I thought it'd be fun to put together a fun list of things to do with the kiddos that are absolutely free or cheap as chips for those boring days when nothing much is going on or you are waiting for payday....
Why not.....
Have a pillow fight
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Make mud pies
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Climb a tree
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Make a camp out of bedsheets indoors or out
Rearrange the furniture
Blow bubbles and play games with them
Think up really stupid knock knock jokes
Play thumb war
Reading a favourite story/comic/magazine.... with a packet of googly eyes to add to all the characters on the different pages. Makes it loads more fun!
Play 'it'
Play 'hide and seek'
Invent a play/song and perform it
Dress up in disguise/fancy dress or paint moustaches on everyone
Deface te local paper by drawing silly things on people/drawing captions
play tennis with a bat and ball that are not actually a bat or ball
Sew something
Paint your nails
Tye-dye something
Watch a ridiculous gameshow with the kids that you wouldn't normally watch
Send a postcard to someone
Learn how to do cartwheels/handstands/headstands
Learn to juggle
Go fruit-picking
Play cards
Learn another language
Make your own comic
Paint pebbles
See how long you can go three-legged with someone
Blindfold yourself and get to know your home environment better
Dance to music
Sing!
Make bunting out of paper and string or bits of plastic bag or felt or fabric
Grow some seeds
Cut your hair
Try for a world record
Go to the library
Invent a new triple decker sandwich
Play marbles/tiddlywinks/shove ha'ppenny
Play charades
Go to a garden for the blind and soak up the scents and feel of the herbs and flowers
Fix something that's been broken for ages
Do some dusting/cleaning/tidying to really awesome music
Tame some chalk and go graffiti'ing
Create art in the park / on the beach / in the woods / on your pavement
Customise a boring top/bag/jumper/whatever
Try a new food
Skim pebbles
Play pooh-sticks
Fly paper aeroplanes
Play with cornflour and water
Do paper-maché
Knit ?Crochet something cool
Learn origami
Make your own playdough
Make friends with someone new
Cuddle
Tickle-fight!
Strike up a conversation with someone about a really random or funny topic
Carve vegetables into musical instruments
Play the spoons/make a home-made orchestra out of random household things - bottles with varying amounts of water, stuff that rattles, stuff that has an interesting pitch or tone
Do some yoga or keep fit
Go barefoot somewhere you would normally wear shoes
Invent pseudonyms for the day or pretend to be spies
Treasure hunt!
Smile
Pamper yourself in a really simple way
Share a secret with a friend
Have a wheelbarrow race
Go for a bike-ride
Play with your pet
Play dots and squares
Play hangman
Play battleships
Paint something unusual
Go charity shopping for audiobooks or free movies from sunday papers - often just 10 or 20p!
Invite someone to play
Make pancakes
Play a practical joke that won't hurt anyone but cause a big laugh
Talk in a made-up language for an hour or two
Draw eyes on your chin and do upside down things
Take photos of stuff
Re-arrange nick-nacks / photos / your collection of postcards / whatever
Take up a pen-pal
Daydream
Cloud-watch
Roll down a big hill
Have a TV? Computer/Mains electricity free day
Learn a poem off by heart
Learn/ practise playing an instrument
Tell someone you love them
Do a kind deed in secret
Read a book you wouldn't normally read
Make your own potions / creams / soap / bath bombs
Go birdwatching
Go people watching
Have a picnic
Sit under a tree
Compile lists
Meditate
Listen to an audiobook
Listen to a random radio station - online stations are endless!
Care for someone
Listen to someone
Walk a different route from usual
Give someone a massage
Try a different brand
Build a home-made sandpit
Excavate a section of your garden and see what you find
Do bark/leaf rubbings
Burn joss sticks to change the vibe
Cut out pictures and do a collage
Make your own fuzzy felt
Make a board-game based on a favourite story the kids like
Count stuff
Swap chores
Make smoothies
Bake bread / biscuits / cake
Make a special card for a friend
Cook something in an original way
Play the Yes No game - ie first person to say yes or no loses
Sign a petition
Write to your favourite author/someone you admire and tell them why they are awesome
Sleep in the living room
Have ice-cream and cookies for breakfast
Draw a mandala
Go see some ponies in a field and feed them grass
Build a wild shelter from branches/ferns etc and sleep in it overnight
Sleep on the beach
Stay up all night
Play chess
Write a novel
Do karaoke
Go for a night walk
Teach yourself a new subject
Start a new hobby
Learn some knots
Do an experiment
Debate something controversial
Make ice-lollies
Learn to do wheelies
Have a sack race
Make jelly in moulds
Still reading?
Why not add to this list below in the comments box?
I'd love to hear your suggestions!
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Awesome list!! Wish I had a printer working! These look like they would do wonders on individual strips of paper, folded, in a box :) Do you know we're doing an awful lot of simply Being lately. Sitting, breathing - playing the Now game ("Now I hear/smell/see/feel/taste ------------") lovely for grounding and coming into the present moment.
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of your game - very portable! I sometimes think of how people amused themselves in prison in days of old. My grandpa was a POW for five years, worked like a dog but when he wasn't working they must have amused themselves somehow...they must have entertained each other and made up games and rituals to pass the time. Not a fun situation at all, but at least it proves the resourcefulness of us humans....
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