Building a fort in the house or the garden, if the weather is good enough, is a super way to get the kids imagination and engineering skills working!

Forts can be built indoors or outdoors using cardboard boxes, rugs or sheets, clothes driers, sofas, chairs, beds and tables and offer hours of fun.

For a temporary outdoor fort, use rugs, wall/fences, clothes lines etc. Or if you wanted a bigger project, get the children to design and build an outdoor fort using trees, wood or old pallets etc.

If this seems like too much and you have a tent, why not put that up and let the children decorate it to use as their Den HQ. Remember, tents can be pitched indoors too!

When my girls were young, they loved to write their own mini-plays and perform them for us. They spent hours perfecting the show, creating the costumes and props and getting the ‘stage’ set.

Encourage your kids to be creative and plan an entertaining show for you and other family members or friends to enjoy. They could write or adapt a favourite book or TV show into a play, sing, dance, play an instrument or recite a poem, the possibilities are endless.

No matter what age your children are, teaching them some basic cookery skills is something that will last a lifetime.

If they are old enough you could get them to plan a menu, create a shopping list and make a family meal during midterm break. There are so many different options for all ages. Here are some ideas to inspire you.

• Soup (chop the vegetables you want to use, fry in a small amount of oil and butter in a large saucepan, add stock, cover and boil until vegetables are soft and blend if needed.) We love this Carrot soup.
• Salad (use a packet of salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber and create or buy a dressing)
• Pizza (use a pre-made base and a jar of passata. Spoon the passata onto the base and spread evenly to cover. Then add everyones favourite toppings for a quick, easy and tasty pizza that just needs to be oven cooked.) Check out these inspiring recipes from Pizza da Piero.
• Risotto (once you have the vegetables chopped and softened in oil on a large non-stick pan, add the rice and once coated in oil, spoon on a ladle of stock, let it absorb and continue to add stock, one ladle at a time, until the rice is cooked) This mushroom risotto.recipe is a firm favourite in our house.
• Stirfry (use pre-sliced meat and a packet of stirfry mixed vegetables. Heat oil on a wok and cook the meat, add the vegetables and once cooked serve with noodles or rice.) Check out this Chinese Beef Stir Fry.
• S’mores Dessert Pizza (for a real treat, use a pre-made pizza base and cover with chocolate spread and marshmallows, bake until the marshmallows melt…so tasty.)
• Muffins (for a post dinner treat, these blueberry muffins are easy to make)

Get creative and active by designing your very own obstacle course. Ideal for the garden but you can also create an indoor version for days when the weather is not co-operating!

We have some ideas here for an outdoor obstacle course. You could also include a scavenger hunt as part of the challenge.

For indoors, cushions can be used to create stepping stones, stairs can be used to hop up and down, a laundry basket and soft ball make a perfect throwing challenge and you could add an indoor scavenger hunt to make it more interesting.

Create your very own home cinema with posters, tickets and cinema treats!

Get the kids to pick some films they want to watch and use their choices to design ‘cinema posters’ and tickets.

Once they have the room set up, it’s onto the cinema treats, which could include making it a pizza and movie night with microwave popcorn, drinks from re-useable sports bottles (to avoid spills) and pick’n’mix. For this just buy several different packets of sweets and place them in bowls then give everyone a bag of their own to fill with their favourites.

Check out our top picks of family favourite movies for inspiration. Or you could choose by theme e.g. Halloween, 80’s Family movies etc.

One of the benefits of the internet is the ability to explore the world…from the comfort of home. So if you are not planning a trip away this mid-term how about getting the children to plan a virtual trip instead?

Possible virtual field trips include the Arctic, the great wall of China, a chocolate factory, a space center, or how about a day at the Zoo?

You could get your child to make a travel diary of their day out to the amazing place they pick to explore. What did they eat? Who did they meet? What did they see? How did they travel there?

When was the last time you all played a board game together? From Jenga to Snakes and Ladders and Monopoly to Pictionary we all have board games that we don’t play enough.

So, this midterm get out all your board games and have a family challenge or challenge the kids to have a board game marathon to see how many they can play in a certain amount of time!

Do you have a budding magician? We have some excellent easy magic tricks for them to perfect before trying them out on you.

For those who prefer cards, check out these traditional card games and card tricks to learn and enjoy.

This one could get a bit messy. My advice would be to cover the table where the kids will be getting creative with a disposable table cloth or give them each a tray to work on.

When it comes to homemade slime, there are hundreds of different options. We have rounded up our top homemade slime recipes which include rainbow unicorn slime, safe no borax slime and glow in the dark slime!

Playdough is also easy to make and can be moulded into many different shapes for hours of enjoyment. Get our simple Playdough recipe.

Gardening is a wonderful way to teach children about the plant life-cycle as well as the eco-system of birds, insects and plants. If you don’t have a garden, it is possible to grow herbs, flowers and vegetables in pots which can be kept indoors or on a patio or balcony.

Kids that actively engage in nurturing plants also learn responsibility and the pride of seeing a tiny seed grow into something that can be consumed or shared with others.

Growing your own is also a good way to get children interested in food and where it comes from. In my experience, my children loved growing potatoes, onions, carrots, raspberries and strawberries which we then used in cooking.

One project that is easy to achieve is to grow your own pizza garden!

I don’t know about your house, but in mine I always have a bagful of single socks with no matches!

This sock animal craft is a great way to repurpose those single socks that seem to multiply with every wash!

Head out to your local woods, beach or park for a walk. Make your walk more fun with our free nature scavenger hunt list turning a walk into an adventure!

Family walks are a great opportunity to get out and active, have the kids run around in the fresh air and off screens. But if you need a little incentive to entice them for the walk, then games and a little competition can really help. These entertaining games to play on a family walk are suitable for a range of ages and need nothing more than a little imagination and creativity!

Create a fun obstacle course, indoors or outdoors, and test your skills in a friendly family competition.

The course possibilities are endless and you can change it around each round, becoming more challenging as the players improve their skills.

If you want to increase the motivation of the children you could award a unique medal for the ultimate winner.

Customised Award Medals can be easily created and ordered online. Use your creativity and cool graphics that the kids will love to customise a medal that can be given and treasured for years to come.

Wow your friends and family, and learn some magic tricks – here are 10 easy magic tricks for kids to master.

