Fun Activities For The Whole Family
It's January, which can often feel like the longest month of the year. School is back in session, we're all back to work/normal life and the weather is still in full-on Winter mode! Often I find myself worrying on a Friday about how I'll keep the kids entertained over the weekend without copious amounts of screen-time (mum guilt anyone?!). So to combat this I've come up with a list of fun activities for the whole family, perfect for (guilt-free) weekends at home.
Get Crafty
Okay, I'm the first one to admit that crafting isn't my *favourite* activity. Getting the art stuff out in our house usually ends with me spending an hour tidying the mess it took the kids 5 minutes to make. However, I recently discovered Galt, a brand renowned for its colourful and engaging toys, games and puzzles. Their Science Lab Kits have been an absolute life-saver, as well as being brilliant educational resources. There are several to choose from, so far our favourites have been the Rainbow Lab and the Slimy Lab.
Another favourite brand in our house is Djeco. They offer a massive range of activities guaranteed to entertain the whole family from toddlers to teens. My two-year-old is obsessed with their range of foam markers, crayons and reusable sticker books. Whereas my six-year-old and nine-year-old love these magic pens and their range of tattoos and scratch cards.
Family Game Night
One of our favourite things to do together as a family is 'Games Night'. I've listed a few of our go-to games below;
Poo Bingo - This children's bingo game contains a fully illustrated board, chips, a small container to store them in, eight double-sided game cards and counters ready for players to mark up their cards and score those points. The first to fill their game card with animals and poos wins. The accompanying informative book also includes lots of fun and smelly facts.
I Saw it First! Ocean - Three hundred ocean creatures populate the board of this carefully engineered game. Pick a counter from the box and be the first to spot that animal on the board!
The Whale & The Fish - The beautifully illustrated The Whale & The Fish game by Londji is a game to relax and let your imagination run wild - because it has no rules. The goal of the game is just to arrange the fish into a school. You can sort the fish by colour or by the swimming direction of the fish.
Off to The Cinema (at home)
Another one of our favourite family activities is to cosy up on the sofa for a movie night. Hot chocolate is an absolute must, and I love searching for fun snack ideas on Instagram. My favourite accounts to look at include @littlepaperswan and @liddierowl, they've always got a ton of really easy and fun snack ideas that are easily put together.
Wrap Up Warm
Getting a bit stir-crazy? Why not wrap up warm and get outside for a ramble. We've got a whole host of winter warmer clothing and accessories on the website and you could even take one of these Spotty Dawdler books with you to help the little ones get exploring.