Fun activities for kids to do during the school holidays

What to do with kids on holidays?

School vacations are approaching fast, and you are looking for ideas to keep your little ones busy? It’s not always easy to keep them entertained with original activities at low cost. Fortunately, there are many creative and sports activities to keep them busy without ruining your budget, hehe.

We have selected for you 7 creative activities at low cost to entertain the kids during the vacations. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nannies, babysitters… it’s up to you!

I. Organize a treasure hunt

Have you ever done a treasure hunt yourself for the kids? It’s a real puzzle to combine suspense, reflection, and fun.

How to make a treasure hunt?

• Choose the play area

All places are welcome for a fun activity: house, apartment, garden, park, forest…  

• Choose a theme 

This option is optional, but you can involve the children by making them choose and adapt the decoration and accessories to the theme.

For example, if they are fans of the Disney or Marvel universe, order in advance small accessories of prince and princess or superheroes, and use them for your activity. Are they a fan of dinosaurs? Use archaeology vocabulary like, “The dinosaur fossil is between the mailbox and the garden gate.” Be creative!

• Write down clues 

You can create as many clues, charades, or riddles as you like. Adapt them according to the number of children, and don’t forget to give the kids some directions. 😉 You can create a dozen clues and adapt the precision of the indications according to the age group of children. 

You can start with clue 1: “I’m somewhere in the house, between the yogurt and the eggs… It’s very cold in here = The fridge.” Then go on to a second clue, which will lead to the third, until the 10th where the treasure will be found.

• Draw a map for more realism

This map will allow your little wolves to find their way throughout their investigation, but especially to put crosses in the places where they will find a clue, so as not to go back and lose time.

• Provide a treasure for their greatest pleasure!

What would a treasure hunt be without… treasure? For this, nothing could be simpler than a shoebox, a cardboard box or a small bag as a chest!  You will fill this box or chest with candies, chocolate coins, gifts or other trinkets of your choice. 

This birthday animation is ideal to energize the party and make the children have a fun adventure.

II. Making homemade paint

Yes, you read that right. Doing a painting workshop with your little monsters is a great activity that allows you to express your creativity through art. The Escape Kit team loves “homemade” and is unanimously in favor of this idea!

1. The materials

2. How to do it?

1. Start by adding the dry ingredients, then mix them together. 
2. Gradually add the water, while continuing to stir. 
3. Divide and add the dye. And there you have it, ready to use!

This paint is not only quick and easy to use, but it has the advantage of keeping for several months and is great for transparent surfaces. Moreover, it is non-toxic. Beware, food coloring stains!

Get your brushes and play the role of Picasso or Dali. 😉

III. Easy cookie recipes for kids

This cooking activity is ideal to spend the afternoon at home while having fun. Whether you’re pawing at the dough, making pretty balls, taking care of the decorating or even the tasting part, something tells us that your kids will love to give you a hand!

1. Ingredients (about 20 delicious cookies)

• 170g flour
• 100g butter
• 90g brown sugar (brown sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of vanilla powder
• 1/2 packet of baking powder
• Chocolate chips (or M&M’s according to taste)

2. The preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Put the brown sugar, salt and vanilla in a bowl and add the egg and melted butter.
3. Add the flour and baking powder slowly, then add the chocolate chips or M&M’s. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. The dough is ready when it comes off the sides and forms a ball on the spoon.
4. Place parchment paper over a baking sheet and have the children spoon the dough into balls and flatten them out. Remember to space the balls apart, as they will spread out when baking. 😉
5. Bake for 10–12 minutes at 180 degrees. Be careful, you have to watch the cooking. The cookies are done when they start to crack on the top. Now all you have to do is eat them!

---

IV. Customize tie and dye t-shirts

Do you know what is the best way to start the summer vacations? Having colorful and personalized clothes.

In summer, forget about big sweaters and scarves and say hello to shorts, tee-shirts and flip-flops! Speaking of wardrobe, what if we gave it a makeover? Do you see where we’re going with this? 😉

During this activity, your little monsters have carte blanche. The concept is simple: decorate a white t-shirt with colors and patterns they like. 

1. The material

For this activity, you will need:

2. How to do it?

1. Lay the t-shirt on a table, point the fork in the middle of it and twist it until the t-shirt is twisted.
2. Keep the t-shirt in position by removing the fork and adding the rubber bands, so that they all cross in the center.
3. Divide the different dyes into empty bottles and add water (if you want the color to be bright, reduce the amount of water).
4. Once the bottles are filled with water-diluted dye, spread the contents as desired. 
5. Let the shirt dry outside for 24 hours and rinse with cold water. Congratulations! The whole family has a trendy new shirt for summer.

---

V. Make an Escape Room at home

And to top it all off, what better way to share a moment than with an Escape Room at home or outdoors? Halfway between a treasure hunt and a board game, the Escape Room is an innovative way to play and have fun. With family, friends, small or large groups, any occasion is good!

Whether your kids prefer a Superhero, Princess, Pirate or Alice in Wonderland theme, they’re sure to find something to suit their tastes in our many available kits. They will love to explore the worlds of their favorite characters.

Thanks to our complete downloadable kit, containing riddles, accessories, a countdown with background music, your kids will love playing the game and solving all the riddles before the time runs out. Don’t hesitate, go on an adventure and become a hero!

VI. Create funny characters

An easy and funny activity: the anti-stress potato! How about doing this little animation with the kids? The advantage? An activity that requires little material and that you probably already have at home.

The material

• Balloons
• Flour
• Small bottle
• Elastic

VII. Go on an adventure with an obstacle course

For the adventurous, there’s nothing like an obstacle course to have fun while exercising! Whether indoors or outdoors, it’s an activity that’s easy to set up and ideal for improvisation.

Here are some ideas to spice up your course:

• Jump through a hoop,
• Create a maze with ribbons or toilet paper,
• Make a beam with a stable log,
• Walk from point A to point B with a spoon in your mouth and an egg on top. The goal? Don’t break the egg!
• Use your imagination!

---

      We hope that you will enjoy this article and that it will allow you to keep the children busy whether you are parents, grandparents, nannies, babysitters… School vacations will pass quickly!

The Escape Kit team has a long list of activities to do at home with your family to find on our website or our social networks: Facebook, Instagram.