www.iva.co.uk

So then, any ideas then how to entertain a 7, 9, 11 and 12 year old, when we have no money for the next six weeks? There's only so much dog walking you can do with them.............

Answers on a postcard please.[8)]

Didn't word that particularly well did I as of course, we'll have no money for the next five years....... six weeks of no school I meant, obviously...!![:I][:D]

[:D][:D]

We do this quite a lot and it doesn't cost much at all.
Buy some Smart Price digestives or fairy cakes, and then 3 packs of sweets for £1 (strawberry laces are really good) and a pack of 4 icing tubes for £1.50 I think. And decorate the cakes/biscuits.
My stepchildren love it and they get to eat it after.

PS. the laces make really good hair! x

Helen wrote:

Are they girls? if so.. get your make up out and have a pamper session... even the younger ones.. a bit of lippy is great. Do each others hair and nails etc.

Hope some of it helps hun, I dont have that problem nbow but do rememebr keeping 4 boys and 1 girl entertianed and even not in an IVA wasn't easy.

xxxx

Honestly, being girls makes no odds for this pastime!

[:D] Some good ideas there - Helen, how would you like to come and be my au pair for six weeks. UNpaid of course!

It was a joke of course, although I can remmebr at a much younger age then 12, having a 'dabble' with mums lippy, so never say never!!

Well we have 8 weeks off in northern ireland!

I work full time but i am off for three weeks with our daughter. Today is my first day off and the weather is rotten so i am wondering this myself.

You have given me really good ideas.

The bun thing is great but why not bake the buns too, it costs next to nothing but adds a good hour onto the process and that helps too!

I am definately going to have a girly pamper day with her this week. We'll get the curlers out and curl our hair!

One of my ideas is to find an adventure playground. We have some great ones locally. They can spend hours running around.

Also i think asking friends around always helps, they entertain themselves then!

A great game in the garden is the matchstick game. Only used used matches for this on. Take about 20 matches and colour them 3 different colours. Each colour has different points. So red it 5 points, blue 3 and green 1.
Then hide the matches around the garden. The child that collects the most points gets a treat. It can be some sweets or they can choose the film to watch.

Great thread, anymore ideas?

I use to build tents in the garden with my son. It took hours to build from blankets and sheets and then he spent hours collecting all the things he might need in his new home. The down side to this is the clearing up when they eventually get fedup with it.

I'm off work now as I teach and have my granddaughter (6) with me most of the time.

We bake and she loves it, she trains the dogs with me and is a good dog handler for her age.

We also go on a picnic to a local park where we walk. Is swimming free for little ones in your area, here in Lincs swimming is free for 16 and under and over 65's so might be worth looking at.

She has a project of dinosaur research and making a model which she's doing with my 16 yr old, getting the materails together at the minute newspaper etc., for Papier-mâché, Papier-mâché is always popular and fishing line and cheap beads to make necklaces.

Lesley, think the free swimming ends on July 31st it was one of the first things the gov axed to save money. Hubby and I used to go every week as he is over 60 so his was free, but we have to pay from next week for both of us so we are cutting down to once a fortnight.

Ah maybe that's not an option then, I know daughter went free last week, I'll have to inform her she can't go next week. Thanks for that x

Lots of great ideas here.

Baked this afternoon. Two of the girls made fairy cakes and iced them, one of them made a carrot cake and just finished decorating that. Other daughter met friends in town, so one day down!

Swimming is a no for us as it'll cost about £30 for us as a family to go. Still, I don't like getting me face wet, so I don't mind really.[:I][:I][:I]

We're lucky to have a lido and on a nice day, £2.50 to get in and you can stay all down, towel down first thing and you take a picnic you could be anywhere, nice enough days are few and far between but it's always a winner here.

My granddaughter loves painting my nails and thinks she can do my hair, with bobbles and clips, cor I look gorgeous when she's finished NOT! x