Fun in the Sun!

While the weather is so beautiful this weekend, you may be wondering how you can enjoy some rays without leaving your back garden. Thankfully, we have some great ideas to keep you and the family busy and active while staying at home. Check out these three fun activities you can do as a family.

1. Dinosaur Dig

Do you have a budding palaeontologist in your household? Your little ones will definitely love to do a dinosaur dig! Fill up a large container with sand (you can even use an inflatable paddling pool!) and mix in some toy dinosaurs. Make sure they’re hidden well to make it more of a challenge. Then, you need some tools – a paintbrush is perfect, and if you have a magnifying glass hiding in your home you can use that too. A rake from a sandcastle set would also make a good tool for digging. Then, all your budding palaeontologist needs to do is dig, dig, dig!

You can even use this time to introduce some learning into playtime – every time your child digs out a dinosaur, you can explain to them what dinosaur it is and an interesting fact about them. Why not even make a dinosaur themed picnic to go with it, with homemade cookies shaped like dino-footprints and ‘foliage’ made from lettuce and cucumber, carrot and pepper sticks.

2. Homemade bird feeders

Now is the perfect time to introduce some wildlife into your garden – and it’s much easier than you may expect! If you’ve got empty yoghurt pots going to waste, you have the perfect starting block for a bird feeder.

Start by making a small hole in the bottom of a yoghurt pot and threading some string through it, tying a knot on the inside. Made sure the string is long and strong enough to be hung from wherever you plan to hang it.

After this, stir up a mixture of bird seed, raisins, oats, breadcrumbs, unsalted peanuts, or any combination of these. Then, you’ll need to warm up some lard to room temperature, so it’s soft enough to cut up into little cubes. You don’t want to use too much – around 1 part lard to every 2 parts of dry ingredients.

Mix these ingredients together using your hands – the heat will help to soften the lard and bind it all together. After it’s all mixed thoroughly, pop into the yoghurt pot you prepared earlier, making sure it’s all pressed in tightly, and put them in the fridge overnight to set. Cut off the yoghurt pot, hang it up and keep an eye out for the birds that visit!

3. Camping

As the weather gets warmer, you may be thinking about getting the tent out from the attic. While you may not be able to pitch it by the beach in Gower, you can have a great time camping in your very own garden! Start up a barbeque, bring out the boardgames and grab your football!

This is the perfect time to get creative –  bring out your crayons and paper and draw some of the flowers and wildlife you see in your garden. Before you all go to bed, you can tell each other stories, or use the time to catch up on a great book you haven’t had time to read. You could even download some films on your laptop and get together for a cosy movie night under the stars.

The great thing about camping from home is you can have all the fun of camping with the luxury of your own bathroom and kitchen right on your doorstep. This can take the stress away from late night toilet trips or underestimating how many snacks to bring into the tent!

What are you going to do to enjoy the weather? Let us know and share your ideas!