The useless mum's summer survival kit (AKA how to get through the school holidays with your sanity intact!)
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Make them rock stars
As
the school summer holidays get underway, mums across the land fall into
two distinct camps: the ones that embrace the endless weeks of carefree
time with their children, with no alarm calls, fraught school runs or
homework deadlines.
And
then there are those who dread the extended break, wondering how on
earth they'll occupy their kids for weeks on end, their ears echoing to
the sound of 'I'm BORED'.
Whether
you're a full-time mum or you juggle raising a family with work
commitments, it can be a shock to the system to have your brood off
school for the entire summer, so check out our handy hacks for keeping
them entertained without spending a fortune.
Get dirty
Let your children get dirty - just make sure you've got a hose ready for afterwards!
Seriously.
Give them free rein to build mud castles, or use poster paint in the
garden to make a huge piece of art on a paper tablecloth: spray paint
using straws or use their hands and feet to make marks. Encourage them
to really get filthy and immerse themselves. Just be ready with the hose
and a towel at the end of it.
Make a movie
Even
the smallest children can make a movie with a bit of help these days.
Grab a smartphone or tablet and use a simple stop-motion animation app
to make a short film using plastic figures or toys. Older children can
be tasked with creating a storyboard, writing a script and making props,
or even using animation to – you'll be amazed how intuitively they use
new software or apps. To motivate them, why not give them a title or
theme? It could be an ongoing project over the holidays or a one day
challenge.
Put on a fashion show
Kids love dressing up, so ask yours to stage a fashion show - it'll keep them busy for hours!
Give
the kids – boys and girls - access to the whole family's wardrobes and
ask them to stage a fashion show, styling outfits and sorting the
soundtrack and choreography. Perhaps you have a dressing up or craft box
they can use to make accessories? They can mix and match garments, and
can knot them or layer them, but no cutting, sewing or other
customizing!
Make a scarecrow
Challenge
your children to make a scarecrow. Give them a pile of junk and some
old clothes and leave them to it. If you're near the beach, get them to
make a summer snowman in the sand.
Create a holiday memory book
Children
of all ages can be encouraged to make a scrapbook documenting their
holidays. From saving museum ticket stubs to making collages from
booklets and pressing flowers or leaves, there are loads of ways to
record their activities - and they can take it back to school in
September to talk about what they've been up to.
Do a scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunts can be a great way to
get the kids outside - and you can always theme them or perhaps include a
couple of sweets to be found along the way!
Hunts
can be taken outdoors or kept inside on rainy days, and can be made
age-appropriate. Make a list of things the children - in groups or
individually - need to find: it could be that they have to find items in
a range of specific colours, and collect them, tick them off a list or
photograph them.
Water works
Smaller
children don't need much more than a washing up bowl or paddling pool
filled with water, plus a few plastic vessels for filling and pouring,
and they'll stay entertained for hours. Add a sprinkler, some water
pistols and some water balloons, and even older children will be happy.
Make a den
Everyone remembers how fun making a
den was as a child - and while a simple concept, it's still a great way
to keep the little ones entertained on a rainy day
Use
a clothes line or salvage some boxes to create the basic structure of a
den, adding a blanket or sheet to make the 'walls'. Or let them play
under the garden table or climbing frame with a huge sheet to make it
more den-like.
The kite challenge
See
if older children can make a kite that will fly, or buy a cheap kite
(find them online or in local toy shops and bookshops) and get them to
make a colourful tail using tissue paper, crepe paper, scraps of fabric
and more. They could even decorate the kite using stickers and scraps.
Make a souvenir t shirt
Buy
cheap, plain t shirts and fabric paints and get your kids to make a
holiday t shirt: remember to slip a piece of cardboard inside so the
design doesn't seep through to the back. Younger children could colour
in an outline you've drawn on with permanent marker, and older kids can
create their own design. Make it an annual family tradition, and don't
forget to photograph them in their finished designs.
Make them rock stars
Unleash their inner star (and help
them burn off some energy!) by encouraging them to form a band. Just be
aware you may have to sit through a few 'performances' and show your
appreciation for their talent!
Use
MP3 players and whatever you have around the house, from xylophones to
saucepans and spoons to make music. Write some lyrics, raid the family's
wardrobes and put on a performance at the end of the day (and don't
forget to video it, ready to embarrass them in later life!).
10 SUPER easy things to cook with your kids (and some of them are healthy!)
Banana flapjack fridge bake
Whizz
two large or three medium bananas in a food processor with a teaspoon
of honey and some finely chopped dried apricots (or cranberries,
raisins, or sultanas). Stir in a cereal bowl full of large porridge oats
by hand so they don't break down, then press the mixture into a lined
shallow Swiss roll tin and leave in the fridge to set. Score, slice and
serve.
Make smoothies
Encourage
children to eat fruit by letting them make their own smoothies, using
some Greek yoghurt or apple juice with their favourite berries and
chopped fruits in a blender.
Or why not try making fruit lollies?
Fruit lollies are a great - and easy - activity to do with the kids, and are a healthy treat for them on hotter days
M&S has a beautiful and
deliciously different range of ice lollies this summer, with Dragon
Fruit & Watermelon (perfect for kids!) and Colombian Iced Coffee
(yummy for the adults!) flavours, £3 for four lollies
Kids will love to share this drink,
made and served in its own natural cup. Slice the top off a NEW Baby
watermelon, £3. Push a stick blender into the watermelon flesh and blitz
until smooth. Filter out the seeds if you like, then mix with lemonade
to taste
Pour
your homemade smoothie mix into a lolly mould with some sliced
strawberry or kiwi fruit and some raspberries, add a stick and freeze
for a few hours. Et voila! Delicious homemade fruit lollies.
