Holiday Ideas!... These might surprise you!

OK... I have done it. Ive just ticked off 'DAY ONE' of the school holidays. I don't mean to sound dramatic, but I am so frustrated about not being able to get into work that everything is feeling magnified right now. I have backup ideas of what to do with the children in the holidays. Unfortunately, I used most of them up by lunch time today.

Successful ideas in the past I will share with you in the hopes that it buys you some time to pretend that your holiday is actually that!

OK... things to do with alot of kids... cheaply...

• Go to Bunnings and buy a $29 box of live earth worms. The children will build cities for them. They will name them. They will play all day. Only problem: They become quite emotionally attached to a certain few and there is no way you can convince a 5 year old that worms do NOT need to come and sleep in there bed tonight because they are cold and scared of the dark.


• Bubbles. At the $2 shops you can get packets of 10 bottles of bubbles with matching blowers. This sounds so simple but it will keep them entertained for ages. Let them use them all up one after another. When your verandah becomes a "really cool slip and slide" its time to bring them in.


• Take them to a toy shop or the toy department. Yes, they of course will want everything that costs over $20 but the idea, which you plant on them before this 'game begins' is this. You want to know what they want for Christmas. So to remember, you are going to take a digital photo of them holding everything they would like. They then have an absolute ball grabbing things off the shelves, smiling and holding it up and believe it or not, they put it back (no white knuckles and threats of breath holding) and run to find the next cant-live-without-it item! Try and encourage them to smiply STAND next to the toys... don't want you to get in trouble for 'mauled' toys! As most mothers know by now, 90% of the things children pick up in the shop because they have to have it, have ALWAYS wanted it and cant LIVE without it, is often forgotten by the time they reach the checkout. Oh.. so heres a tip... to save a tantrum over something they want, say "Fine!" and put it in the trolley. They stop crying, get distracted and I bet you alot of the time they don't remember its there when its time to go. If they do, just do the old "it's sticky" routine.


• Lastly, for now, another way to entertain is to invite some poor, unsuspecting relative over for a cuppa.... and then "would you mind keeping an eye on them for a mo' while I pop up the shop?".... Please note. This technique can usually only be used ONCE.

Anyway, good luck to those needing to be home over the next couple of weeks. Despite the worry of not being in the office (trust it to be end-of-month!) try and keep life in perspective and remember 'this too shall pass'... and so will their childhoods so enjoy them while they are home.