Get our best content direct to your inbox! You’ll receive quick and easy recipes, fun ideas to entertain the kids, parenting tips, great competitions, as well as offers from brands we trust.

Create a time capsule together. Put things in it that are happening right now and then open it in 12 months and see how things have changed.

This is a great activity for birthdays. You could create a sheet of questions that you answer annually and see how your ideas change as you grow. They could be favourite bands, foods you like, friends, goals etc.

Gardening with kids is great fun – they love to get mucky and see the results of their work. If you have room, why not assign them their own flower bed and help them plan out their planting? Here’s how to make your garden a fun place for kids.

Give them their own pot/planter. Herbs and salad leaves are quick to grow, and most kids enjoy eating what they have grown! Here’s a how to grow your own pizza garden.

Fill water balloons or buckets, and place them equally on opposite ends of the garden.

• Split up into teams and stand facing each other.
• When the signal is given, begin throwing water balloons at the other team.
• When a player is hit, the other team scores a point.
• Play until all the balloons are gone, the members of one team have all been hit, or a certain number of points have been reached.

Get out the blankets and cushions, make and deliver the invitations and decide on whether your picnic will be indoors or outdoors.

Cut out some teddy bear footprints from pieces of paper and put these on the floor leading to the picnic area. Footprints could also lead to other activities if you are having them. You could include a teddy bear themed pass the parcel game or even dance with your teddy bear.

Take turns saying these fun tongue twisters and see who can say them the best. Tongue twisters like “If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?” will surely leave you in fits of giggles!

Let your kids make a camp/den  using old blankets/duvets, cushions and chairs for props. Or gather some sturdy sticks from the wood and use some old tarpaulin as a roof.

Set up a home cinema and settle down to watch some fun family movies together.

Wondering what to watch? Try these feel-good movies, introduce your kids to some 80s classics, or work your way through our A to Z of fab family movies!

Create your very own hairdressing studio and take turns doing each other’s hair. No scissors needed for this one!

Scavenger hunts are great fun for kids as they adore the thrill of hunting. It’s also a great excuse to get them active outdoors, so a win-win for everyone! But we know that the weather doesn’t always play ball, so we’ve also got lots of indoor options to make sure you can enjoy the fun whenever the mood takes. Here are some mega fun scavenger hunt ideas for kids to turn your little darlings into mini-explorers!

From sounds and colours to shapes and nature, we’ve got printable scavenger hunt downloads all ready for you.

Strap on the helmets, grab the bikes, and go for a cycle. Cycling is a great activity that the whole family can do together – it’s an opportunity to get out with the kids and get some exercise and fresh air. But being cycle-safe is important too, so here are 9 essential tips for safer cycling and bike safety for kids that you should keep in mind.

Homemade science experiments can get messy, so if weather permits, move the “lab” outside. Here are some ideas:

• 5 fun science experiments for kids
• 18 easy science experiments for preschoolers
• How to have fun with kitchen chemistry
• How to make playdough
• How to make honeycomb
• How to make slime

Kids love to mess around in the sand, particularly at home in the garden. Even if you don’t have a sand table, it’s easy to make your own, with a large shallow plastic container, and some play sand. We’ve got lots of great sand play ideas for kids – just remember to cover when finished, to keep the cats away.

Love them or hate them, bugs are fascinating to kids! Download our free Big Bug Scavenger Hunt List to search for critters in the park, woods or closer to home.

We all love to dine alfresco, and kids especially love a picnic. Pack a basket of homemade goodies, a flask with tea for yourself, and a waterproof blanket. Why not try our easy recipes for homemade sausages and homemade lemonade?

This cheddar and bacon quiche is delicious hot or cold, while these baked berry squares are a tasty treat with oaty goodness for all that running around!

Picnics are such a fun way to enjoy food casually, and kids particularly love the fun that goes with eating outdoors. Whether you’re planning to picnic in the garden at home or out and about this summer, these practical picnic ideas for the perfect day out, will help keep the focus on the fun and family time that it’s all about.

Going to the playground is a great way to get the kids active outdoors. Most towns have a local playground, but for a change, why not try a different playground in a nearby town? Pack a picnic and make a day out of it.

Design and build a LEGO or plastic brick structure. It could be a castle, a house, a fire station, or maybe a small town. Or have building competitions, where have to make structures using only one colour brick.

Give your creativity and imagination a boost with more than 50+ LEGO instructions and how-to videos that are sure to turn you into a Master Builder. Our list of LEGO instructions has it all – from Yoda and Minion favourites to chocolate cake, hot air balloons and vintage cars!

And don’t miss our 30 Day LEGO Challenge or fun LEGO Bingo Challenge if you need even more ideas!

Kids love to run and jump in puddles. Dress them in their wet gear and head out for some rainy day fun! Take some inspiration from these fun outdoor rainy day games.

We asked Mykidstime parents for their favourite outdoor childhood games when they were young – you know those games that occupied our free time and summer days, before computer games? Here are their 20 great childhood games, perfect for parties, weekends or to play in the garden.

Teach your child some of your favourite childhood games – from Bulldog and What’s the Time Mr Wolf? to rounders and elastics, these outdoor games are lots of fun!

The best bit? You can play too!

Wait for a windy day, and head to an open space to fly a kite. You could even try your hand at making the kites.

Host a mini fun sports day, with obstacle courses, long-jump, and novelty races like 3-legged, sack, and egg and spoon.

Hours of fun and exhausted kids guaranteed!

Take a trip to your local park, river or lake, and feed the ducks or swans. But please don’t take bread, as this isn’t good for birds. Other options that are better for them include grapes cut in half, cracked corn/barley/oats/birdseed, frozen peas or corn kernels (defrosted, but no need to cook) or duck feed pellets available from pet shops.

Play a game of dominoes or for something even more creative, set up a huge long line of dominoes and then have fun knocking them down!

A much loved activity in my house, treasure hunts are great fun! All you need are some pens, paper and of course, treasures! Here’s some tips on setting up a kid’s treasure hunt.

A night out in a tent is definitely a must for all kids – I still remember my first night out camping, and having to run back inside when the worst ever thunderstorm erupted!

Even if you don’t get away, you can set up the tent in the back garden, and enjoy sleeping outdoors.

Here are some essential tips for first-time camping with kids, and some delicious ideas for camping meals that are more than just s’mores!

