24 Ideas To Survive the Summer Holidays with Children!
Congratulations!
Another academic year has passed and the holidays are here!
On one hand you are aware this is a great time to reconnect with your children and on the other you are wondering how you will manage to go 6-10 weeks without killing each other.
Here are some ideas, based on my life now with two young children and also a few from when I was a nanny with older children. I’d love to hear if you tried any and which were the hits or misses. Email and let me know at hello@eviewinter.com
The Summer Holidays are here and so far the weather has been pretty decent, though it looks like this week the rain might be back. For those of you who
Day time bathtime, liven up with coloured ice cubes
Make a drawing or write a letter to a friend go to the post office, get stamp and post to use up extra time. If the post office is close by, pick one further away!
Visit a playground you haven't been to before in a different area: Novelty is always a great thing.
Playdates, your house, their house, the playground, your favourite soft play.
Did I say, soft play?
Railway visit to the next town (works much better now we don’t live in London, however in London we would take the tube to a different part of the city and that would be a day trip!)
Museums and centres, some even offer a soft play area which is a bonus with younger children.
Take a bus, seriously this stuff is fun for kids, make sure there is a cafe for you.
Visit an older friend or relative. Older friends and family can often be forgotten in the business of life. Summer is a great time to catch up.
Go for a bike ride
Visit a local nature reserve, take some pens and paper or a camera and let the kids draw and photograph what they see.
Having done no.12 you can (get the photos developed) paste into a book and find out interesting facts about what they saw.
Further to no.13 you can go to a library and look for books about anything that sparked your children’s interest.
Revive interest in their toys by putting less out and swapping occasionally
Check out social media for ideas, it is very likely someone has asked in your local facebook group, also look at apps like Hoop which put local activities online.
Check pinterest for creative activities like coloured rice / play dough.
Baking and cooking. Uses up time, feeds the kids, teaches them all sorts of things. It is a win win.
Charity shop visit. Off load the toys and books children have grown out off and get some more they might like.
Go see a film at the cinema
Visit a local farm or petting zoo or National Trust. They often have discounts for a years membership which more or less pay for themselves and go towards keeping a wonderfully fun and educational venue running. We love our membership with Sir Harold Hillier Gardens.
Book a photoshoot with an awesome family photographer such as myself www.eviewinter.com (sorry, couldn’t resist adding that in).
Book in dentist visits, hair cuts and school clothes purchasing trips. Sure they are chores but add in a treat visit to a favourite cafe and it becomes a day out for everyone.
If it is a rainy day: go for a walk in the wet weather gear, let them jump in muddy puddles.
Then snuggle up with a hot choc and movies.