Cheap, fun and free entertainment ideas for children for when you are inside, outside or out and about.
Craft, family bonding moments, learning activities, motor skill activities
At Home: Outside
1. Water balloons or water pistol wars.
2. Plant something together.
3. Make a sandpit.
4. Have a picnic.
5. Camping in the backyard.
6. Create a water slide with tarp.
7. Make an ant farm.
8. Do a treasure hunt.
9. Make an obsticle course.
10. Backyard games (football, cricket, soccor, basket ball).
11. Get a cloth & a tub of soapy water for them to wash their dolls or bikes.
12. Use a giant box to make a cubby house.
13. Build something. Hammer some nails into a chunk of wood.
14. Ride bikes and scooters.
15. Have a tea party.
16. Seasonal Activities, build a snowman, jump in leaves, pick flowers, splash in a paddle pool
17. Holiday Activities, carve pumpkins, easter egg hunt, go Christmas light hunting.
18. Bubbles.
19. Collect bugs.
20. Make Mud pies.
21. Run through the sprinkler.
22. Build a Fairy garden.
23. Tie-dye some old shirts or socks.
24. Fly kites.
25. Decorate your driveway or trampoline with chalk. My kids love to trace around their body and draw outfits and hair on.
26. Create a hopscotch with chalk.
27. Wash the family car.
28. Do a scavenger hunt, search for cool sticks, pinecones, rocks, leaves and shells.
At Home: Inside
29. Cooking lunch/dinner together.
30. Bake something.
31. Do a puzzle.
32. Plan a sleepover.
33. Build a fort out of lounge cushions and blankets.
34. Make instruments out of empty bottles and rice or pots and pans.
35. Make fresh squeezed juice or smoothies.
36. Bath play, my kids love putting on their swimsuits and goggles & Pretend to be at the pool with some toys.
37. Play Dress ups.
38. Have a play date.
39. Write a letter.
40. Movie Marathon.
41. Write a song.
42. Science experiments.
43. Make up a dance.
44. Spa day or pamper party
45. Do a play.
46. Study the world map.
47. Reading books together.
48. Rotating Toys.
49. Have a Fashion show.
50. Bath Play with containers and soup spoons.
51. Felt Story Boards.
52. Learning apps and games.
53. Make a home movie.
54. Learn a new language.
55. Re-decorate bedrooms.
56. Play a board game.
57. Tell stories of your childhood.
58. Make a masking tape road on the floor for their cars.
59. Read books.
60. Decorate your own sundaes or cupcakes.
61. Donate some toys.
62. Face painting.
63. Do some colouring or drawing.
64. Make slime.
65. Paint Rocks.
66. Make play dough.
67. Make macaroni necklaces.
68. Make a kite.
69. Glue something to something else and put glitter and googly eyes on it.
70. Scrapbook.
71. Make bath fizzy.
72. Create a family tree.
73. Paint some T-shirts.
74. Finger paint.
75. Making figurines out of baking clay.
76. Paper maché.
77. My kids are also going through this phase of drawing on and cutting up old clothing to create their own super hero costumes.
78. Create a treasure map & hide some ‘treasure’ around the house.
79. Create your own story book out of some paper.
Out & About
80. Cinemas.
81. Local parks.
82. Find new parks.
83. Bush walks.
84. Putt-putt or mini/aqua golf.
85. Circus/fair/theme parks
86. Look in the paper for what's on locally.
87. Bike rides.
89. Visit the River or beach.
90. Bowling.
91. Walk the dog.
92. A museum, Library or Gallery
93. Arcades.
94. Visit the dogs and cats at the pound.
95. Visit the markets.
96. Visit family members or friends.
97. Go to the local pools.
98. Go spend pocket money at the dollar store.
99. Indoor play centers such as Go Bananas, Inflatable World, Flip Out, etc.
100. plan a day trip to the city or farm land. 101. Aquariums, zoos & wildlife parks.
Tips
Always keep something small they can play with in your purse like a toy car, book or tub of play doh, for those unexpected moments when you're stuck waiting somewhere or your child is becoming restless while you're out and about shopping. You can just whip it out and keep them entertained a little longer.
Teach your child to use their imagination. Teach them a different way to use the same toy every day. One thing I learnt from becoming a parent is that my children’s minds needed to be inspired at times before they would sit and enjoy playing with a toy or doing a certain activity.
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