What do you do with the kids of a weekend?

[xxxJess123xxx]

Hi all just curious as we have got into a bit of a rut.

DD is 7 and DS is 4. Weekends consist of mainly tablet/tv and homework and not much else.

Its too cold to go to the park. DS doesn't walk anywhere and walks end up in a winge fest.

But im feeling guilty that we don't get up to much on the weekends.

Summer is different. Kids play out with the neighbours (supervised of course!) and is generally more productive.

What do you do with your kids at the weekend?

Parks, scooter rides, bike rides, visit to national trust properties (we have an annual pass), visit family or friends/ have people over here, walk and cafe, walk to beach, go to Saturday market in town, occasionally cinema or swimming.
We don’t really stop going outside in winter unless very bad weather, this weekend is lovely - cold but sunny!

Soft play
Museums
Craft classes
Walking
Cinema

Should really add, we don’t really have any spare money for soft play etc

Soft play, swimming, play dates with pals in their or our house, museums, visiting family, football (playing or watching), playing with his toy cars (his favourite), cinema, trampoline park, inflatable park, going out for dinner or lunch (maybe not great with a 4 year old), going for ice cream or hot chocolate, board games, arts and crafts, practising his instrument. Taking remote control cars out for a drive.

Some cinemas do a cheaper kids ticket on weekend mornings if that helps. £2.50 each at our local!

also,
baking and helping (?!) me with cooking

Play at home- games such as the Orchard toys ones are good, craft activities like this morning DD had the playdoh out.
Swimming, soft play, our local gymnastics clubs do family Sunday sessions, sometimes playdates with friends.Watching films as a family.Tomorrow we are all going out for a morrisons Big Breakfast after the gymnastics.
I think a trip to the park in the cold is fine, if bundled up warm, unless it's wet.

If you are on the UK it is not too cold to go to the park if suitably dressed and not for too long. Would DS scoot/balance bike? More interesting than walking. Or do a scavenger hunt whilst walking to make it seek less like a walk?

Unless we have specific plans booked in or the dc request things we just do what we fancy and throw in something that will entice the dc. They are a bit older now (11, 17 and 18, eldest is nearly going back to uni so trying to make the most of the time with her) so in some ways this is easier.
Like today, we both fancied a walk so lured 2 of the dc with us to the beach for lunch and arcades. Purposefully parked the car a couple of hours up the beach from the little beach cafe dd1 likes the most - we got our nice walk and they got the arcade and lunch plus had an ice cream on the way back to the car.
last weekend I wanted to go to a particular shop in Covent Garden so we all went up (again only 2 of the dc) and made a day of it, walked through Hyde park, went to see if the flag was flying at Buckingham palace, lunch of dcs choice, tube to the shop I wanted to go to in the first place, walk along the southbank and watched the skaters then home.
And some weekends we literally just bum about at home but I do need to get out and have some fresh air so sometimes even just getting them to bake something and then we walk it round to grandparents a mile away.
Get out all the board games and work through them. Make our own board game. Invite a friend round (maybe your 7 year old, 4 year old friends might just end up making more work!).
And don’t feel bad about spending the weekends doing mundane ‘catching up’ jobs. Recently I spent the day sorting ds bedroom, clearing out the old clothes was a big job I’d been putting off but he just hung about in his room while I did it and he did sort of join in!

We are out early tomorrow (8am) to head to local city for my boys (6 & 8) to do Junior parkrun then going to movies

Last weekend we did a 7 mile hike in on the hills to visit old abandoned place. My 8 year old loves old places.

We are quite active so one day is always doing something outside for most of the day.

Today I cleaned house while boys chilled then we went for a long walk.

We usually do a long walk, either beach scrambling/ coast path/ woods/ country park etc. Or local park with bikes or skateboards. If it’s just showers, we wear waterproofs and still go. Wrap up against the cold, it’s never too cold to go out! Mine were ‘ice skating’ on the icy playground today. Our local park has free tennis courts and table tennis too. We take flasks of hot chocolate and snacks in the winter. Sometimes flasks of tomato soup and sausages wrapped in foil to make hot dogs for a winter picnic. I’m too stingy for cafes!

If the weather is terrible - occasional climbing walls/trampoline parks but they’re obviously pricey. Museums, art gallery, Pets at Home, and they also enjoy the big B and Q!

We tend to have lazy mornings, out in the afternoon and then lazy evenings. I couldn’t cope with staying in all day, they’d drive me mad!

When mine were little we would walk to the library on Saturday morning for a read and to choose new books. There was usually some games snd colouring.
Otherwise a walk (even in the rain); waterproof over trousers and overjacket aren't expensive, last years, and make all the outside activities available all year when all the other kids are stuck indoors.
Den building (sofa cushions snd sheets) and a torch for shadow puppets. Crafts; your 7yo is old enough to pick up simple kumihimo patterns made on a cardboard ring, or to make rolled paper beads: both of which are satisfying as they make something 'professional looking' meanwhile your 4 yo can stick magazine cut out jewels on a paper crown and be king for a day.
Counting games, simple card games, orchard games do some simple board/card matching type games.
Giant cardboard box house: flatten it and keep it behind the sofa when not in play.
Kids cooking: even 4yo can rustle up something edible with a little help. Dont just do biscuits snd cakes: let them help with meals.
House work. Start them young with dusting and wiping, tidying up etc.

Don’t feel guilty, Winter is rubbish , you don’t need to go on a long hike. These replies would make me feel even more guilty. Cinema is good for the weekend cheap kids films , although my three year old won’t sit through them. Dobbies garden centre have cheap soft plays that are £2 if you have one near you. Asda cafe do £1 meals for kids ? I’d just go for a short walk or scooter ride to see ducks ? if they whinge on walks (mine is the same won’t do big walks) then you’ve done something for the day and they’ve got out the house. Pizza making at home and movies ? You can buy the ready made bases? Weekends are for chilling so don’t worry, summer is so much better.

