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Kids Activity Ideas - For Parents & Grandparents

The prospect of keeping children busy at home during the holidays can be daunting. Let us help you keep the kids busy and your nerves intact.

The prospect of keeping children busy at home during the holidays can be a daunting one - even more so if you are working remotely and need some time to focus. There are some parents and grandparents out there who are amazing at coming up with creative kids’ activities at home and have endless patience. But if you’re not one of them, read on for ideas for you keep the kids busy and your nerves intact.

The best activities for kids at home will depend a little on their ages and preferences. Some children love crafting and artwork, while this can leave others cold.

Plus, you might not have the time or funds for a trip out to crafting shops for all the myriad supplies you need. So we’ve chosen the ideas below because they’re possible without a trolley full of materials.

Craft Ideas for Kids

Here are a few crafts for kids that should keep them entertained for a while:

  • A paper aeroplane competition. Compare different designs and see how well they fly and land.
  • Create a family tree together, to explore the different branches of your family and their generations. Print out photos of each person and stick them on.
  • Make a set of bookmarks to encourage their reading.
  • Use insulating or masking tape to create a road map on your floor. Drive toy cars around your imaginary town and use other toys as landmarks and local characters.
  • Challenge your child to create an artistic collage – cut out from magazines and catalogues, use stickers and paint to bring it to life. If you have an empty picture frame it can go on their wall.
  • Raid the garden for decent sized stones and do some rock paintings.
  • Order white t-shirts and fabric dye to create some tie-dye masterpieces.

Fun Activities for Kids Involving Exercise

If the challenge for your brood is to get them moving and away from screens, here are some suggested physical activities for children:

  • Choose a song for a choreography challenge. Work together to create a funky dance and see if you can remember it all!
  • The floor is lava. Even older children are obsessed with this game. Put cushions and tea towels on the floor to help you make your way around the room without touching the floor.
  • Musical bumps or statues. The perfect opportunity to revive these favourite party games.
  • Fun circuit training. Draw pictures of different activities and place them around the room – or all over the house. The children need to visit each picture and do the activity – e.g. hop on one leg 10 times, do 10 star jumps, 10 squats, 2 roly-polies etc. See how many circuits they can manage.
  • Dodge ball or catch in the garden

Other Things to Do at Home With Kids

Could it be time to get the children to help you sort through their toys and decide what can be passed on, recycled or donated to charity?

Going through your digital photos is a great way to spend some time, especially if you look at them together and see what everyone can remember about special days and holidays. You could choose a few pictures to make into prints and frame for their bedrooms.

Do remember that it’s not your job to come up with all the ideas for children to keep busy. Ask them to come up with a few things to do – although be prepared that they might mainly involve making slime!

Also, don’t feel bad if the children end up watching screens for some of the time. You may well need to get some work done - or just have a little me time!

This article was first published on workingmums.co.uk, whose assets were acquired by 55/Redefined in 2024.

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