Summer Fun Come Rain or Shine

IMG_1314

So as many of you will know, we are in the second week of the summer holidays (in England anyway). Before the holidays started, the boys and I compiled a list of things we would like to do during the summer break, which range from simple things like going to the park to more extravagant ones like visiting Legoland (sorry, Burton I cannot see that one happening!).

Living where we do in glorious Devon, we do not need to go far to enjoy ourselves and have some fun, as we are fortunate to live near the beach and the moors, open parks, camp sites, near woodland, near seaside and suburban towns and of course near a lot of tourist attractions. However, unless money is no object, having the kids off school can be expensive because for one thing my food bill goes up, and unless you walk everywhere and take picnics and snacks, at some point there are car park charges and the odd ice cream treat to pay for. Plus if it rains, which so far has happened most days since the holidays started, it can be even harder to keep children entertained when you are trying to keep costs down and stay at home.

Here are a few ideas of some activities that you can do with your children over the coming weeks whatever the weather and budget:

Go On An Adventure
One of the easiest and cheapest activities I do with Burton and Jenson, is to pack a bag and go off on an adventure. In the past we have been on a Gruffallo Hunt, a Bear Hunt, looking for the Stick Man, (infact we still need to take part in the Stick Man games this summer – the is on our to-do list) puddle jumping and so on. Re-enacting a character/story from a much loved book into an outdoors activity is a great way to not only learn more about the book, but to encourage a love of reading and the great outdoors, well I think so anyway! We often visit National Trust properties near us too, as, being members, it is also a cheap day out, and as well as the many walks you can do, the trees that can be climbed and the houses you can visit, there are activities and crafts laid on for children during the holidays.

This week the boys packed a rucksack each with some essentials – well their version of essentials so a snack, a drink, colouring pens and paper, cuddly toys, a ball, an adventure ideas book and a kite!

Then they got on their scooters and we headed into our village to see what we could find.

IMG_1315

As daft as it sounds, we live on the outskirts of the village and therefore we do not head into very often, so it is a nice change to venture in and take in our surroundings, especially as the village often decorate areas with unusual plant holders and scarecrows!

We also stopped off at the park – again not somewhere we visit often as we tend to head into town to the bigger park. It was nice to see that there were some new climbing equipment since we were there last.

And no trip into the village is complete without popping into the telephone box and pretending to phone someone!

IMG_1322

Staying At Home
My two boys LOVE drawing, colouring and making things out of anything they can get their hands on basically, so this mosaic tray decorating idea is genius! Such a simple idea but the finished result looks stunning.

We are lucky to have a garden and obviously, as long as its not raining, the boys can be found running around and getting messy! Given their love for making things too, there are plenty of great ideas here for my boys to try out in our garden and all made using natural resources and materials which I especially love.

Another activity we do a lot here, which I am sure will not be of any great surprise, is baking. Burton and Jenson adore baking and these simple banana muffins are a great idea especially as it uses up over ripe bananas. My two love carrot cakes and these low sugar mini ones are always a big hit in our house, and if we are feeling a little indulgent a fridge cake is super easy to make (and eat!).

maltroad

Both of mine adored the new BFG film that we went to see last month, so this fab Snozzcumber ice cream would be such a fun recipe for them to make in our ice cream maker.

With just over 4 weeks to go, we still have lots of things to tick off our to-do list and hopefully they can all be achieved and without breaking the bank too.

The rucksacks featured in the post were bought using a Debenhams gift card as part of their Back to School campaign. The boys love them because of their colours and at how much stuff they can fit inside. I love them because they will make perfect back to school bags for the new school year.

4 Comments

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, a virtual cup of tea and slice of cake awaits you x

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.