Keep your kids busy during holidays

The summer holidays are here so it’s time to take on your role as Entertainer-in-Chief, keeping boredom at bay while your kids are at home. Here are some simple, mess-free activities to keep them happy right through to September.

1. Lazy painting in the lounge

These clever techniques for creating simple rainbow designs mean that your children can play with colour without getting it on their clothes, the sofa, your new rug or the cat. Either squeeze thick blobs of paint onto a card sealed inside a ziplock bag so your kids can blend the colours without actually touching the paint itself, or swirl shaving foam and food colouring together inside a Bacofoil tray and transfer the rainbow blend onto a sheet of A5 paper.

2. Bathroom bonanza

Head to the bathroom for a range of fun, water-based games. Use ice cubes tinted with food colouring to turn the water green, blue or pink; make Bubble Snakes or create an instant version of the hook-a-duck game by fastening tape loops around the necks of your toy bath ducks and letting your kids take turns at catching them (if you don’t have a hook, try a long-handled wooden spoon).

3. Cook up a storm

Who knew you could make cupcakes in a microwave? Or find spaghetti in a squash? There are so many cool ways to introduce your kids to cooking but our favourite recipe is Frozen Banana Lollies. This simple, fun-to-make treat uses bananas, strawberries, yoghourt and chocolate to create a delicious, fruity snack. The only downside is waiting for the lollies to firm up in the freezer (but you want your kids to learn patience, right?)

4. Build a web in the bedroom

Use masking tape to create a ‘spider web’ on the back of the bedroom door, with the sticky side of the tape facing the room. Now make equal-sized balls out of scrunched-up paper so your kids can throw them at the ‘web’. The winner is the one who can get most paper balls to stick (but ask each player to write their name on their set of paper balls, to avoid arguments about who won!)

5. Game on in (or out of) the garden

There are so many activities you can do if you have a little outdoor space, but if you don’t have a garden, all you need is a windowsill and a few containers. Half-submerge a sweet potato in water (suspending it in a jar with wooden cocktail sticks) and wait until it sprouts spectacular pink and green leaves or make an ‘eggshell garden’ out of half eggshells filled with soil and planted with cress or chive seeds (your kids will love to draw faces on the shells and watch as the green ‘hair’ grows).

If the summer holidays are a wake-up call that you need a little more space, why not contact us at Daniel Cobb? With a range of fabulous rental properties in areas including Westminster, London Bridge, the South Bank and Bermondsey, we can find you the perfect, family-friendly rental property.