We all know that keeping kids entertained on rainy days in is no picnic, but as the seasons turn and we enter colder, wetter winters than ever before it becomes harder and harder to avoid. Instead of letting the television babysit, do a little bit of planning and with some patience you can keep everyone happy.

Kitchen Fun

Obviously what you do with your children in the kitchen depends on how old your children are and what they are capable of, but there are lots of simple ideas to walk them through. Try mixing some cereal (something like Rice Krispies or Cornflakes would work best) with some melted chocolate, put them in cases and leave them to set – you can put extra sweets on top as well!

Helping to decorate a cake can be a great distraction for kids, and they might even be able to help you make the cake itself. If they have a few friends around, have a go at making pizzas – lay out lots of toppings in different bowls, buy ready-made pizza bases and let them design their own dinner.

Games

An indoor treasure hunt can be a fantastic way to keep everyone happy and busy, although it will require a fair bit of work ahead of time. Hide a toy or some sweets in a location about the house, give the kids a clue which will lead them to the next one, and whoever gets there first wins the prize! Alternatively get them to work together, or if they are a bit older encourage them to make the clues for each other.

Digging out board games can be a great way to keep them occupied – you can’t go wrong with Hungry Hungry Hippos, making a card game of your own or taking to the computer for some child-friendly bingo games at https://online.bingo.com/en. A game of indoor bowling can easily be achieved by setting up ten empty plastic bottles, a piece of duct tape for the start line and a soft indoor ball to knock them down with.

Crafts

The possibilities are endless if you have a well-stocked craft box. With some nice paper you can teach them how to make paper aeroplanes, fortune tellers or origami shapes. Make sock puppets with buttons and beads and encourage them to put on a play with the finished piece – double the fun! Alternatively an old poster tube, some nails and beans can create a musical rain stick which they can customise themselves.

If you feel like having some comfy fun, build a fort with the kids. Bring a few dining chairs into the living room and drape table cloths or blankets over the top; you can then fill the inside with cushions and duvets and have an indoor picnic, or turn the lights out and give them a torch to tell scary stories with.

Just a small amount of planning and a well-stocked activity box can take away a lot of the stress of keeping children entertained on those long, wet, winter days. Giving them a chance to create something themselves and encouraging them to think outside the box can be rewarding later in life – and might give you time to relax with a glass of wine!

*this is a partnered post* 

In the half term we had one of those days when the weather was totally awful and one of those times when this little corner of the world seems at its wettest and coldest. Winter seemed to be shamelessly wrecking our half term plans and we spent far too much of the day inside!

The kids were going stir crazy and we had little options for what to do with them for the short period of time before tea. So we threw them in the car and headed out to the incredible Crosby beach where the Anthony Gormley statues are. Parking up we had no idea what was waiting for us!. The most incredible wind! It was enough to pretty much stand and lean into and not fall over. Seriously. Insane.

The Sand was being blown across the beach and it actually looked like moving water it was going so fast. I tried to capture it a bit by using slow shutters but i didn’t have a tripod  and balancing on the sand on my knees being blown by  incredible wind was going to be tricky for hand shake! But some of the effects were really good.

We didn’t actually last that long, the kids thought it was hilarious to run into the wind!

We all ran/walked or staggered to the nearest statue and then ran and blown back to the car.

Talk about invigorating!! I think we all came away with sand rash!

Then we headed home via a supermarket for some sausages and rolls and had a lovely warm up with hot dogs and chocolate!

Glory prized from the hands of defeat!! In your face dreary wintery weather!

Three times in the past week…i have had conversations like this:

‘ohhhh i think i’ve seen you before…

do you walk along such and such a road at about 9am?

..ah yes i thought it was you….’

This comment is not from someone who knows me really well. So far, the dentist, the dog groomers and the practice nurse have all mentioned to me how they have seen me in the morning on the school run. Picking me out amongst the massive number of mums, dads, grandads, grannies, dogs and kids who are going to the two quite big primary schools that are very close together on the road that i walk on.

Im never really very sure what to make of it.

Are they thinking ‘OH GOOD LORD HOW MANY CHILDREN DOES SHE HAVE?”

which actually come to think of it, someone walking past me once did actually say something very similar…I did my standard response…heh heh ha.

or is it more of a “WOW HOW AMAZING IS SHE?” sort of thing.

I think i choose B if thats alright with you 😉

To be honest i think the Dog groomers actually notice the dog really. They are really lovely guys who only need to work three or four days out of the week in their canine salon called…’doggy style’…

yes…

really…

I mean that had to be a 3 bottles of whiskey and ‘what shall we call this new dog grooming service of ours’ moment surely!!

You don’t want to be googling that without sticking ‘dog groomers’ after it I can tell you!!

Digressing a little but there you have it. I am so glad to stick out like a sore thumb around these parts….known for the swarms of kids and animals around my feet.

Well i suppose there are worse things!!?