Get them in the kitchen

There are loads of simple recipes you can try out with your children. If you’re concerned about them getting things in and out of the oven, then why not try making chocolate crisped rice cakes, which have to be chilled in the fridge. If they really love it, then why not challenge them to come up with different sandwich fillings for their tea? They may not particularly enjoy the results, but you’re teaching them about taste, as well as having fun!

Go fly a kite

Brighten up a windy day by going outside and flying a kite. You can buy kites from most toy shops, or you could have a go at making your own.

Teach them cross-stitch

Cross stitch is enjoying a new lease of life and is a great way to get kids involved in arts and crafts. You can get special kits designed for younger children, so they won’t hurt themselves on the needles and the pattern will be easier to follow.

Make paper planes

Use up all that scrap paper that was destined for the recycling and build a fleet of paper airplanes. Then you can launch them from the top of the stairs or in the back garden. You could make different kinds and see which one flies the furthest.

Write a story

Use your imaginations and write a story together. It doesn’t have to be original.  The kids could write down their favourite fairy tale and just change the ending if they feel like it.

Another great idea is to write chain stories with friends. Each person writes a paragraph and then shows the final line only to the next writer. Once the final person has written their section, read the whole story out loud – it’s usually pretty funny!

Host a dance party 

Invite some of your kids’ friends.  Get their favourite CDs and let them dance ‘til they drop. All you’ll have to do is provide drinks and snacks! Not only is this great fun for the kids but it will tire them out so they’ll sleep well at night!

 Tire them out

Indoor play centres are becoming more and more popular. They’re great fun, safe and allow you to relax while your kids run riot without fear of injury.  Activities include bouncing on trampolines, going up foam staircases and then coming down slides, climbing rigging and jumping into ball pits.  Search online for your nearest play centre.

Tie-dyeing

It may conjure up images of hippies, but tie-dyeing is a great way of jazzing up some of your kids old clothes and it’s fun to do.

Basically, you gather up, fold, and tie your t-shirt (or other item of clothing) with rubber bands or string and leave it to soak in water with fabric dye.  Make sure you supervise though so the dye doesn’t get splashed on your carpet.

Become a model maker

What kid doesn’t love getting their hands dirty?  Get some modelling clay, a plastic knife and mould away. You can even buy self-hardening clay if you want them to become permanent.

Play a board game

Encourage your child’s competitive streak and break out all your board games.  You’ll be surprised how quickly they get into it. Beware of arguments, though, when either you or your kids start losing!

Get them to make a map

You draw the squares on a large sheet of paper and see how easy they find it to draw the local neighbourhood. Get them to imagine they’re a bird in the sky looking down. Not as easy as it sounds.

Have a karaoke competition

Karaoke CDs cost very little from music stores. Make sure you sing along to some of the songs as well. There’s nothing like embarrassing yourself to entertain your kids!

Put a play on

Encourage your child to use their imagination, by finding a box of dressing-up clothes and get them to come up with a story for a play.  Don’t forget you’ll also have to sit through the performance.

Go star spotting 

Gazing at the clear night sky can be an amazing experience and, if you can tell your kids which constellations are which, it’ll be even cooler for them.  Do some research beforehand if you’d like to.  Otherwise just get them to see if they can spot any interesting shapes in the patterns of the stars.  You can download apps onto your phone that show you what the stars are too.

Play Poohsticks

This came from the famous Winnie The Pooh books and has now become a worldwide activity.  If the weather’s nice, take the kids out for a walk near a running stream or river with a bridge over it.   Find some sticks then throw the sticks over one side of the bridge and then rush to the other to see whose stick comes through first and is the winner!

Take them ice-skating

Dancing On Ice has inspired a boom and indoor rinks are a great place to learn. And, if you’re not up to Torvill & Dean standard yourself, your kids will enjoy watching you fall over as much as they do!

 Make a family tree 

How much do your kids know about their family? Do they know anything about your parents’ parents? Not only is drawing family trees fun, but it also teaches them a bit about history. You may unearth some really interesting stories about your own family that you never knew.   – Here’s how to make this cute family tree craft (including family pet!)