Fun things to do at home this half term

Last Updated on 26 April 2024 by Colette

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February half term is traditionally my least favourite school holiday at the best of times but in Lockdown it feels even tougher. Whilst I think we are all looking forward to a break from home schooling (and for those of us who are teachers, a break from school!), I know it’s also a holiday many of us are dreading. A whole week at home with nowhere to go and no playdates to break up the monotony feels pretty daunting.

At the moment, the most exciting thing on our calendar for half term is a trip to the dentist for a very overdue check up (for the kids only – they’re not seeing adults at the moment apparently).

In an effort to try and make things feel a bit different through the half term holiday, and to try and break up the inevitable sustained screen time – I wanted to share some ideas.

Have a sleepover

One of the things my kids are missing most is sleepovers – sleepovers with their Grandparents and sleepovers at friends’ houses (and I’m missing those too!). Our girls are often asking if they can sleepover in each other’s rooms but for half term we’ll get the sofa bed out downstairs and let the three of them sleep downstairs together in their living room. We’ll stick a film on and supply them with snacks and let them snuggle down in bed to watch – this is especially novel for them as we don’t allow any screens upstairs so they can’t watch TV in bed normally! You could set up a “den” for the kids to sleep anywhere really – our friends actually put their tent up in their living room last month – anything that feels a bit different and exciting! If you really want to splash out, there are lots of companies now that offer sleepover set ups – I know I’ve seen a few locally that are doing doorstep drop offs of their kits for you to set up yourself.

Read about how Pinks Charming set up her own magical teepee sleepover.

Pizza night

This is something we actually only tried for the first time recently – making our own pizzas from scratch. Dave made the dough and pizza sauce himself however you can buy both pre-made pizza bases and sauce from the supermarket. The main fun is of course in choosing your toppings and setting them out on your pizza – Ben is keen to make sure he’s got a nice even spread of toppings whereas the girls both like to make faces!

Check out Emily Leary’s amazing collection of pizza recipes for inspiration!

Try a theme day

Why not try a theme day – this one will take a little planning as you’ll need to choose a country and perhaps shop ahead to make sure you’ve got everything you need.

Karen from Mini Travellers explains more about how a theme day worked for them:

Over one weekend we embraced travel and the girls all chose a country to make a meal from. The brief was that the ingredients didn’t have to be too complicated. They needed to check what we had in stock and add the extra stuff to the shopping list and they needed to do the majority of the cooking! We had an Italian pizza night on Friday, a French breakfast on Saturday morning with waffles, fruit, chocolate and croissants and a Spanish Tapas evening on the Saturday night.

Check out Karen’s post on their French Day at Home for more inspiration!

Have an at home spa day

Missing the spa? Me too! Why not have an at home spa day with the kids – it might not be as relaxing as a full on spa day but it should be good fun!

Becky from Pinks Charming explains more about how she set up a spa day at home for her children!

My daughter gave me the idea of doing a home spa day, and was keen to make her own face mask. We mashed together some ingredients and I created a calming, warm atmosphere in our bedroom for the girls to lie in. It’s so easy to make (but do put down an old sheet or towels to protect your bed!) Adding fairy lights or candles, and relaxing music makes it a little bit magical. It’s a great way to spend some quality screen-free time together, and work on the children’s wellbeing.

Check out Becky’s post for more details on how to set up a spa day at home for the kids

Have a glow stick bath!

This isn’t something we’ve done for years – mainly because the kids are a bit too big to all fit in the bath together anymore – but I know Amy would still love it! A glowstick bath is perfect for this time of year when the nights still draw in early as you need it to be properly dark to get the full effect. Just run a bath, turn off all the lights and add some glow sticks! If you get nice chunky glowsticks, they will glow for hours so you can play for as long as you like. For extra fun, grab a waterproof speaker and stick on some tunes!

Try your hand at some nature craft activities

Getting out and about for our daily exercise is super important – both for our physical and mental health. We are keen to try and get outside whatever the weather but, when we can’t travel very far, mixing things up on your walks and giving them a focus is key to stopping things from getting boring!

Jenny from Peak District Kids has loads of nature craft ideas

On your next walk, perhaps collect some items to try out a nature craft activity. Ideas include making clay faces, rainbow sticks, sticky nature cards, woodland characters, and lots more to keep your little ones busy and engaged, and all use natural items such as sticks, stones and leaves.

Check out this post from Peak District Kids for more nature craft ideas

Catherine from Growing Family suggests having a go at making “journey sticks”

Journey sticks are a really easy way to make a family walk less boring.  They keep kids busy, help them to learn about nature, and also give them a little memento to take home.  All you need to take with you is a piece of string per child.  Get the kids to find a stick, then collect natural fallen items such as leaves, twigs and feathers and use the string to tie each item onto the stick.  Once they’re done, they can use the stick to tell the story of their walk – this is a great distraction when they’re flagging at the end!

Read more about making journey sticks on Growing Family

What about having a go at Geocaching?

When is a walk not a walk? When it’s a treasure hunt! Why not try geocaching this half term.

Jenny from The Gingerbread House shares her tips for getting started!

We’ve been huge fans of geocaching for years and it’s something we’ve embraced as a family. Haven’t heard of it before? It’s like a modern day treasure hunt using GPS. It’s so much fun for the whole family and gets my reluctant kids out for a walk. The great news is that geocaching is free to sign up for, and all you really need is a mobile phone.

Simply search for a geocache – this could be a series of clues to solve or something physical, like a small box or film cannister. Navigate to the cache, there’s usually a tip to help you find it, and you can sign the logbook when you’ve found it.

We’ve found it gives a sense of purpose to our daily walks. The kids love it so much we’ve even started placing our own geocaches and trackables for others to find!

Read more about Geocaching on The Gingerbread House

If you’ve got some great ideas of things to do to make this half term at home a little less dreary, let me know and I’ll add them in!

For a list of more educational things to do:

Check out this post about things to do during the school closures,

Have a look at this list of fifty fun activities for under a fiver

Check out this list of things for bored teens to do at home!

Read these tips on how to stay cosy at home

Plan a family movie night at home

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