Kid friendly night in ideas for the summer break
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The summer holidays are here and whether you love them or hate them, the one thing we all won’t miss is the daily school run! No rushing around each morning ensuring the kids have the right uniform on, hunting for their lost school shoes (why can’t they put them in the same place each day?) and making sure they have the right sports kits. School mornings in our house are always chaos, no matter how well I try to organise it. Six weeks with no school runs? Yes please.
With light nights keeping the children awake much later than usual and no school run to worry about each morning, we’ll bit slightly more lax when it comes to the usual bedtime routine. Instead of trying to force the children into bed at 7pm (an impossible task in the summer), we’ll let them stay up a little later than usual as a treat and save all the usual bedtime and morning stress for September.
It’s going to be a relief to not have to rush home from activities or days out to get the children in bed by the normal time. We’ll also spend more time together as a family in the evenings. Here are some kid friendly night in ideas for the summer break:
Movie night
Make a really fun evening of it and instead of splashing out on going out to see a film, why not create your own cinema at home? Draw the curtains, dim the lights, pop some popping corn, crank up the volume and snuggle into the sofa to watch your favourite family friendly movies.
Garden camping
OK so not exactly ‘in’, but still at home! Kids love setting up tents and playing in them, so take it one step further and camp in the garden for the night. Gaze up at the stars, tell each other ghost stories and be woken by the sounds of nature instead of the alarm clock.
Classic games night
Dust off the board games, find that deck of cards or dominoes and enjoy playing some classic real human interactive games! Even my five year old beats everyone at Uno!
Sleepover
Tie this in with movie night and create a marshmallow land of cushions and duvets on the floor in the living room, jump in your sleeping bags and watch the movie whilst all cosy, then sleep here for the night. Kids just love sleepovers, even if they’re in their own home!
Create your own takeaway
Have a kids cooking night and create your own pizzas or burgers. The kids will love to get involved and the food will no doubt be much healthier than ordering in.
Family photos and videos
Crack out the old family photos and videos and make a night of it! It’s always so fun looking back and remembering all the fun things you’ve done as a family. Kids love to see what they looked like as babies too!
Craft box night
Get crafty and create something with your children. Save the empty recycling and let them junk model, or order a fun craft box with everything you need to make a specific item. Kids always love an excuse to get the scissors, glitter and glue out! If you’re not so keen on the mess in the house then take it into the garden on a warm summer evening.
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