Anyone who has ever had children knows that it doesn't matter how many hundreds of pounds you have spent on the latest, must have toys. The inevitable cries of "I'm bored!" will still be bouncing around the walls before the end of the first day of the holidays.
During one particular holiday, when the cries had started earlier than usual, due to the rain beating on the windows surrendering outside play impossible, I decided to sit and think of a plan. I cast my mind back to the days when I was smaller and tried to remember the games I played. I was aiming for anything which took less than 10 minutes to set up and was free, or close to it!. I put pen to paper and this is the list I came up with.

PLAYING HOUSE
A couple of big sheets, your dining room table and a few minutes of your time is all you need for this activity. The kids add whatever else they need! Just drape the sheets over the table so they cover all the sides. Tell the kids to go and collect up a few cushions, dolls, teddies, tea sets etc. It seems such a simple idea, but they play in it for hours!

BOAT ADVENTURE
When they get fed up with the house, just take the sheets off and turn the table upside down and you have a boat to steer into an adventure on the high seas!

Collage
Keep some old catalogues for cutting out. Give them a few of these, some safety scissors, glue and plain paper and they can have hours of fun. You might want to cover the table with newspaper first!

Play Acting
Find a book of a simple fairytale such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, or Red Riding Hood etc. Send them off to practice acting out their own version of the story. Try to find them a few props or outfits to help them get creative!

Playing shops
When I was little my Nan used to keep cartons, boxes and plastic bottles etc from food packaging for me. We would set them out on a big table and spend many happy hours playing shops, taking it in turns to be the customer and the shop keeper. I had a little toy till, but a pen and a pad could be used instead.

These are all very simple activities but you will be surprised at how long children will spend doing them, compared to the time they spend playing with the mountains of toys most kids today own!

Learn more about this author, Kelly Mcghee.
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