All you need is some sand, water and a desire to get mucky!

Head out the nearby park or woods, with a ruler and tape-measure, and measure a tree. See who can find the tallest tree.

Fishing is a great outdoor activity, but remember, it requires lots of patience on your part. Gear the day/expedition to their level, and assume they will want to get wet, and look for everything else but fish!

However, it can be a great way to spend time with your child, and you might even bring home dinner!

Fishing nets on the beach are ideal for catching crabs in rock pools, and a lot easier too!

On a clear night, bring the kids outside for some star gazing. If you have a telescope all the better, but is not necessary.

See if you can recognise any of the well-known constellations with our tips on fun astronomy for kids.

Let the kids loose on your pavement or driveway, with some pavement chalk, and stand back and watch their creations unfold!

Watching clouds is a very relaxing way to spend time, for all ages. Get the kids to lie on a blanket in the garden or at the park. Clouds all look the same but yet can be so different as they morph into different shapes and objects.

A lovely summer’s activity and a great way for your kids to learn about money. All they need is a table/box, sign, paper cups, jug, and lemonade.

Help them make homemade lemonade instead of buying lemonade. Alternatively, they could sell some cupcakes they have made themselves.

Washing the car = fun for kids! They most likely will get wet, have a chance at using the hose, and might even earn some pocket money! They could even do a neighbourhood car wash.

Skipping can be done individually, or if there are a few friends around, get a large rope, and get the kids doing some skipping games.

Jump Elastics are also great fun. Do you remember them from childhood? Inside, Outside on the rails? All you need is a long piece of elastic, stitched together at the ends.

Let the kids make a temporary waterfall in the garden, using large stones, hose, plastic tubing, and any other props they might require.

They could also make a marble-run but use water instead of marbles.

Provide some treats for our feathered friends and help the kids make some bird feeders.

• Gather any old welly boots your children have outgrown.
• Poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of them and then fill them with some compost.
• Choose which flower seeds you would like to plant. Sunflowers are a favourite among kids as they grow very quickly and are very easy to grow.
• Place them along your path or outside your front door. Your kids will love to see their old wellies blooming!

Get the kids to let their imaginations run wild, and set up a crazy golf course in the garden, using buckets, plastic cups/glasses, ramps, car tracks, boxes etc. Anything will work, to make the hole as crazy as possible!

Aim for 3 or 4 holes minimum in their course, and then have a competition, counting lowest number of shots to reach hole as a win.

This is a lovely project for the kids to do, particularly if they have helped you with the gardening. And even if the scarecrow is never used in the garden, it’s a fun project to do. All you need is some old clothes, hat, canes, straw or old newspapers for stuffing, needle and thread, and plastic bag. Here’s how to make a simple scarecrow.

Kids love painting. How about moving it outdoors if the weather is good?

Use lots of outdoor interesting shapes for painting, like grass blades, or sticks, or unusual plant leaves. Get them to gather some leaves and do leaf patterns.

If you need more ideas, try these easy painting ideas for kids.

A great beach activity, enjoyed by kids, time after time. As well as using the bucket and shovel, why not use some flat knives and spoons to help carve out their structures. Collect shells and stones to decorate your amazing castles!

Blowing bubbles should lead to giggles! Make your own bubble mixture at home, then use different blowers for a range of bubbly fun. When all the bubbles are used up, why not try making your own using washing-up liquid, sugar and water?

Why spend money on a slip ‘n’ slide, when you can easily make your own, with strong refuse bags or a large plastic sheet, washing-up liquid, and a hose.

Guaranteed hours of fun!

Look around your garden or if you are out for a walk, and see if you can spot any animal tracks. Borrow a book from the library to help you identify the different animal/bird tracks.

Most houses have a toy box full of cars. Bring it outside and let the kids have car races down the driveway, seeing which car goes furthest. They could even award “cups” to the winners!

Use tape or chalk outside to make roads, race courses, roundabouts and parking spaces.

We all know that when you give a child a toy, they often have more fun playing with the box!

There are lots of great cardboard box ideas to make with kids – from a doll’s house to a jack-in-the-box, the only limit is your imagination!

Great fun for older kids. Head outside with torches to play chase or tip the can in the dark – amazing how the whole game can change when played in the dark.

For this, you will need:

• Sunshine
• Nature items e.g. leaves, twigs, flowers
• Construction paper – darker colours work better

What to do

1. Find a sunny spot outside late morning. Arrange the items on a sheet of paper.
2. You might need a stone for each corner to keep it from blowing away if it’s breezy.
3. Leave the paper for several hours in direct sunlight.
4. The sun will fade the construction paper, it will create silhouettes where your items are located.

These can be as simple as you like, just blend your favourite fruit and pour mixture into ice pop moulds. Freeze until firm and enjoy!

If you want some more inspiration, try these healthy ice pops that kids will lick clean.

Let the kids and the adults swap roles and clothes for the day- or at least an hour or two. It will be lots of fun choosing what to wear as well as trying to find children’s clothes to fit the adults!

Upcycle old jam jars by painting them to use as pretty vases on your window sills.

With some simple ingredients, the kids can enjoy helping make homemade pizza and pizza dough (you could use ready made pizza bases too if you want).

Chop up some vegetables and other toppings, and let each person arrange on their own pizzas. Make some funny or scary faces out of your pizzas. Pop in the oven and serve for dinner.

Cut up old jeans to make shorts or an old T-shirt to make a sleeveless top, then design and decorate as you like. Adorn them with sequins, add buttons, or tie-dye them for something unique.

Root out any toy at home that works using a remote control. This could be a car, a dog, dinosaur or anything at all. Let your children choose which toy will be theirs for the race and line them up at a chalked out start line. Then let the race begin as each toy must compete to cross the finish line first. The toys can be swapped around for each race.

Kids love to bake and nothing beats the smell of home cooking. Enjoy some quality time baking a cake, be it for a birthday, a special occasion or just for fun.

If you’re looking for some ideas, you could try:

• Lemon bars
• Easy homemade Swiss Roll
• Upside-down ice cream cone cupcakes
• No butter and no eggs needed for this ‘Depression’ cake
• Easy bunny cupcakes
• Classic homemade flapjacks
• The always-popular lemon drizzle cake
• Melt in the mouth chocolate brownies
• A versatile vanilla traybake
• Berry muffins for breakfast or snacks

My children love to design their own jewellery using penne pasta. This is a great way to pass a few hours on a rainy day.

