Christmas holidays: Kids' activities that help you out

Turn off that TV set...

...and make use of hyperactive kids in the run up to Christmas. Little fingers have many uses.

BAKE MINI CAKES, ginger biscuits or tree decorations or truffles for presents. Decorate and package in a little box, Kilner jar or with cellophane and a piece of ribbon to tie. Great for emergency gifts. 

DESIGN WRAPPING PAPER by taking a sheet of A3 and doodling on it, which you can then photocopy as many times as you want (equally effective in black and white). Other paper ideas are using rolls of black or brown paper and writing or drawing on it with white or coloured pens or using letter stamps to label.

SEW gifts for babies and little ones. Felt finger puppets are easy to make and look cute placed in an egg box. All you need is coloured felt, embroidery thread to sew eyes and pompoms for noses. Also try monster teddies (as mad and misshapen as they like!) or simple drawstring bags.

More Christmas posts from The Simple Things.

Plenty more festive ideas for gifts, food and fun in December's issue of The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe now. 

Summer kids activity: animal print trails

Having three young boys has taught Emma Bradshaw the kind of resourcefulness we can only dream of. Her blog, Bradshaw & Sons, is full of ideas for outdoor activities to get children out of the house and exploring.

One of our faves is an animal print trail. Emma's idea combines a little exploring, a little crafting and a touch of detective work - perhaps the perfect formula for a kids day out? It's perfect for British summertime and the prints will show up even better after a bit of rain.

Pop over to Bradshaw & Sons to find out more, then take a tip from Emma, kit your kids out in some wellies and prepare to get muddy.

Kids go free at the National Trust

Newsflash! The generous people at the National Trust have come up trumps this summer by offering kids free entry to National Trust properties for all of August. Pack a picnic, explore an adventure playground or use the time to tick a few more items off your 50 Things to do before you’re 11 ¾ list - the choice is yours.

Pop over to the National Trust website to download your free voucher and get out and about before the sun goes in!

Liven up your summer with activity jars

School summer holidays are almost upon us, and unless you're super-organised, you'll be worrying about how you're going to keep your kids entertained for six whole weeks. Crafty blogger Merrilee from mer mag has come to the rescue with her simple-but-totally-genius activity jar idea.

Gather the family together for a massive brainstorm and scribble down your ideas of all the things you'd like to do. Merrilee has split her ideas into things to craft, things to cook and places to go, which means you can match your activity to what the weather outside is doing. Then, when you find your kids twiddling their thumbs (or writing on the walls, ripping each others' hair out...), crack out your activity jars and pick an idea at random.

If you're stuck for ideas, check out Pinterest for inspiration - the simple things' eat and create boards are a fab place to start!

Camp out in a homemade pup tent

Rigging up a makeshift hidey-hole must be some sort of rite of passage.

Everyone we've spoken to has fond childhood memories of fashioning a lopsided tent out of some old sheets, the edge of a sofa or two, and 'camping out' indoors until their parent's had had enough of the mess in their lounge.

ReadyMade has gone one step better and knocked up their very own pup tent, using an old sheet and some wooden rods. If you're feeling up to it, pop over to the ReadyMade blog to find out how they did it. Your kids will love you for it, trust us.

P.S. If you're having problems with the pictureless instuctions, pop over to craft blog cakies where there's a similar A-frame tent how to, with helpful photos to make things a little clearer!

50 things to do before you're 11 3/4

These days it feels like children are more likely to be found scaling buildings on their Playstation than climbing trees in their back garden. The National Trust has decided to fight the trend by launching 50 Things to do before you're 11¾, a nationwide campaign to get kids off the sofa and into the wild.

The initiative provides a checklist of activities to complete before you hit the grand old age of 11¾. Camp out in the wild, set up a snail race, hunt for bugs or light a fire without matches - there's a whole host of mini-adventures to be had.

Children can pick up a free scrapbook from participating National Trust properties or check off each activity on the 50 Things to do before you’re 11 ¾ website. Here they can also get advice from the Elite Rangers, an intrepid team of outdoors experts including Den-Boy and Captain Skim. Go to www.50things.org.uk to get started!