outside anyway and splash in puddles - get muddy and exhausted then come inside for hot chocolate and a story all three of you togehter

Thanks Rantmum - good idea (esp the hot chocolate bit)!!

Tents - sling a sheet over the dining table and let them have a picnic in there. Prowl around outside being a lion and giving the occasion growl and they can pretend to be on safari! My two - same ages - love it.

Thanks Scootergrrrl - I could, in theory, put them in the tent, and then sit and read the paper with a cup of tea on the 'outside' and just make occassional animal noises from the comfort of the couch, non? (bad bad mummy Waynetta )

Message withdrawn

playdough?
drawing/stickers?
I think cooking would be a go-er as long as you choose something that's more assembly than cooking iykwim (chocolate crispie cakes for eg!)
Percussion orchestra (all the saucepans & baking trays out with a wooden spoon - sing along with your favourite songs!)

I would suggest that you don't plan in too many things though...

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

animal/doll tea-party
indoor picnic for lunch
washing up bowl full of bubbles on a LARGE towel on bathroom floor

How about the old favourite

"Getting all the duvets and pillows off the beds and roll around on the floor with them, don't do that to your brother, I said DON@T DO THAT BECAUSE IT MIGHT HUR - ohhhh I told^ you, now please calm down!"

playdoh

make a den and then have a picnic lunch underneath it (mini sandwiches, crisps, grapes, carrots, peppers, cubes of cheese etc etc etc)

water play in the bathroom (although I usually lose the will to live and start huffing about mess so maybe not)

stickers - either get some cheapo ones (Asda do sheets for £1) or cut up magazines and use glue. Again, huge mess arrrrghhhhhhh

make big pile of duvets and pillows (my two love throwing them down the stairs ) and set up a mini cinema, make popcorn and watch a favourite DVD

Excellent ideas - thank you.
Cod - swimming is a no-no as am still too post-Christmas fat (although last time I was at the pool there was a woman there who obviously didn't believe it removing or trimming body hair, so she had big tufts under her arms, as well as tufts growing down her legs (from her bikini line, in case you hadn't worked it out ) so maybe she could take attention away from me)
Also 4yo is a very good swimmer, and 19mo just splashes, so couldn't be with both.

Am loving the picnic idea too.....

While I'm not suggesting this as an organised activity, both DD, who's four, and DS, who's 20 months, enjoy flattening Daddy. This involves DH lying on the floor and being jumped on by two children, in a manner akin to the old Saturday lunchtime wrestling on ITV. I hide in the kitchen...
The earlier tent thing is definitely effective if you sit on the sofa eating crisps - get a long stick and poke the tent every so often while growling like a monster.

Message withdrawn

I suppose I could wear my tracksuit...............if I had one!!!!