First the children paint the pasta. Once dry, thread some string through various coloured pasta to make bracelets and necklaces.

Perhaps there’s an old tin whistle or piano lying around at home. You could download some instructions and simple songs to learn too. You could also make some cheap instruments, using kitchen utensils (most popular in our house are pots, wooden spoons, tins, spatula) and form a band – check out our tips here.

A trip to the beach is always a fun day out, no matter what the season! If it’s a nice sunny day, you might want to check out our summer beach checklist, to make sure you don’t forget to pack an essential item!

Why not collect some stones and shells, and paint them when you return home to make some garden decorations? Try these beach craft ideas and 50 fun things to do at the beach with kids.

Play some games together. Parents recommend their top 20 board games for families, or you could try one of these unusual board games that are lots of fun!

Alternatively, enjoy more traditional ‘parlour’ games such as Consequences.

• Use old bottles that have a screw top, such as a water bottle. Remove any labels from the bottle.
• Paint the outside of the bottle using some fun coloured paints.
• When dry, fill the bottle with rice or lentils or beans. Each item you use to fill inside will make a different sound.
• Close the lid and add some stickers to the outside and your shaker is ready to use.

The art of daisy chain making is one that should be passed down to your children. Put a small slit in the stem of a daisy with your nail, and thread a stem of another daisy through it, and repeat to extend length. “Fashion” into necklaces and bracelets, or challenge the kids to see who can make the longest.

Have a story writing competition or write a play for puppets or for you all to perform. Help younger ones who may be unable to write but can still make up their own story. Let them illustrate their story with pictures.

Or create your own stories playing Chinese Whispers. See how different the story is by the time it reaches the end!

This is a great activity for older kids – set a challenge to see how many books/chapters can be read during the day. During summer, encourage your kids take part in a summer reading challenge.

Visit your local library to stock up on books, and if you need some suggestions we’ve got plenty!

• 20 Top Dinosaur Books for Your Little Bookasaurus
• 15 Weird and Wonderful Neil Gaiman Books Your Child Will Love
• These Humorous Books for Kids Are All Good for a Giggle
• 14 Epic Stories with Giants for Kids Who Love an Adventure!
• 30 Amazing Books for Kids Who Love David Walliams
• 23 Fantastic Books Like Harry Potter Your Child Might Enjoy

Remember playing Miss Mary Mack? Or A Sailor Went to Sea? Play these and make up some of your own ones too. More nursery rhyme activities here.

Many local museums are free to visit, they can be inspirational places and provide a learning experience. Often they have kids activities such as treasure hunts or activity sheets. Or join a tour to find out more about some of the objects in the museum.

A trip to the Library can pass a few hours as they often have colouring sheets and toys for children to play with. They sometimes have storytime too, which is great for younger children.

All you need is a drawing pad, and pencil. Draw an image in the same corner of the book on each page, and that each image changes only slightly. Stickmen are a good starting point, in different poses. Then you flip through the pages and watch their character start to move.

Wind chimes are a fun craft activity to do with your child, and can be made from a variety of materials you probably already have at home. If you want to have a go at making your own homemade wind chimes, we’ve got some tips and inspiration to get you started!

Not only will you be creating something completely unique to display at home, you can also upcycle and reuse items you would otherwise have thrown out.

You will need some paints and 2 large sheets of cardboard (or use A4 paper) and willing hands.

1. Working from the biggest to smallest hands, have each person dip her hands in her chosen paint and print them on the page, overlapping the handprints slightly as the group moves up the tree.
2. Use a paintbrush to add a tree trunk and then let all the paint dry.
3. Identify each set of handprints with a permanent marker.
4. Cut out the tree and glue it to the page. You could then date and frame this family handprint tree.

Set up a little grocery/mini supermarket with tins and packets. If you have a play till set up a checkout table and they can take it in turns to be the checkout person or the shopper. The ironing board made a great checkout in my youth! Have some bags ready to put the purchases in.

All you need is some balloons, and either table-tennis bats, or make your own bats using paper plates and sticks for handles. Clear some space in the hall and off they go.

Get a large roll of paper, like you use on easels/boards, and draw the outline of your child(ren) on the paper. They can then colour in, adding features, clothes etc. This is also a great winner at parties.

You could do each portraits of each other once the outline is drawn. Or if you don’t have paper, then draw the outline in chalk outside and decorate afterwards.

If you have a giant cardboard box, why not draw a town on the bottom of the box, with roads, tracks, bridges, parks, car-parks, etc. Add some wooden building blocks, cars, trains and some wooden/plastic animals.

Older kids could help with decorating/creating the scene. Or convert an old shoe box into a dolls house or garage.

Apparently skimming stones is a skill! But if you can find a small rounded, flat stone you should manage to skim it enough to impress your little ones.

All you need for this ingenious activity is some string or wool (preferably red), sticky tape, and a hallway. You need to create a grid using the string/wool that the kids will then attempt to pass through without touching the string or “laser”. Anyone who does touch the laser has to return to the start line again.

You can begin with an easy grid and increase the level of difficulty with age and ability. It will occupy them for hours! And you may want to have a go yourself!

Browse through your phone, camera or your pictures on the computer and print off your favourite family photos. Then let the kids arrange them in a photo album.

Or use them to create a collage of a special family time.

Give kids old magazines/catalogues and get them to cut out pictures of heads, bodies, legs and shoes. They can then have some fun mixing them up, and gluing on blank sheets of paper.

The movie will be a delight to watch when your small ones have grown up and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. The movie can be about everyday tasks or you could dress up and bring out the inner actors in you and yours!

There are some great movie maker downloads for tablets and mobile phones, if you don’t have a video camera.

Alternatively, here’s how to make a stop motion movie, which kids will also enjoy.

A great way to get rid of unused toys, have your friends or neighbours do a toy clear out and then gather to swap your old toys for something new.

Tell some jokes you love. The classic “Knock Knock” jokes or perhaps “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road”? Find out who is the wittiest in your house!

Check out all our jokes here!

There’s nothing better than the smell of cookies wafting through the house! Set their little hands to work with one of these easy cookie recipes to follow or join in the fun too.

