The school holidays can come with a certain amount of dread. How will you keep the kids entertained for two weeks (or seven!!)? Here are some tips ...

Great personalised decorations for the Christmas tree.

Little girls love playing with beads and they can proudly create something to keep that they made themselves.

This experiment is really easy to do - the compass moves like magic and it's very impressive!

Kids always love this wacky experiment that, literally, makes their hair stand on end!

This is an easy experiment for little children that teaches them about floating and sinking and can be played in the bath!

This is an easy experiment that even little children can do.  It shows how all bodies are different - even two children who are about the same size might have very different lung capacities.

Christmas treats that would make great gifts too.

Kids can help roll out and decorate these tasty treats - great for Christmas too.

Great for lunchboxes and picnics

Let the kids help with making these tasty sushi balls

Yummy sausage rolls that are great for picnics or lunchboxes.

Kids love pizza and these fun pizza faces encourage them to learn about cooking.

Fun to make pretend gardens and flower pots.

A fun outdoor activity for kids

Our kids love this activity and we have had huge colourful wall murals of the beach, luna park, the mountains! 

Get fit and have fun these holidays as a family.    Pretend you are an animal, and REALLY get into character. 

Make colourful decorations from nature.

This is fun, but not always easy!

Children love to pretend, and this song will give them an opportunity to move around and explore the park or backyard.

Make interesting art with string and paints.

Make a simple jigsaw puzzle for your child using a photo of a favourite person or place or a picture from a magazine.

Kids love making noise - so why not make some of your own instruments using household objects.

Walk and Stop is a great game for practicing listening skills!

Big places to hide are often popular with toddlers.   If you or someone you know has a large cardboard box after having something delivered, turn it into a cubby house for you toddler to play and hide in.

Stacking and nesting is great for teaching about sizes and shapes whilst using developing some fine motor skills.

A great game that also teaches about smell and different senses.

Sand play allows young toddlers to experience different textures, different temperature and experiment with pouring and digging.

Great for dress-ups!

The kids love this 'magic' puff paint!

Create a slide for your marbles or cars!

A great idea for creating a fun keepsake of a trip out.

Colourful, noisy Christmas bracelets!

This is suitable from the age of 2 onwards and its so much fun and very easy to clean up afterwards

Make a chimney and pop-up Santa to delight young children!

Make your own Christmas Crackers - complete with jokes and gifts!

Put old socks to good use and create your very own Moshie Monsters!

Make a simple, cheap easel for the children to enjoy!

Paint pictures with coloured shaving foam

Edible, cheap and easy to make.  The kids will love making the paint colours and then painting with them.

This is so fun and we can make so many strange and wonderful things. Its great when the weather is bad and the boredom is sinking in.

Fun, musical instrument for the kids to make.

Simple, easy decorations for the kids to make for the Christmas Tree.

Super easy Christmas Reindeer decorations.

Let your children make their own Father's Day and Mother's Day Card: This is a lovely sentiment and a great keep sake to celebrate this special occasion

Felt books are easy to make with the kids and your child can use the pictures to make their own story each time they read the book.

A recipe for older kids to help you with for those special occasions.

Tasty, easy chicken dish

Easy to make and healthier and tastier than the Colonel's offerings!

Really easy to make, healthier than regular cakes, and great for lunchboxes!

French Toast! Super easy to make with little ones and so much fun!

Yummy and perfect for lunchboxes.

Yummy salad that's easy for the kids to help you with!

A quick, healthy salad that the kids can help you make.

Take half an hour to stretch each muscle in your body together with the family.  Make it a game and family bonding time.

I have found doing a spring clean out of the kitchen, bedroom and linen cupboards to be a huge source of new fun toy ideas for the kids...

Making bubbles is such an easy way to keep the kids entertained this summer!

Make your own Christmas Tree decorations from pine cones.  This activity has a exercise component and a craft component so you can burn off a little energy before getting the kids to settle down!

Making an alphabet scrapbook is a great learning activity for young children who are learning their letters and alphabet.

We always take photos to remind us of places, but how about involving the kids in making a picture instead!  Fun, cheap and easy to do

Making your own wrapping paper is great fun and adds a personal touch to any gift.  As a bonus, it's much cheaper than buying paper too!

A fun way to make Christmas garlands.

Create a minature herb garden that not only teaches kids how things grow, but they can then use the results in a cooking activity too!

Too far from the beach?  Find a way to 'surf' even when there's no water around.

There are a few different versions of Spotto doing the rounds among Bub Hub members. But they all have the same aim ... everyone looks for the same item and whoever sees it first yells "Spotto". You can keep a tally to determine the winner at the end of the drive.

An excellent game to keep kids quiet for a long while!

Fun car game based on normal bingo, but with instead of selecting numbers, players win when the right colour cars pass by.

This less boring version of 'cricket' is perfect for long trips on country roads. Each 'player' takes turns being 'up to bat'. Runs are scored each time a car passes on the opposite side of the road.

A simple recipe for playdough that's easy to make at home.

Remember family road trips? Listening to dad's music and playing Punch Buggy? Here are some less violent games to teach your little ones before a long drive.

Stuck for ideas for games and activities to play with your toddler or preschooler?  Here's a list of free or low-cost activities and games to stimulate 1-5 year olds.

Stuck for ideas for games and activities to play with your baby? Here's our list of free or low-cost activities and games to stimulate newborns to 1 year olds.