Lockdown looks like it might finally be coming to an end.
Hurrah!
But who knows what is around the corner.
Whether or not we’ll be faced with another lockdown remains to be seen, but come rain or shine, there are so many ways in which you can be creative.
We aren’t just talking about grabbing some paper and paint and whipping up a painting that might, one day, in the dim and distant future, be a million pound masterpiece worthy of a museum’s pride of place.
Or not.
But still.
Creative ideas?
We’ve got them.
What will you try?
Make Clay Animals
Next week the kids will be trying their hand at making clay animals. We would be trying salt dough but the oven timer packed up and now the ovens do not work so hey-ho, air dried clay it is. I do not know how much mess it will involve and how high my stress levels will rise, but I do know they will enjoy it.
Which is the main thing.
Right?
Dinner for All at the Giant Nacho Table
When the kids came up with the idea of a fun dinner without any washing up I had to hear more.
Turns out the plan was covering the dining table with foil, spreading a load of tortilla chips over it (16 bags of them, in fact), and topping them off with salsa, soured cream and cheese… loads of it.
Shout out to the kids to gather around and get stuck in and they did.
Great fun.
And when it was over, roll up the foil with the mess and throw it away.
Winner, winner, nacho dinner.
Create Personalised Artwork
Get some canvas or poster board, download some script fonts online and get the kids to write up a quote for the wall, either as a gift for someone else or for the house.
My quotes for them would be along the lines of:
- TIDY YOUR ROOM
- STOP SHOUTING
- STOP STANDING ON YOUR BROTHER’S HEAD
And similar.
Hold a Family Karaoke Night
I will never, ever stop suggesting this as a fun thing to do.
Whether it’s duetting to an ABBA medley with Tim, or rocking out to 80s classics with Harry, it’s a fabulous stress buster and really great amusement.
(Except for the neighbours.)
Sorry, neighbours.
One thing I have realised though, is how many artists sing the wrong words to their own songs. Because it couldn’t possibly be us getting it wrong now, could it?
Exactly.
Compose Your Own Music
Eddie has such a talent for music. So much so that he fashioned a holder for his harmonica so that he could simultaneously play it while he hammered out some Billy Joel tunes on his keyboard.
He is strangely talented. Well, he is strange, full stop. But talented when it comes to music.
He has an ear that allows him to play almost any tune instantly first time, and a skill that enables him to pick up any instrument.
And now he’s trying to make his own music too.
Which is actually quite good, I have to admit.
Why not give it a go?
Make Some Tie-Dye T-Shirts
Who doesn’t love a bit of tie-dying?
T-shirts can be bought very cheaply and, in no time at all, transformed into a customised item that even Vivienne Westwood would envy.
Create a Family Bucket List Collage
Gather everyone in the family and brain dump all your hopes, dreams and wishes of places to go and things to do once this Covid malarky is over.
Collect, cut and print pictures and make a giant bucket list collage of ideas that you can start working through… hopefully soon!
Bury a Covid Time Capsule
Like it or not, we have seen history unfold over the last year.
The pandemic has had us isolating, masking up and washing our hands like demons. We’ve been unable to meet our friends, wander around the shops, go to school or even visit grandparents.
And we will be asked, in years to come, how we found it and how we coped.
How many of us will admit that we just ate a lot, drank even more and watched a load of crap on Tik Tok?
Why not create a family Covid time capsule to bury in the garden? Include a letter, photos, a face mask… and anything else that your family can share that future explorers will find fascinating.
Yes, we are bored of it all now, but they’ll be in awe!