Jigsaws are a whole-family activity that can work well between differently-aged siblings.

Set each member of the family up with a puzzle to suit their skill level, all helping each other finish, or create teams to work on large puzzle together.

You can even make your own family-photo jigsaws using an enlarged photo printed onto plain paper from your computer.

Juggling is a fun activity, albeit a challenge to learn. Juggling helps your hand/eye coordination, encourages brain growth and is also a great way to de-stress.

Bean bags are a better choice to start with for beginners as otherwise you will tire yourself out running around after tennis balls or other bouncy balls.

With your Hulas at the ready, get those hips moving and try to control your hoop longer than everyone else.

Whistling can seem a bit hard at first, but practice makes perfect. Once that mastered why not try whistling through a blade of grass. Not as easy as it sounds, place the flat grass leaf between your 2 thumbs and blow through, to make a most unusual sound.

Pick some flowers and place them either in a flower press or between 2 sheets of paper in the middle of a big book. Put some more heavy books on top of the book if using and leave for a few days.

Once the flowers have dried and are pressed, you can use them to decorate craft projects, homemade bookmarks, or for cards to give to friends and family.

Take a large jar, or cut the top off a large plastic water bottle, and put outside in the rain. At regular intervals or when the rain has stopped, measure the height of the rain that day or hour and make a chart of the rainfall over time.

Can you reach 4 or more levels of your card house? Check out this video showing a cool card house technique!

Set your alarm clock and wake your children in time to watch the sun rise. Then get out the paints later and have them paint the sunrise they saw.

Glam up your summer shoes by adding sequins, ribbons and buttons to them. Use craft glue and any items you have lying around at home. Or use beads and paint to upcycle your trainers.

Hold a family game of football in the garden or ask your neighbours to join in and choose teams. If stuck indoors have a family tournament using a smaller soft ball.

Have the kids participate in your own boot camp. Ease them in to it by having them walk 2 laps of the garden. Next let them jog around. Throw in some jumping jacks, lunges, squats and leg lifts. Are they sweating yet? Try the What’s Your Name Exercise Challenge! Or how about some hula hooping, frog jumping or skipping. Cool down afterwards.

Take turns painting each other’s faces. You can say what you want to be, as in a tiger or let your face painter surprise you. Take photos of the handiwork!

Or have each child ask questions about what they could be and let them guess what you have painted them as.

One person thinks of a thing or a person and the others have to guess what it is but are only allowed to ask questions that get a Yes or a No answer. The others must guess by the 20th question. First one to guess gets to pick the next item to be guessed.

Or write something on a piece of paper and each person sticks it on their head and has to ask questions to help them guess what they are.

Gather up some of your old socks, and some items for eyes, mouths, and noses, to make some sock puppets.

If your kids can sew, they can add the decorating with needle and thread, but for younger kids use glue. You could create a puppet theatre in a cardboard box, and let the kids put on a puppet show for you – be sure to record it though.

Stare at your opponent while trying not to blink. Whoever closed their eyes first loses.

Charades can be played with any type of word or phrase, but with kids you may find that movie titles work best. Most kids are familiar with many simple movie titles such as Sleeping Beauty or The Lion King. And even the youngest can act out Pinocchio!

All you need is plastic bottles, filled with rice, and paints and a ball. Fill the bottles with rice, and tightly close/glue the lid back on. Next paint the bottles, with some funny faces and bodies, patterns and numbers etc. Grab a ball and all set to play.

One person kicks off a story saying something like “One day a man was in the jungle. Unfortunately he met a lion”. The next person has to be the Fortunately person, so e.g. “Fortunately the man was a lion tamer”. And so on.

From ‘yes’ days to country, letter or colour themed days, you can really have some fun with this idea.

For instance, on a colour themed day, everyone has to:

• Wear clothing of that colour
• Eat food of that colour (Chivers Jelly has lots of colours to choose from!)
• Do activities with items of that colour
• Read stories with the colour in the name
• Paint or draw with only that colour
• Have a scavenger hunt for items that colour
• Sort toys into colours

Similarly, using a letter, you can base activities around the letter you have chosen. Or using a country you could cook the food of that country, see if you can find 10 interesting facts about the country, dress in the colours of the flag, and much more!

Cooking or baking is not only a fun way to spend time together, but is also a great teaching opportunity for younger children. And, for older kids, it’s a way to give them a bit of independence and some ideas for when they eventually leave home.

Making jelly is a good place to start. Children will learn to measure, stir and pour, and will need to have patience while it sets. Chivers Jelly have a full range of delicious flavours and some tasty recipes to test your new-found skills, from cakes to rainbow jelly pots and everything in between!

Once they have mastered the basics, you should encourage the children to pick recipes from cookbooks or get ideas online for dinners and treats that are easy to prepare.

Challenge them to create something from ingredients you already have at home, and go one further to get them cooking a family meal at least once a week.

Be sure to take photos and create an online scrapbook of your family favourites. You could even create your very own family cookbook to give each child when they do move onto college or their own home.

A treasure hunt can be as simple as asking everyone to find a range of items indoors or outdoors, or can be more complex and entertain for hours on end. It really depends on the ages of the children and the time you have to prepare.

Get thinking about different treasure hunts you could design for your children, they don’t have to cost anything and are always a great family talking point too.

And, for at-home treasure hunts, the prize at the end could lead them to the fridge for a jelly treat!

We all have cupboards full of board games, but how often do we play them? Either organise a board game night or challenge the children to play as many as they can in one afternoon!

Best of all, any they don’t enjoy could be brought to the charity shop which will help with decluttering too.

Whether you build a den indoors or in the garden, children will love the idea of having their own special place to while away a few hours.

Camps can be made with blankets, towels and furniture, or you may have a tent that can be pitched in the garden. And remember, a tasty picnic is a must for any good camping expedition!

Often, when my girls were younger, the box seemed to be the most enjoyable part of the present! Be inspired by some of these cardboard craft ideas and enjoy how your child can play for hours with boxes, decorating them to create everything from doll’s houses to cars, buses and trains!

Once you have eaten your Chivers Jelly pot, wash out the pots and keep them until you have enough to teach yourself the cup song.

If you already know the cup song, use the pots to create your very own musical instruments and write and perform some songs for the family using them.

