Big Kids, Little Kids

Monday, 1 Oct 2012

Happy Children’s Day to all kids, big and small alike! Here are 5 last minute ideas that will keep kids happy and won’t have parents tearing their hair out.

Sponsor a Child

Children’s Day is a great way to teach your child about other children around the world. They get to learn about children’s rights, healthcare, and underprivileged children’s lives around the world; they learn to be thankful for what they have, and most importantly, they get to help someone else. Our suggested sponsorship organizations: Plan Australia, ActionAid International, and Children International.

Build a (Blanket) Fort

For a simple fort, drape a large blanket or sheet over a large piece of furniture, like a dining table. Let the sides of the blanket hang down the sides of the table. For something more sophisticated, tie strings across the room with the ends secured to 3M hooks and drape multiple blankets over. Allow your kids to be architects and interior designers of the space. See Apartment Therapy for more ideas.

Build a Cardboard Clubhouse

A quick afternoon activity – easy on the parents and tons of fun for the littlies. You need a large cardboard box (the kind for moving), a pen-knife, duct tape, markers, and a few sticks (optional). Cut a door and a few windows in the box for ventilation and allow the kids to decorate their clubhouse. You can even choose to go two-storeys on this! Check here for instructions.

Get Active

Welcome to a whole new level of playtime. So you’re already regulars at Fidgets and the Polliwogs, now get friendly with the places that will make you parent of the year.

Happy Willow has an art nook, a book burrow to read at, a playpen to play pretend at, and a play garden suitable for toddlers and kids.

Amazonia, a six-storey jungle gym, is a hit with the older kids. There’s a glow-in-the-dark space ball room, a 3D glow-in-the-dark mini gold course, but the real highlight is the 6-storey, 400 square metre gym complete with an 8m high, four level wave slide, a spiral slide, ball pit, trampoline, suspension bridges, and tunnels.

Get Creative

We’re not talking finger painting or doodling. Start collecting odds and ends for a Costume Chest – old Halloween costumes, a fireman’s hat, an old shawl, shiny barrettes, even yellow rubber gloves. While you’re collecting, throw in a couple face paint palettes, then let the kids go wild and dress up to perform their own plays or give epic renditions of favourite musicals.

Or an old but reliable favourite – have a cookie party and let the kids decorate their own. For post-baking decoration, make a couple of squeezy bottles filled with coloured royal icing and bowls of rainbow and chocolate sprinkles for the older ones.

To decorate unbaked dough, let kids use raisin, other dried fruit, nuts, and candies like M&M’s or Smarties to stud cookies. For a cool “stained glass” effect, crush hard candy in a bag and place in unbaked dough. Make sure to let cool before serving – hot candy burns.

Or, ship them off to Grandma’s

And call it Grandchildren’s Day.

Image: Apartment Therapy via Garden Nymph