Looking after the children during the holidays can become a real head-scratcher for parents. The youngest members of the household finish school, but normally parents will have to continue going to work, except for just a couple of weeks.

Even if the parents can be at home during the school holidays, it can be difficult going from having to organize entertainment for just a couple of hours each afternoon, to then having to do it during the whole day.

It’s easy to organize everything when the children are at school but, what to do with your children during the holidays? What activities can you do with all this free time?

The Children Are At Home For The Holidays, Where To Begin?

To begin with, it’s important to understand that the holidays don’t need to be seen as a time to waste. There are numerous activities to do, that is not just to fill the time with, but also a chance to reinforce their education and development.

Once we understand that, there will be parents that ask, what activities are they then? Where can we find them?

The most important rule to follow when summer and the holidays are approaching is to plan ahead.

If we wait until the last minute, leaving it until the last day, it will be a lot harder to decide what to do and find the right activities or courses for your children. Planning ahead is essential if we want the holidays to be a success…and if we want to avoid any potential headaches of course.

? ? The Best Activities To Entertain Your Children With During The Holidays

One of the worst things that a parent can hear from their children that are on holiday is “I’m bored.” Whilst it is not a good idea to overload children with a whirlwind of constant activities, it is recommended to prepare a few ideas so that you can fully take advantage of the time off.

We recommend that you use a few of these ideas:

Games And Outdoor Activities

Here the only limit is your imagination, games in the garden, camping, small getaways, bicycle routes, mountaineering…children love to play, even more, if it’s outdoors. If you find the right activity, you will get your children home happy and exhausted. They will also have enjoyed taking in the outdoors!

Sports Camps

The holidays are an ideal opportunity to start to practice sports. Swimming, cycling, skating…it all depends on the child’s preferences. Sports camps are not only fun, but children can learn something new as well as maintaining aspects of their usual routines (timetables, responsibilities, friends, etc) whilst being on holiday.

Cultural Activities

Yes, a bit of culture can be fun for them as well. Don’t think that they will be bored, it doesn’t have to be like that. If the setting is right and appropriate for their age, museum visits, or art galleries can turn out to be fun. Have a look for pamphlets locally and for sure you will find many interesting activities.

Games At Home

Holidays don’t necessarily mean good weather, of course not. A lot of the time, you are forced to stay at home, but that can be a good thing. It is a chance to play with your children, to spend time together… you can do artwork or small science experiments, play video games, improvise your own little games, etc.

Housework

The time off is a great opportunity to start giving responsibilities around the house to your children. Making plans like cooking (especially if it’s something sweet!) or even taking them to the supermarket can be converted into fun activities if you can present them in the right way. A lot of the time, children will enjoy being useful too, and so why not take advantage?

Theme Parks

It isn’t something that you can do every day and because of that, the youngest will love the idea. Why not organize a trip to a theme park? Children, as well as adults, usually have a great day out at these places and it is a great excuse to spend time out together, doing something really exciting and to let off steam. Theme parks have areas for all ages and so they are a great idea for children of all ages.

As you can see, the problem isn’t not having enough things to do or not having enough alternatives to keep children entertained, but the weather and the availability. Because of this, and like we said at the beginning, the most important thing is planning.

If you have the right planning, we’re sure that you will be able to take full advantage of the holidays with your children. No time-wasting or boredom!

Now tell us, can you think of any other activities to keep your children active during the holidays? We’re sure that you can, and so don’t think twice, tell us about them!

You might also like: Summer Camps for Kids