Just a few weeks ago I joined Malatan on Twitter to discuss #MatalanSummerTips. Me and 4 other bloggers shared our pearls of wisdom to discuss affordable and even free things, for the kids to do
Just a few weeks ago I joined Malatan on Twitter to discuss #MatalanSummerTips. Me and 4 other bloggers shared our pearls of wisdom to discuss affordable and even free things, for the kids to do this summer. Here is my suggestions for low cost fun.
Finding things to keep my 4 children amused throughout the six week holidays can be hard work and rather expensive. My eldest is 10 and my youngest just 7 months, with an 8 year old and 3 year old in between. They are a mixture of boys and girls, and with the broad age range to contend with, it is tricky to get things sorted for all the family to enjoy. But here are a few of my top tips:
-Park
Have a look around for a decent sized country park rather than your nearby familiar park. Most country parks are free to enter. Some have play equipment which is great for keeping the older ones amused while you sit and play with the younger ones.
I always make sure I pack plenty of bottles of drinks, a picnic blanket, some nibbles and some toys. Keep an eye open when you are in town for activities that can be used outside, I then leave these in the car for such situations. One of our personal favourites is a good old fashioned kite. This holds nostalgic memories of my childhood, and the children adore trying to get it to fly. The look on their face when they do is just priceless.
-Beach
Pack the car up and head to the beach, don’t forget your bucket and spade, as they cost a lot more at the seaside so buy in advance. Don’t forget to freeze bottles of water the night before, not only do they keep your picnic cool, but they come in handy to drink once melted too. Take a blow up beach ball for a game with the children. My personal tip, take spare clothes to get them changed into for the way home.
– Junk Modelling
Save your recycling stuff, cardboard boxes, tin foil, plastic tubs, toilet roll holders and empty washed up yoghurt pots. Let the kids get creative, and help the younger ones by giving them some animal suggestions. Glue and sticky tape will do, and if you have some paint lying around even better, they will love painting them.
-Cooking
Cooking doesn’t have to be a fancy recipe, even just a packet of cake mix can have fun results. Get the kids in the kitchen, let them get involved and get messy, remember it is nothing that a bath won’t sort out.
-Sandpit treasure hunt
If you have a sandpit it works great, if you don’t then a ‘Tuff Spot’ filled with sand does the job just as well. Hide the kid’s favourite plastic small toys inside, and give them either toy diggers or tools to ‘excavate’ the sand to get the goodies. Throw something random in too that will gain some giggles.
Finally, my last tip and in my opinion, the most important…
-Time
Think back to when you were a child and remember what you found fun. Taking yourself back to that time means you can enter your child’s world and join in. There is nothing better than the time you can dedicate to your child, get down on the floor and play with them, get involved in their games. It is guaranteed that as they grow up they will remember you being part of the fun
