Today I am sharing 10 screen free activities for when we have friends visiting our house. They are mainly for our 7 year old and his friends but some could definitely be adapted for younger children, too.
- Air dry clay - we use The Works messy play mat to lay on the dining table and a pack of DAS air dry clay, plus some tools. This kept children entertained for a long time and then they took their finished piece home with them at the end!
- Building a den - using all the spare blankets from the house! Along with pegs, dining room chairs and sofa cushions. We also add USB lamps inside so they are cosy in the den!
- Chalk drawing - we are very grateful to have a garden and also a big house shaped chalkboard in the garden. I have since realised that the rain washes off chalk from our patio so have allowed children to draw on the patio too! We use chunky outdoor chalks but you could adapt to do this indoors too
- Making watermelon pizzas - one adult cuts a small-ish watermelon into round slices, then we have various fruit, yoghurt, nut and seed options that children can use to make their own 'toppings'. This is very fun for a healthy dessert after dinner!
- Board games including Jack Straws, Junior Monoply, Snakes & Ladders and 'Don't say it' game with cards where you have to describe the word at the top but without using the listed words underneath. So fun for adults and children! Also you could download the free 'Would you rather' questions for children, print and cut them up and each child picks one to answer - blog post here
- Pizza making - ready made dough or pre-mixed and they have to roll it out, plus some homemade (or store bought) tomato sauce and then they choose and add all of their own toppings. They can feel proud to have made their own lunch!
- Treasure hunt - with our favourite Grapat Rainbow wooden eggs (we make sure to count the total first before hiding them)
- Card making - I keep lots of blank cards and envelopes in stock at home and we enjoy various ways to decorate and make greetings cards including with the Gelli plate, collage, painting and scrape art. Bonus = the children then have cards to take home and ready for the next friends' Birthday!
- Origami - A pack of origami paper is fairly budget friendly and gives them freedom to make so many different things! A book is handy toot
- Make a little book from 1 piece of paper - A simple, quick and fun activity and they can then write in or decorate their book with stickers, collage, drawing, etc and take it home
