Often we feel the pressure to keep our children busy all the time, to take them out to experience the world around us and to visit places. Well there really is no need to feel this pressure…your family can have just as much fun at home and to be honest I am actually a massive fan of staying at home at the moment as its more relaxing and cheaper (god send when you are on mat leave!) Take a look at my ideas of things you can do around the house when you are feeling particularly creative.

Rainy Day Activities

1. Make slime – Slime can be really really tricky to make (I’m still to succeed at this) but its lots of fun to try! obviously stay up at the table to avoid ruining the carpet. Here’s a recipe!
2. Catapult marshmallows – Use lolly sticks, rubberbands and a plastic spoon to create a catapult and have a marshmallow fight!
3. Hide the duck game – This doesn’t need to be a duck but choose an object, take it in turns to hid and find it. You can give hints, hotter or colder clues and you can make it as easy or as difficult as you like.
4. Toy parachute – Get a small toy and use a plastic bag to fashion a parachute
5. Make goo -This stuff is amazing! Mix cornflour (2 parts) with water (1 part) and add some food colouring and you will have a goo that is solid if you press it together but turns to liquid when you loosen your grip. It gets very messy so we did this on a tray but its ghreat fun
6. Make bird feeders – mix together lard and bird seed and press the mixture into shames using cookie cutters then make a hole in them and put strong through the hole then hang them in the garden
7. Play the memory game – fill a tray with a number of small items and give everyone 30 seconds to look at it and memorise before covering it over and seeing who can list the most
8. Make moon sand – Moon sand is really really good to make! mix 1 measure of baby oil with 8 measures of flour and add food colouring if you like then you can mould the sand and play!
9. Make a rainmaker – Get a tube and put some toothpics through it all the way down, in all different directions, make sure there are no sharp bits (you can trim sharp edges and cover it with paper, Sellotape something like that then cover one end with masking tape and fill with rice or lentils then seal the other end and decorate
10. Race paper aeroplanes – Get competitive and see who has the best design
11. Indoor laser walk – This was a huge hit when we did it! usi=e masking take to secure wool to the wall (in a hallway is ideal as its like a tunnel) then get the kids to try get through it without touching the wool “laser”
12. Create a den – Grab a tonne of pillows and blankets and make yourself a den
13. Play the cornflake box game – Tear the top off a cereal box and take it in turns to pick it up with your teeth. The soles of your feet are the only things that are allowed to touch the floor so no kneeling or putting your hands on the floor! once everyone has had a go tear a strip off the top and try again! its harder than it sounds! we used to play this game to the hot stepper song – not really sure why but it seemed to make it more fun if you played up to it :).
14. Make a card house – perhaps not for the younger ones!
15. Create a masking tape race track – Simply stick masking tape to the floor to mark out roads or a race track.

Outside Activities

1. Nature bracelet – put masking tape round your childs wrist (sticky side out) and have them create a bracelet by sticking flowers, leaves and grass to it.
2. Water balloon pinata – my kids love doing this! simply tie a water balloon to a piece of sting and hang it (we have it from the washing line) then take it in turns to hit it trying to break the balloon and get splashed.
3. Bear hunt – hide their teddys around the garden and have them go on a bear hunt
4. Wash the washing – I use a bucket with warm water and a bit of washing up liquid then let my kids pretend to wash odd socks and peg them out on a make shift washing line where I tie string between 2 garden chairs.
5. Have a picnic  – teddys optional
6. Make a water wall – this one takes a bit of prep but if you can collect tubes, funnels and water bottles with holes in both ends so it is a tube,  use garden wire secure them to a trellis and pour water through!
7. Do a car wash – Find any cars you own (the bigger the better – Little Tykes cars are great for this!) and get a sponge and wash
8. Water painting – get a paint brush and a bucket of water and pretend to paint! fences, tables, paving anything!
9. Do a scavenger hunt – you can print these off the internet of create your own!
10. Camping in the garden – If you dont want to stay out over night set up a tent (or makeshift one) and toast marshmallows over a disposable BBQ
11. Snail racing – Find some snails and place them in a circle drawn with chalk and see whose snail gets out first
12. Make a fairy garden – buy a pot, some plants and pebbles and stones and create a pretty fairy garden
13. Make a daisy chain
14. Make perfume – Anyone else do this as a kid? Get a clean jar of water and fill it with petals to make perfume.
15. Painting – obviously when its outside it can be more messy!