The winter months and school holidays are just around the corner, and while it is fantastic to spend some quality time with the kids, it can be tricky to keep them entertained. This becomes even more difficult when you are low on cash (which is a common problem around Christmas), as it is simply not possible to fund trips out every day. Luckily, with a bit of resourcefulness and creativity, it is possible to make the holidays a fun and rewarding time for the whole family. This article has some great ideas to help you keep children entertained when sticking to a tight budget.
Table of Contents
Ignite Their Imagination
Your home or back garden can become a magical treasure trail with some clues on folded pieces of paper. Let your kids solve the clues until they find the ‘treasure’ at the end, like a bar of chocolate or similar. Or, if you’re feeling crafty, make a fort out of cardboard boxes, make funny hats out of paper, or set them drawing or painting challenges.
Head to the Park
Sometimes taking a simple walk through nature or a trip to the park is all that’s needed. The natural world has some wonderful sights, sounds, and smells to enjoy, especially if you turn it into a scavenger hunt. Alternatively, head to your local playground, play a ball game, or try some traditional playground games like Tag or Hide and Seek. It’s a great way to have fun and get them active in the fresh air.
Create a Home Cinema
Turn the lights out in the lounge, draw the curtains, cover the sofa with pillows, get out some tasty snacks, and stick a film on the TV. It could be their favourite film or something that you have not seen before, but the key is to make your child feel like they are at the cinema. Of course, it will be even better, because you can all snuggle up together on the sofa enjoying your favourite homemade treats.
Research your Family History
Children are naturally inquisitive and will revel at the opportunity to learn more about themselves and their families. You can create great family trees on platforms like Ancestry.com, which can give them a better understanding of their family history. If you’ve fostered a child from an organization like thefca.co.uk and feel that your child is ready to learn more about their family of origin, this could be a great, budget-friendly way to explore that subject.
Learn About a New Topic Together
Children are built to learn and develop, but we tend to lose our curiosity and thirst for knowledge as adults. What better way to keep them entertained, help them develop, and deepen your bond than by exploring a brand-new topic together? Whether you use the internet, visit the local library or both, choose a topic you are both interested in and find out as much as you can together. Perhaps you could put what you have learned in a poster or presentation and show someone else in the family?