The summer holidays are a great time to have quality bonding time with your children. When they spend so much of their lives at school, the holidays give you all a chance to have fun, relax and enjoy the warm weather. Here are some of the ways you can make the most of the time you have.
Plan for the main days
Chances are you will have a couple of main activities that you want to do during the summer holidays. This could be a day trip such as a theme park, water park or zoo, or it could be your summer vacation or a mini break such as a weekend away or a few days camping. These activities will be the most expensive so work out your budget and see what you’re able to afford. It could be worth spreading them out over the summer holiday period so you have plenty of things to look forward to. Pencil these in on your calendar and book tickets ahead of time, make sure the dates don’t clash with anything else important (such as a family wedding or other set event).
Come up with other cheap, fun things to do
Along with your ‘main’ activities, it’s worth bulking out your days with some fun yet less expensive activities. A picnic in the park, a family bike ride or a nature walk. Museums and galleries are usually free and lots of them have child friendly exhibits, usually interactive and are fun for kids to get involved in. If there are any summer fetes, fairs or anything else like this going on at your child’s school, your local church or community centre these can be worth going along to.
Arrange playdates
Playdates are really beneficial for children, it’s a chance for them to socialise and mix with their peers outside of a school setting. Kids can also keep each other occupied, and all of the running around will tire them out! A sleepover is always fun for children and is a great way for them to spend time with their friends over the holidays. If you’ve not hosted a sleepover before, keep the group small at first. Think of some fun activities to do and serve some tasty food. Don’t forget parents contact details in case of emergencies. If your child likes to have regular sleepovers, a trundle bed is a good option or you could look through the bunk bed range from Cuckooland and similar kids furniture shops. Otherwise, air beds and camp beds could be the way to go.
Think of some rainy day activities
While it might be the summer holidays, there are always going to be some days that are rainy or just not the best for spending outside! For this reason you need some rainy day activities on hand. Craft materials for artwork and creativity, you could bake together, sew or buy a kit that kids can put together from a craft shop. These can be anything to painting mini stained glass windows to making sock puppets.