Get the children ready for your next holiday by getting them to learn some handy phrases in the language of the country you plan to visit. There are numerous langauge learning websites and apps that have simple phrases and help with pronunciation.

As an alternative you could encourage the children to learn how to say ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’ and ‘thank you’ in 10 different languages to start with and test them by showing them flags from each country.

When you show them the flag, see if they can recite the salutations in the language the flag represents. This has the added benefit of teaching them to recognise flags from different countries too.

Jelly makes for a great sensory play activity. It is perfect for younger children as well as older, because it is safe to eat and my experience with younger children is that everything goes in their mouths!

You will need to prepare the day before to have your jelly set, but once that is done, you are all ready to let the fun commence.

Be sure to place a wipe proof mat or tablecloth out (it will get messy!) and lay your tray of jelly on top. To get going, you can ask the children to

• tell you what it smells like
• tell you what colour it is (you could make different layers)
• what it tastes like
• what is feels like

Afterwards let them play with the jelly, squish it and see how it breaks up and what it feels like in their hands. Have some containers and spoons on hand to get them scooping and filling and making jelly ‘sandcastles’. Use smaller plastic toys for them to bury or have adventures in the jelly mountain! They can also create different shapes and designs using cookie cutters.

Next time, you could add some extra ingredients like fruit, sweets or clean plastic toys for them to discover in the jelly and get older children creating jelly rainbow pots, with each layer having to set before they add the next one!

From cards to magic tricks, science experiments to crafting, encourage your children to learn a new skill. We have a few suggestions to get you started:

• Learn to make jelly
• Do a science experiment
• Learn to knit
• Make a bug hotel
• Learn a new card game
• Learn a tongue twister
• Make your own bubble mixture
• Make play dough
• Learn a magic trick

Get that clever parenting brain working and see how you can give chores disguised as fun things to do when your child announces they are bored!

From ‘who can get their duvet back in the cover quickest’ to fun playroom sorting activities, or getting them helping in the kitchen, there are numerous ways chores can be made fun.

We hope we have inspired you to create special moments together with some of these ideas – while having plenty of fun too.

Don’t get stuck indoors on a rainy day. There are plenty of fun things to do outside in the rain to keep kids of all ages amused.

And once you’ve had lots of fun getting wet and splashing about, head indoors for baths and some warm drinks!

Make it interesting by setting a challenge, for example – how many snails can you find in 10 minutes? Count the number of earthworms you come across. Look out for any interesting stones or leaves. Here is a fun nature scavenger hunt to download and try.

And when you get back inside you can use leaves and twigs to make a lovely nature collage or these leaf craft ideas.

This is great fun for all ages, but ideal for pre-schoolers to let off a bit of steam as well as encouraging them to count by checking how many puddles they found to jump in.

Tip – just make sure their waterproof trousers or dungarees are outside their wellies to help keep feet dry!

Get our best content direct to your inbox! You’ll receive quick and easy recipes, fun ideas to entertain the kids, parenting tips, great competitions, as well as offers from brands we trust.

Head to a nearby beach and build stone castles by piling up flat stones and see who can build the highest castle.

Or why not try creating a sea monster in the sand – draw a huge outline of a face and body and decorate with stones and shells to make eyes and shirt buttons with seaweed for hair.

Use the trees as giant umbrellas. See if you can spot any birds or squirrels in the trees, or look under the trees for animal burrows and mushrooms (remember to avoid picking mushrooms though unless you are an expert.). Can you hunt for pine cones?

How big is that tree? Here’s how to measure a tree, it’s very easy actually and you don’t need a long ladder!

If you come across any fallen down trees or tree stumps guess the tree’s age and then count the numbers of rings to see if you are right.

Take a ball out into the garden or the nearest park and have a game of “Soggy Soccer” or “Drizzly Donkey”. Sure to result in some slipping and sliding in the mud, which is always a winner with the kids!

See how many songs about the rain that you can think of. Take it in turn to yodel or sing them out loud (e.g. “Singing in the Rain”, “Raindrops keep falling”) as you splash through the puddles.

Find as many sticks as you can and take it in turns to make an arrow trail with the stick for everyone else to follow. Put in some loops to make the trail more interesting.

Make a ground level ‘tree house’ in the woods. Find a big tree with a strong low branch then collect lots of broken branches and ferns. Lean the broken branches and ferns in layers across the branch to make a mini-house under the tree.

Make mud pies! Find a suitable spot in the garden where the kids can dig to their hearts content and using buckets and spades make some delicious mud pies.

Tip – make sure you have plenty of hot water ready for a warm bubble bath afterwards!

You’re stuck indoors – don’t panic! If you’re wondering what to do with the kids to burn off some of that energy that builds up, try these active games for kids that can be played indoors.

Make your home a disco heaven, with a dance-a-thon to get everyone moving. Stick on a Spotify playlist or dig out the old CDs and play some musical games:

• Musical chairs
• Musical statues
• Best and Worst Dancer Competition
• Get everyone to try the Can Can
• Limbo dancing

Stop for a minute in the middle and do a heart rate check – feel for the pulse on the inner wrist or neck and count how many beats you feel over a 15-second period. Multiply by 4 to get the BPM (beats per minute).

Create an indoor obstacle course with plenty of climbing, crawling, hopping, jumping, falling on cushions/mattresses and let the kids go mad and try to beat each other’s times round the course.

Get our best content direct to your inbox! You’ll receive quick and easy recipes, fun ideas to entertain the kids, parenting tips, great competitions, as well as offers from brands we trust.

If you have stairs in your house, you can do some step aerobics!

• First, get the kids (carefully!) racing up and down the stairs 10 times in a row.
• Then, they should try calf raises up and down off the bottom step.
• Finally, jump down and up the bottom step 10 times.

Turn on the music, and get the kids exercising – try hopping, skipping or jumping jacks. If you have more than one child, get them to take turns being the leader, and the others have to follow whatever exercise they are doing (similar to Simon Says).

Clear some space, get the skipping ropes or hula hoop out and have a contest!

Who can skip or hula the most times in a row?

Put on some relaxing music, and get the kids to stretch, and try to touch their toes without bending their knees, bend one leg backwards and hold their foot with their hand, or twist from side to side without moving their feet.

The Tree pose is a good yoga pose to start kids off with, it helps with balance and breathing.

