Mumsnet users share with Sky Cinema how they keep their children entertained during the summer holidays

[EllieMumsnet]

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Keeping your children entertained throughout the summer holidays can be a bit of a challenge, there's only so many play-dates and fun day trips a parent can bear to go on. Tell us how you keep your children entertained and what your chill-out pastimes are over the summer holidays.

Perhaps you find that arts and crafts or mini science experiments help keep your DC occupied for a while? Do you clear the kitchen table, sit down to an afternoon of LEGO building and create a world that rivals LEGO Ninjago? Maybe you're roped into tea parties with a gazillion teddies, Buzz Lightyear, Woody and the gang; or you're persuaded to act out your world-famous rendition of 'Shake it off' a la Rosita in Sing as part of a front room talent show?

"When you need some down time after a busy summer's day, Sky Cinema has tons of unmissable family movies, available on demand, ready whenever you are this summer. With over 1,000 movies to choose from including the new Lego Ninjago Movie, Cars 3, Despicable Me 3 there will always be a movie to suit any mood."

However you entertain your children during the summer holidays, post them on the thread and everyone will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

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Lots of time outside - trips to the park, picnics, bike rides and a visit to the seaside. We usually settle down to watch a movie before bed as it helps the DC relax and calm down before sleep.

Lots of playing outside and some activity books for indoors. Try and find good deals for places to go out.

A whole range of things including:
Walk to the woods
Park
Museums
Library
Day trips
Play in the garden
Picnics
Crafts indoors
Board games
Baking
Jigsaws
And this year hopefully a trip to the seaside!

They go to Adventure 5 afternoons a week! 😂

We do day trips and try to visit a museum and the beach a couple of times.
We often go to parks and woods and take picnics.
At home, I try to keep them off screens as long as possible so they have access to lots of arts and crafts.
We usually start a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle and do a bit of it every now and then.
we have a garden with a swing ball, balls, nerf guns, water guns, magnifying glasses, water table and a slide so the dcs get kicked out into the garden for as long as possible.
We always relax together at the end of the day with tv or a film.

days out free including paid ones
library visits
visiting family
fun days at home
play dates

We have a blackboard where we can all write suggestions for the holidays to try and keep everyone happy. I try to arrange a 1 or 2 day trips a week, then the other days, its arts, crafts, baking, games etc. Although I do try to encourage the DC to entertain themselves as much as possible.

Plenty of things in Bristol to do. The zoo, aquarium, and 'we the curious' science centre are all brilliant trips out

Send him on holiday with grandma to see friends in America for 2 weeks (not sure if grandmas worse nightmare is that he has a horrible time or an amazing time and wants to go back next year!)

We are planning an adventure trail with DS and my sister and niece and nephew. We take it in turns to pick a location and then draw maps and do clues for each other that the kids can follow. There is a prize at the end.

We are also planning swimming and ice skating at our local Leisure Centre

We are both (DS and me) attempting to teach ourselves the ukulele this summer

Snuggling up with hot chocolate, popcorn and a movie on a fairly regularish basis (although DS doesn't like hot chocolate, the weirdo, so that is for me)

I get the DC to write a list over the first weekend of things they'd like to do over the holidays. This gives me a lot of ideas and makes sure we plan stuff that they want to do, within reason! I look at groups/activities locally and might book into 1-2 of those. We have a week away so that's easy. Arts and crafts, board games park trips, playing in the garden and play dates fill up a lot of the rest, with a film afternoon every-so often.

Being outdoors alot helps. To the park, in the woods, throwing stones in the stream. Arts and crafts too.

Swimming lessons, park meets with friends, National Trust trips, local walks, playing in the garden.

Lot's of days out - love seeking out freebie days

Kitchen science is always a winner here! Lots of rockets and volcanoes with vinegary explosions. We also start a project that we are all interested in. We made a papier mache model of a sheep one year. Failing all that there’s the telly and games station....

Days out to zoo and park and beach.
NT days out with membership and taking picnic relatively cheap.
Walks, scooter rides
Extended family visiting
Days where I need to get household jobs done and errands run which might end in short trip to park if kids been patient and non whining about having to come with me.
Finding other cheap places to visit or use Tesco days out to go somewhere different .

For us the trick is finding a mix of free/ cheap things to do and those that cost a bit more

Holidays,camping, trips to our massive local park which has a giant sand pit. Water fights in the garden

Books
Museum
Visiting family
Board games

A multi sport holiday club (well mummy needs a holiday too!)
Days out to museums, parks, zoo etc
Lots of sporty stuff like swimming, bike rides and football.
Trip to the beach

Last year DD2 decided she wanted to visit as many parks as possible over the summer so we made a list of all local parks, named it The Great Park Challenge and every day set off with a picnic, a frisbee and some bubbles to our chosen park. They rated each park - 1 to 5 stars. We did 26 different parks and it the easiest, most relaxed hol ever.

This year we are repeating the challenge but DD1 has chosen to have a paddle/swim challenge this time so we have a list of swimming pools, beaches and places we can have a paddle and picnic. We've added buckets and fishing nets to the pile This weather is perfect for paddling so I'm hoping it continues.

We've also all decided to learn something new - DD1 wants to be able to hula hoop, DD2 wants to learn to whistle and I'm going to learn to skim stones.

Lots of time outside- water fights, paddling pool, garden chalks they like to make 'roads' and ride their scooters on them, all the kids on the street ages around 5-14 all play games together and in and out of each others gardens
Rainy days we watch films, use up the many many 'make your own...' sets they get given for Christmas, make dens
We have a few cheap or free days out but we live in the middle of nowhere so not many

Open back door and allow free reign in the garden

Buy huge amount of craft and have easily accessible

1 film to cover two days

Football and trampoline

Sailing and drama, then a wind down with a film in the evening as it is the holidays

As much time as possible outside - swimming, scooting, trampolining. We’re lucky, we live near the beach so if the weather is good we can spend lots of time there