{"id":6453,"date":"2019-05-24T15:08:19","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T15:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/?p=6453"},"modified":"2019-08-01T09:57:21","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T09:57:21","slug":"cost-effective-ways-to-entertain-the-kids-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/cost-effective-ways-to-entertain-the-kids-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost-Effective Ways to Entertain the Kids at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Entertaining the kids during the weekends and holidays can be a hard task \u2013 especially if you\u2019re stuck indoors and trying to save some cash.<\/p>\n

\"Painting\"<\/p>\n

Our homes are filled with items that can be used to wow even the hardest to please children \u2013 all it takes is a little thought and imagination.<\/p>\n

Here at Mr Lender we\u2019ve put our thinking caps on and come up with some fun activities you can enjoy without having to leave the comfort of your own home \u2013 or spend any money. So, if you\u2019re desperate to keep your little ones away from the TV, iPad or games console – we\u2019ve got you covered!<\/p>\n

Make Paper Planes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fed up of all the junk mail being shoved through your letterbox? Grab some sheets of paper from the ever-growing pile of recycling and build a fleet of aeroplanes together.<\/p>\n

Not sure where to start? Origami Way<\/a> has a whole host of fun ideas to help you get started, including fourteen different types of paper aeroplane \u2013 that\u2019s hours of fun!<\/p>\n

Role Play<\/strong><\/p>\n

All kids love using their imagination \u2013 so tap into that!<\/p>\n

Beverley Cranfield, 61, plays restaurants with her grandchildren.<\/p>\n

She says: \u201cWe set up little tables from pouffes and get out their play tea sets and kitchen equipment. I put some water in the jugs which they think is champagne and then they serve it to me and their granddad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey pretend to be the waiters and chefs, while we are the customers and we all have a great time. I use my loyalty cards as pretend bank cards to pay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe older grandchildren play estate agents and travel agents and we have to go in and out of their \u2018offices\u2019 pretending to be different customers every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get Creative in the Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grab some little rocks or snail shells and have fun painting them with paint you already have at home for arts and crafts \u2013 or even nail varnish.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t worry if you don\u2019t have a garden \u2013 just grab a few of the above items next time you\u2019re out and about and have them ready to be decorated the next time you\u2019re struggling for a way to keep the kids entertained.<\/p>\n

Mandy McCarter, 52, tried this for the first time recently. She says: \u201cMy daughter and I have lots of different colours of nail varnishes between us, so we were able to make some really colourful patterns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both really enjoyed doing it, and we\u2019re hoping to make a fairy garden to put them in.\u201d<\/p>\n

MAKE The Toys They\u2019re Pining For<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If your life feels like a constant cycle of \u2018I want\u2019 demands, then get creative to keep your little ones happy \u2013 and help them learn that new toys don\u2019t always have to cost money!<\/p>\n

Rachel Branigan, 36, has made a treasure chest, a shield, a sword, Batman\u2019s batarang and a cape so far \u2013 all out of items laying around at home.<\/p>\n

She says: \u201cWe just got a bit fed up of the \u2018I want\u2019 conversations with our three-year-old, so we started making the toys he wants and he loves it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not creative at all, but this has brought out the best in me and it means everyone is a winner. Although his latest request is a spacesuit and I fear I may have reached my limit with that one – but we\u2019ll see!\u201d<\/p>\n

Get Them Helping Out<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kids love to help out and feel involved \u2013 so make sure you embrace that \u2013 especially when there\u2019s housework to be done!<\/p>\n

Obviously they need to steer clear of the cleaning products \u2013 but hand them a dustpan and brush when you\u2019re hard at work and let them sweep up for you, or pass over the duster so they can enjoy getting surfaces nice and shiny.<\/p>\n

Jo Hewitson, 36, says: \u201cMy daughter loves the hoover. We have a little handheld dustbuster that we let her use when we\u2019re hoovering up. She really gets into it and actually does quite a good job!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sensory Play <\/strong><\/p>\n

The possibilities are endless with sensory play \u2013 and it will also encourage your little ones to develop and learn. And you don\u2019t have to fork out a fortune to get them on board.<\/p>\n

Grab a large tub or deep tray and fill it with cereal. Chuck in a few plastic cups and spoons to work as scoops and – hey presto! They will love pouring the cereal around and feeling the texture of it, as well as the smell. They might even want a little taste! And if you\u2019re using Rice Krispies then chuck in a water spray so they can enjoy listening to the crackling sound when they get it wet.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Tarver, 37, used to do this activity with water when her son was younger. She says: \u201cI would put thick towels on the floor and give him a washing up bowl, some bubbly water and toy crockery. It kept him happy for at least an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enjoy your creative play at home and let us know in the comments below how you got on \u2013 we love hearing from you here at Mr Lender<\/a> and we\u2019re excited to discover how you and your children enjoyed these ideas!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Entertaining the kids during the weekends and holidays can be a hard task \u2013 especially if you\u2019re stuck indoors and trying to save some cash. Our homes are filled with items that can be used […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[248],"tags":[170,584],"yst_prominent_words":[2806,1594,2808,2158,2407,2811,2029,2028,2378,2809,2804,2036,1494,1928,1672,2812,2807,2805,2810,2406],"class_list":["post-6453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-money-saving","tag-money-saving-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Cost-Effective-At-Home.png","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6453"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6508,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453\/revisions\/6508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6453"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}