Next try the Cat pose where you are on your hands and knees, lower your head and arch your back gently, then raise your head and curve your back the other way.

Wet weather got you stuck indoors and cabin fever setting in? There is no reason why you can’t get outside. Don’t let the rain stop the fun with these kids outdoor rainy day games.

From puddle jumping to wet basketball, we bet the whole family will enjoy these rainy day games!

Head out for a walk but make it more fun by getting everyone to jump from puddle to puddle to complete the route. Have a puddle jumping contest – see who can jump in the most puddles.

Give each child a bucket and see if they can re-direct the water from trees and downpipes so it flows into their bucket. They have to try and fill it up using only rainwater.

You could cut the top and bottom of a plastic bottle to create a pipe to help them with their task.

Get our best content direct to your inbox! You’ll receive quick and easy recipes, fun ideas to entertain the kids, parenting tips, great competitions, as well as offers from brands we trust.

Get your floating boats or toys from the bath and race them in puddles or rivers created along the gutters – see whose toy wins. If you don’t have any floating toys use twigs or leaves and have pooh-stick races.

Or race raindrops – each child picks a raindrop on a window and see which one gets to bottom first.

Let the kids have a Mud Town Building Contest. Get old spoons and dishes and cups and help the kids to create a Mud Town or Castle. They could have a moat, mud buildings and use leaves, stones and twigs to create boats, people and shelters.

Create a water filled obstacle course.

• Use slippy grass for skidding and sliding activities.
• Fill basins with water as a stepping stone obstacle.
• Throw water filled balloons at each other or into a bucket, without bursting!
• Run the gauntlet of wet sponges, or if you have a water pistol, each person has to run past a line of people throwing or shooting! How wet will you get?!

Slugs, snails and worms love wet days. Set up a race track using a piece of cardboard or plastic sheet and catch some slimy creatures to race. Make sure to set them free afterwards.

Create a hopscotch grid and get everyone warmed up with a fun game. If it is too wet for chalk, be creative and use twigs to create the grid instead.

Have a good old fashioned water balloon or water pistol fight  – you’re wet anyhow! Go on you know you want to!

Get waterproof containers and fill them with different levels of water. Play your ‘instruments’ using spoons and spatulas to see what each one sounds like. Try and get a beat going and get everyone dancing in the rain.

Create your very own bowling alley with part filled plastic bottles and tennis balls as bowling balls. How does the rain change the speed of the ball? Is it easier or more difficult to knock down the bottles?

You will need at least 4 people to play this fun game.

• Get 16 balloons and partly fill them with water.
• Place them in a container between the teams.
• Have 2 empty buckets at the end of the course (about 15 feet away).
• 2 players from each team have to stand back to back.
• Place a water balloon between their backs and they must walk to the finish.
• If the balloon bursts then it’s back to the start!

The winners are the team who transfer the most balloons.

Set up a hoop in the garden. If you don’t have a basketball hoop, then string up a hula hoop. Divide into two teams and give each team a wet sponge. They have to shoot the sponge through the hoop.

We have divided these into paid options and then free/low cost ideas for you.

The good news is, most of these rainy day ideas will work wherever you live in the world!

When the rain is pouring down and you are struggling to amuse the kids, a visit to the local cinema or theatre can be just what is needed.

From seeing the latest blockbusters to enjoying a matinee or evening show at the theatre you are sure to find some inspiration from local listings.

As an alternative low cost adventure, you could turn the TV room into a cinema, with homemade tickets, popcorn and darkened room. Or get everyone to write and perform a play or a puppet show.

A visit to an activity, discovery or play centre offers a super way to amuse kids of all ages, especially if they offer several different activities to choose from. And parents usually get a break too with some time out to enjoy a cuppa or a catch up with friends.

Look out for offers for off-peak times or on discount sites like Groupon or Living Social to help keep the costs down.

Or for a home-based version of this, set up an obstacle course in your garden for the kids to enjoy.

Get our best content direct to your inbox! You’ll receive quick and easy recipes, fun ideas to entertain the kids, parenting tips, great competitions, as well as offers from brands we trust.

Escape Rooms have become very popular over the last number of years, most larger towns and cities offer at least one Escape experience to try. Check the recommended age before you go, they do tend to be for older kids although in my experience younger kids enjoy puzzles too and enjoy being part of the group even if they can’t solve it themselves.

If you live in or are visiting Ireland we have a handy list of Escape Rooms here.

Get underground and out of the rain with a visit to a cave, mine or even a crypt! There are lots of these underground experiences to choose from and often they offer guided tours and have other attractions attached.

An alternative is to go cave kayaking, combining both time on water and getting underground. And as you will be getting wet anyway, the rain shouldn’t matter!

Be a tourist for the day and hop on the train or bus to a new area. If you already have travel passes, this is a good low cost day out. Pick a public transport bus, train or tram route and stay on until the end of the line before returning home or go in the opposite direction to your usual route!

Have you ever been on a tour of your own city? It is surprising what you can discover on a bus tour around your own city or by going further afield.

Another great option is a boat tour. So if you have a river or lake near you, check out if there are tour boat operators and enjoy learning more about where you live and getting a different perspective of the town from the water.

Visit a Castle or a stately home to take a trip back in time. Many now offer interactive visitor centres and guided tours. Some even have family tours and dress up facilities.

Heritage and other historical sites in your area are also another way of stepping back into time. Check if they offer free entry on certain days of the month to plan a visit then if budgets are tight.

Libraries often offer story times, workshops, games, colouring sheets and other fun activities alongside book rental. Many have summer reading schemes that kids and teens can sign up to so they keep up with reading during the summer months and get to discover new authors they may not have read before.

Many museums and art galleries are free to visit and make for an interesting rainy day out.

If you live in or are visiting in Ireland, we have a list of the best museums to visit with kids in Ireland to get you started, many of these offer free entry to families. Over the water, here are the most family-friendly museums in the UK.

Inspired by your gallery or museum visit, break out the arts and crafts and get creative. Cover the kitchen table or floor with a disposable table cloth and let everyone get messy. From collages to paintings and pottery to drawing, the possibilities are endless!

Remember duvet days, pre kids? On a rainy day there is no better feeling than shutting the curtains, staying in your PJs and chilling out with your favourite movie, book, music or dusting off the board games or cards to play some fun card games together.