For the past month or so we have had virus after virus after virus so we haven't done much at all. Today the kids are feeling better but I'm feeling like crap so we are staying indoors. Even bundled up the 4 year old can't stand the cold for more than 5 mins and the 18 month old pulls her gloves and hat off then cries because her hands are cold. The kids also get sick every time they go to soft play.

Sometimes we go to the supermarket to do a big shop and the kids love that. Or we go to the car wash which they also love.

Thank you for your replies
Help and Raddy. These seem to be more realistic ideas for me.
we are popping to ikea in a min for a wander so getting out xx

Baking, game together (minecraft is a favourite), cooking together, reading, crafty things, we don't do a lot in the winter it's to cold & miserable and most places are shut or cost a fortune.
Come spring though we get out more & do walks and go out for brunch.

Gosh I wish my boys would go on a long walk!
Normally on our weekends we have a lazy morning and dinner at home then try and do something in the afternoon. Sometimes we just look round the toy shops or go to the park or down the prom or Run some errands and make them fun.
Some weeks it's soft play or a takeaway.
I try and visit family as much as I can.
They seem to be into sand atm so I get the kinetic sand out.
Treat long bath with bath bombs.
Take the train into town instead of driving which is exciting!

I try and think of my day in two parts, lazy morning and something in the afternoon.

I am NOT an indoor person, I really struggle with cabin fever so I try my best on a Limited budget!

We kind of need to get out a couple of times a day with 15 month old as she gets bored at home. Usually do a morning activity and an afternoon one with her nap in the middle. On weekends this can be library (on Saturday), local park, fairly local country park, last weekend went to ikea, go for lunch or dinner (I know that’s pricey), soft play, visit one or other set of grandparents, meet other friends with kids, I also do daytime baths to give her a change of scenery. This morning I took her out to local park even though it was freezing and rainy and then we went to lidl, not the most exciting but it got her out!

Look out for local activities, yesterday we enjoyed the Chinese new year celebrations in our town. So watched a martial arts demo, saw a Chinese dragon dance and then the local library had free crafts and face painting. Libraries often have craft activities or story/song time. Today we did a short walk and stopped off at the local cafe but when mine were younger I always packed a “treat” for walking. Our local forest has a grufalo trail with wooden models of all the animals. I think the walk is only about a mile but gets them used to walking so when they are older they are happy to do longer walks. Look out for anything like this, walking trails with something to interest little ones.

Dd is unwell today unfortunately but normally it’s ballet, cafe, still the park even in the cold, swimming, baking, drawing / craft, local museum and movies

Plus usually a party nearly every weekend

Over the cold winter weekends not much tbh. They have activities after school 3/4 nights out of 5.
So really we just have lazier mornings, walk the dog, go to church, baking/cooking, board games. We walked to the local charity shops yesterday to see what books they had.
Once the weather gets slightly better we have an English heritage pass. So we go for days out to castles quite often, taking a picnic. And then our local school have a pool so we usually go for the family swim. And the veggie growing in the garden starts!

Our local library has really stepped things up lately as it’s a designated “warm space” and as well as books obvs it has craft stuff, toys, and hot drinks and is a nice place to spend an hour so might be worth checking out?

The problem with the park (and I was at the park Thursday) is that the equipment is freezing. Climbing frames are icy. Slides are not slippy. Swing handles are ice cold.

I know the OP is referring to slightly older children but if you have a glove refuser it doesn’t make for a fun trip.

My own DS is only just two so slightly different, but he goes swimming on Saturday mornings. He also has a little music class Saturday afternoons - social media is good for finding things like this - and Sundays we do try to do something as a family, if only feeding ducks or national trust visit.

Being outside is important but it is really cold at the moment.

My 2 used to like to have a cinema afternoon at home when they were that age. Draw the curtains, buy or make some popcorn and snuggle down to watch a DVD or stream something if you have Disney/Amazon/Netflix.

We hibernate on winter weekends basically start emerging in spring and doing more, and barely ever home in the summer! Autumn we start going out a bit less again, and once bonfire night is out the way go back to hibernating on the weekends. It feels like that's what we need, winter months there is always somebody with a snotty nose, either the end of the last virus or beginning of the next. Most of the inside activities are out of budget for us, I used to budget for a day out every couple of weeks to soft play, arcade, bowling, swimming, things like that, but can't afford that now (although probably could if I wasn't paying for swim lessons, but they are so important to my kids). This year not been able to do that so it's been muddy walks, hopefully when the weather improves and we aren't spending all the money we are now on heating, then that money can go on trips out again, but most likely we will be home when it's cold or wet, and in the park when it's dry or hot (preferably both!). I've been poor for years, but never as bad as this. Writing this I realise the impact of the cost of living crisis on us, really, is that we don't get out as much.

I think it’s good to have a bit of structure at the weekends as then you get more out of it.

Our Saturday mornings used to be centred around a class such as ballet, art, horse-riding or racket sports but you could get annual passes for zoos, pools and leisure centres and museums.

The benefit of a class supervised by someone else is that you get 45 minutes to have coffee with your other half or do a supermarket shop by yourself.

Then you can have lunch out or get chips or have a floor picnic and the day is a bit different to others.

Or if your dc are reluctant to go out, could you bake with them or do crafts?

Or make Saturday mornings for cleaning and homework and then go out for lunch? Or your dh or dp takes them out for the afternoon?

Either way a set structure helps you to make the most of the day imho.