Games + Activities

Oh yes. The rainy days are back. Remember that spell in summer where it didn’t rain for about 2 months? Seems like a distant memory now doesn’t it? During those hot, hazy days I wrote a blog post with five quick ideas for fun in the sun. Well, here’s the return. Things you can do indoors on those LONG wet days when you’re stuck inside with the wee ones, wondering how on earth it is only half past bastard one.

1. Masking tape…I’ve featured this on my social media pages a few times but never immortalised it on the actual blog so here it is. One of my FAVOURITE tools for games. It’s easy to peel, it rips, you can write and draw on it and it peels off easily again. It’s ace for kids. When you next see some in a supermarket or DIY shop chuck it in the trolley. We write out letters and numbers on the floor. Use it to make a road by drawing little lines down the middle. Use it to mark out ‘long jumps’ in the living room using a measuring tape to count how far they jumped afterwards. Write numbers on the carpet then get a foam sword and a ball to hit around the numbers and walk along them. The possibilities are endless.

2. Party Games…who says these have to just be for parties. And besides, they take practice don’t they? So wrap up a puzzle into a pass the parcel. I used foil and the free newspaper that comes through the door. My two LOVED this. Or make a ‘Pin the Tail on the Donkey’ but with funny faces or the letters of their names. See what funny faces they make or words they spell. Just a blind-fold (scarf), pen and paper and blue tack will do. PARTY in da HOUSE!

3. Mark Making…but in a different way. Let them draw on banana skins with a biro. Or collect some leaves and petals out of the garden and write the letters of their name on them. Get an old tea towel or bit of fabric and see if they can make patterns on that. Or best of all, try upside down writing. Tape some paper to the underside of a low table or chair. Pop some pens on the floor, then lie down and draw. It’s amazing how much more fun just drawing can be upside down!

4. Sink or Float…again, another game I’ve popped on social media before but decided to share here too for the blog devotees. Get something that can contain water but you can see through. We cut up a plastic milk bottle. Fill it with water on a tray then gather random objects from about the house that will fit in your container. Your kiddy has to guess if they will sink or float and then sort them into two piles once you see which it is. Ewan then bombed around the house finding other objects to test out their floatation!

5. Make it Dark…this is one of my favourite things to do. Shut the curtains, turn out the lights, then give the kids a torch, glow sticks (I always have some in the house – a brilliant object for such days as these) or anything that glows or lights up. We use night lights and glow in the dark stickers. It’s amazing how much more fun everything seems in the dark. Do a puzzle, read a story, dance to music. The darkness brings it alive.

So now, I very much hope that the next time it rains, instead of dreading the long day at home you might think, yay…time to play some games! And if not, splashing in puddles them coming in to watch TV under the blanket with a hot chocolate is always fun too!

I’m signing off now for two weeks for my weddings! So no social media posts or blogs for a couple of weeks, but I’ll be back in October with LOTS more games and five minute fun! Cheerio.

p.s. If you would like to wish us well for our wedding day, there is a way you can! I usually host an annual Macmillan Coffee morning, however this year it is the day before our wedding. So I am donating our Favours money to this cause and popping a contributions box next to our wedding cake. If you would like to, you can donate too by popping here. Thank you!