Embrace the rain with a trip outdoors. Get everyone into wellies and rain gear and go for a walk, jumping in muddy puddles is obligatory!

A trip to the beach is always fun in the rain. Leave your clothes and towel in the car and hop in. You are going to get wet anyway!

Here are some ideas for Fun Things to Do at the Beach with Kids. 

A road trip can be local or you could go further afield. Discover new places that you may not have visited before or how about letting the kids take charge? Get them to look up the route and give you directions on how to get there!

You never know, you may get lucky and rain may have stopped when you get there! And be sure to pack some food and drinks for a ‘carnic’, a picnic in the car!

A rainy day is perfect for getting messy in the kitchen. Whether you create sweet or savoury dishes, get the children to weigh, measure and mix. They will enjoy doing this and learn along the way.

If your children are old enough, get them to make the family dinner or lunch for that day while you relax, at least until it is time for the wash up!

You could also make playdough, slime or honeycomb, all super easy and fun to make at home.

There are lots of fun games you can play indoors.

• Make a fort
• Create an indoor obstacle course
• Set up an indoor disco
• Create your own home cinema
• Have an indoor treasure hunt
• Play board games
• Dressing up
• Do magic tricks or play cards
• Have a game of charades, the possibilities are endless

We have other indoor games ideas here.

Get our best content direct to your inbox! You’ll receive quick and easy recipes, fun ideas to entertain the kids, parenting tips, great competitions, as well as offers from brands we trust.

When it’s a rainy day it sometimes feels like you are all stuck indoors with no options, but there are plenty of things to do. Here are 25 ideas to inspire you!

As my Mum always says, “everything can go in the wash” and you seem to agree, as the number one thing to do with kids on rainy days is to don your wellies and rain gear and head outside for a walk.

Splashing in puddles is obligatory, of course! And hot drinks once you get back indoors, perhaps with some hot buttered toast and jam. Yum!

A close second is to curl up on the sofa with the kids and watch a family movie. Popcorn and hot chocolate are an added bonus for everyone.

You could add some extra fun, and make your own home cinema.

Many of you love to break out the arts and crafts box for a creative afternoon of fun with the kids. Here are 50 Brilliant Art & Craft Ideas That Are Worth the Mess!

Get our best content direct to your inbox! You’ll receive quick and easy recipes, fun ideas to entertain the kids, parenting tips, great competitions, as well as offers from brands we trust.

Baking is high on the list of your favourite things to do on rainy days, with everything from cookies to s’mores on the menu. Here are easy cookie recipes for kids to try, including these classic (and delicious!) chewy chocolate chip cookies. Hopefully you can wait long enough for them to cool to enjoy with a glass of milk!

More great ideas include:

• Zesty lemon bars
• Baked berry squares
• Banana upside-down cake
• Lemon drizzle cake
• Homemade Swiss roll

Kids love making forts – even older kids will enjoy this fun activity.

Mum Anna tells us that she makes a fort in the living room and she and the kids go on ‘adventures far and wide’.

Whether your children are still young enough to cuddle up with you for a story, or old enough to read themselves, you love nothing better than a literary afternoon on rainy days. You could even turn this activity into a fun readathon, and see how many books/chapters everyone can read.

Once you have baked all those goodies you like, there’s nothing better than to have an indoor picnic. In your fort, if you’ve made one!

Sometimes a rainy day is the ideal opportunity to have no agenda and just see where the day takes you. Stay in your PJs and enjoy!

So one parent admitted “he sends the kids off to their grandparents on rainy days”, there was a “ha ha ha” at the end so I do think he was jesting! But many of you head off to visit friends and family to while away the time on a rainy day.

We all have plenty of them, but how often do we get the board games out and have a couple of hours trying to amass our Monopoly fortune or figure out ‘who was the murderer’? Here are the 20 best board games for families and some completely different board games that you’ll really enjoy.

This one from Melissa is ingenious. Junky bedroom wars is played when Mum or Dad thinks up an object that the kids can make, using the junk in their bedroom e.g. a boat or a plane.

Once built, you race them against each other! Or head outside to a puddle to see who has built the one that will stay afloat the longest!

From printable colouring pages to freehand drawing, colouring was high on the list of things to do with kids on a rainy day. You could dedicate a wall in the playroom to all their masterpieces.

Ok this one is probably not going to be popular with the kids but check out 10 Quick Ways to Tidy Up the Playroom for inspiration on how to get them cleaning without even realising they are helping!

And, better yet, they will most likely discover toys they had forgotten, as they tidy, leading to a whole new way to pass some more time.

Cover the table and let the kids get creative with their play dough for the day. And if you don’t have any to hand, here’s how to make your own play dough.

Dad Sean suggested heading out for a day of fishing. As you are probably going to get wet anyway, a rainy day is the ideal opportunity to catch some fish.

On colder days you may like to go to the local leisure centre for a dip, but once the weather heats up a bit, parents said don’t let a few drops of rain put you off heading to the beach!

Bring waterproof bags for the clothes and have hot drinks at the ready for when you get home.

While many of you suggested curling up on the sofa to watch a film, on a rainy day it can be a nice treat to get out and see the latest family movie at the cinema.

Many local libraries have a story hour or offer games, puzzles or colouring sheets for younger kids. And older ones can check out the latest arrivals or ask for recommendations from the librarians for similar books to ones they have already enjoyed.

Many museums are free to visit and have an array of activities to keep kids amused. From interactive displays to replica things to handle to dress up to activity sheets that they can complete as they go.

Whether you have a box full of dress up costumes or a wardrobe full of clothes, kids love to dress up and put on a show for adults. Pick a theme to help get the ball rolling and then sit back and enjoy the show.

Close the curtains, put on a disco playlist with some great tunes and while away a few hours dancing about and having fun.

Set up an indoor treasure hunt. This could also be an ideal way to get the kids cleaning! When you hide objects in the mess of toys around the house and they have to clear them up to find the prizes!

A rainy day is the ideal time to have your very own puppet show. Puppets can be anything from a favourite teddy to socks with googly eyes added! And to make it extra special, why not help the kids to write their own script?

Set up an indoor obstacle course using cushions and rugs and see who can get around the room quickest!

Apart from jumping in puddles there are loads of games that can be played outside on a rainy day. Be inspired with these ideas for rainy day games that guarantee outdoor fun!