Let them make their own picnic
Even
if it's a miserable day, they can have an indoor 'carpet picnic'.
Spread the table with a variety of sweet and savoury foods and encourage
the children to use their imagination and make their own picnic.
Whatever you do, don't interfere.
Give
them cookie cutters to make shapes from slices of bread, and let them
put whatever combinations of sandwich filling they like. So what if they
want chocolate spread, cucumber and cheese, or they want to top an
M&S Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookie (£2 for 225g)with jam and popcorn?
Whether inside or out, a picnic full of tasty goodies is a great way to keep the kids (and grown-ups!) happy
Pack a perfect picnic
If
you're juggling over the summer and want a perfect picnic with minimal
effort, then head to M&S Food, where there's a huge range of
products to take the stress out of preparing the perfect picnic!
Barbara
Ross, M&S deli product developer, says: 'When you're preparing for a
picnic or entertaining friends it's all about the ease of preparation.
'Our
delicious deli collection takes inspiration from traditional recipes
found on street foods stalls across America and is a real adventure for
your taste buds. Most of the range can be eaten hot or cold and is
easily shared, so there's very little for you do when creating the
ultimate summer picnic for the whole family.'
Pack
a ready-made selection of empanadas, tacos, kebabs and pasties for a
perfect, portable picnic with maximum taste and minimum effort!
These delicious Carnival Fire Crackers from M&S (£2 for 200g) are a sweet, spicy treat
Let the children
can make their own pizza toppings - allow them to get inventive too,
even if the results do look a little odd. They'll still taste
absolutely delicious, and your children will be so proud of them!
Themed lunches or suppers
Escape
to foreign climes by giving kids the taste of more exotic lands,
introducing them to new flavours and encouraging them to dress up and
listen to local music for a fun meal. Invite friends round and get them
to bring a dish or stock up on easy-to-serve snacks and sweet treats
from M&S.
From
Creole Spiced Bean & Rice Corn Chips (£1.50 for 100g) and Jamaican
Jerk Beef Patties (£2.80 for 62g) to Carnival Fire Crackers (£2 for
200g), and Coconut & Lime Rum (£14 for 50cl) for the grown-ups,
M&S has everything you need to enjoy a Carnival-themed feast.
Homemade pizzas
Make
a simple pizza dough base, then the children can make their own
toppings. Use a little mozzarella or try grating M&S Hickory Red
'Red Leicester' cheese (£2.50 for 150g), then add some tomato passata
and whatever takes their fancy.
For
added flavour, why not heat up some of M&S' delicious Spirit of
Summer marinaded skewers (you can also serve them cold) – try Caribbean
Style Chilli Ham and Pineapple (£2.80 for 100g), Smokey Barbecue Chicken
and Smoked Ham (£2.80 for 100g) or Sweet & Sticky Fruity BBQ
Chicken Lollipops (£4.50 for 450g), then add the flavoursome meat to
your pizzas?
CLOCKWISE FROM
TOP LEFT - Coconut Chilli Mini Chicken Fillets,£2.50 (120g); Broccoli,
Cauliflower, Black Bean and Pea Shoot Salad, £2 (158g); Spicy Malagueta
Chilli Dip, £1.50 (170g); Peruvian-style Chicken Kebabs, £1.50 (250g);
Rice, Black Beans and Feta Salad, £2 (170g); Serrano Ham and Manchego
Rollitos, £3(110g); Chorizo and Diablo Cheddar Rollitos, £3 (110g);
Cooling Mint Yogurt Dip, £1.50 (170g); Handcrafted Sweetcorn Empanadas,
£2.80 (120g); Handcrafted Jamaican Jerk Beef Patties, £2.80 (80g);
Handcrafted Duck Tacos, £2.80 (66g) and Hot Jamaican Boneless Chicken
Thighs, £4.50
Make meatballs
Get
your kids making homemade meatballs with some lamb mince, herbs,
chopped onion and garlic. They will love squidging the ingredients
together into balls, then you can cook them up with tomato sauce and
spaghetti for supper. Meanwhile you might like to heat up a few M&S
Peruvian Chicken Kebabs (£4.50 for 250g) to add a delicious new taste
for dinner!
Decorate biscuits
Make
simple butter biscuits, and put edible decorations in small bowls for
children to use as decoration. Use icing to stick them down, and
encourage them to be creative by making faces.
Decorating biscuits is great fun, challenges their artistic side, AND ends in yumminess - a win for everyone!
- SHARE PICTU
Get crafty
Use
potatoes (cut in half then cut designs in the flesh) and other fruit
and veg to make interesting stamps to paint and print patterns with.
Slice a small cabbage, peppers, a lemon or celery and dip them in paint
to make fun shapes.
Take
them to the market to choose interesting varieties of veg and
experiment for different results. Try artichokes, okra, chicory or maybe
even dip corn on the cob in paint and use as a roller for an all-over
design! The mess may stress you out, but pour yourself a glass of wine
and relax in the knowledge that your children are having fun and all too
soon it'll be time to dig out the school uniform again...
Have a happy - and sunny - summer holidays!
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