Come rain or shine, we do our best as a family to enjoy different activities together at home and with the autumn weather and half term upon us, we could all do with a few ideas of how to make the most of the break even if the weather isn't on our side.
So, here's some of my suggestions of fun things you could do together this half term...
* Visiting the local park - we're very lucky to have several great parks near us, all within a 15 minute drive time, and we're close to one of Birmingham's canals too so there's always somewhere we can go to get some fresh air.
It's really worth having a look online to find out what's near to you and keep your eyes peeled when you're out and about, as there can be some hidden gems and we quite often don't realise what's on our own doorstep.
Collect conkers (perhaps for a seasonal display or to play conkers), look at all the leaves changing colour, feed the ducks - and splash in muddy puddles!
Plus, it's free!
* Pack a picnic - You can obviously do this if you're going on a day out or to the park as suggested above, but if the weather isn't that kind, why not have a picnic indoors instead?
Break with routine and set up a blanket on the floor in your lounge, use disposable plates and enjoy a feast of sandwiches, nibbles such as crisps, vegetable sticks and a fresh fruit salad (with a chocolatey or biscuity treat too if your little ones have been good) and some fresh juice.
It'll make a fun change to your usual routine and you could even invite their teddy bear's to join in too.
* Bake it - You can't beat a bit of baking and a simple fairy cake recipe is easy enough for small hands to help with, or if you want something a bit different, you could try making your own pizzas with your kids having free reign on the toppings.
How about making some spooky themed cakes for Halloween? There's loads of ideas on Pinterest and the supermarkets have lots of props and bits and bobs for just a few pounds if you want to have lots of fun with this idea.
* Fancy dress - You know all those fancy dress parties you've been to where you've needed a funny wig or hat? Put them to good use with a dressing up box and add bit and pieces to it, whenever you have a fancy dress party or see something fun in a charity shop, for your children to play with on a rainy day. And you too.
* Art attack - Any Neil Buchanan fans out there? Or Mister Maker perhaps, if you're down with today's kids? There's so many fun ways you could get creative with the kids, depending on how messy you want to be.
You could get some poster paints and large white sheets of paper and have a free for all painting session, perhaps using old sponges, brushes and even toy cars to experiment and make some fun paintings (my top tip would be to use a plastic dust sheet to keep paint off your furniture and carpets).
Or you could try make a big art attack using household items, in the garden. Decide on a picture and then have a look around the house, encouraging your children to think of how they could use different items to create different shapes and parts of your picture. You could then take a photo of your final creation from an upstairs window.
* Family portrait - If you have slightly older children, you could all try doing a portrait of each other, putting your names into a hat and picking someone at random. It would be really funny to see how you all drew each other, and this could make for a fun family portrait to display and make you smile for years to come.
Where are our favourite place to visit and things to do as a family, come rain or shine?
* Make a seasonal display - Inspired by the displays that Ethan's preschool create for the children, I decided to turn the top of a unit in our lounge, near where Ethan plays, into a seasonal shelf. I spent less than £10 in Asda and brought together some books and films we already had to make a Halloween display and I am really pleased with how it turned out - as is Ethan!
I used a doormat to make a base then added some autumnal flowers, two small pumpkins, a witches hat garland and so on to make this nook look the part then Ethan has been adding conkers, leaves and artwork he has brought how with him.
It's really nice to make this area different and interactive, and I have plans as to what to do with it for November and of course Christmas too.
It's really worth having a look online to find out what's near to you and keep your eyes peeled when you're out and about, as there can be some hidden gems and we quite often don't realise what's on our own doorstep.
Collect conkers (perhaps for a seasonal display or to play conkers), look at all the leaves changing colour, feed the ducks - and splash in muddy puddles!
Plus, it's free!
* Pack a picnic - You can obviously do this if you're going on a day out or to the park as suggested above, but if the weather isn't that kind, why not have a picnic indoors instead?
Break with routine and set up a blanket on the floor in your lounge, use disposable plates and enjoy a feast of sandwiches, nibbles such as crisps, vegetable sticks and a fresh fruit salad (with a chocolatey or biscuity treat too if your little ones have been good) and some fresh juice.
It'll make a fun change to your usual routine and you could even invite their teddy bear's to join in too.
* Bake it - You can't beat a bit of baking and a simple fairy cake recipe is easy enough for small hands to help with, or if you want something a bit different, you could try making your own pizzas with your kids having free reign on the toppings.
How about making some spooky themed cakes for Halloween? There's loads of ideas on Pinterest and the supermarkets have lots of props and bits and bobs for just a few pounds if you want to have lots of fun with this idea.
* Fancy dress - You know all those fancy dress parties you've been to where you've needed a funny wig or hat? Put them to good use with a dressing up box and add bit and pieces to it, whenever you have a fancy dress party or see something fun in a charity shop, for your children to play with on a rainy day. And you too.
* Art attack - Any Neil Buchanan fans out there? Or Mister Maker perhaps, if you're down with today's kids? There's so many fun ways you could get creative with the kids, depending on how messy you want to be.
You could get some poster paints and large white sheets of paper and have a free for all painting session, perhaps using old sponges, brushes and even toy cars to experiment and make some fun paintings (my top tip would be to use a plastic dust sheet to keep paint off your furniture and carpets).
Or you could try make a big art attack using household items, in the garden. Decide on a picture and then have a look around the house, encouraging your children to think of how they could use different items to create different shapes and parts of your picture. You could then take a photo of your final creation from an upstairs window.
Where are our favourite place to visit and things to do as a family, come rain or shine?
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