Boxes: If you can score some heavy card boxes like what reams of paper come in from work have the girls cover them with wrapping paper. This can be done with either WIDE clear tape and contact (clear) or craft glue (messier). These boxes can be their own personal activity boxes for use with whatever activity they have on the go at the time. Half an hour leaves little time for setting up and packing up, so I suggest long term activities that can be picked up and put away for your weekday time and the box covering for example can be a weekend thing. Take them to one of the cheap shops to pick out their own wrapping paper etc.

Jewellery Making.
My nieces 9 and 13year olds are very into this at the moment. You can get everything from the cheap shops including $2 Shop, Red Dot and WA Salvage & Crazy Clarks. Earings and necklaces and bracelets. You need fine wire, beads and pointy nosed pliers and imagination.   check out this site for 100's of DIY idea's in many different craft activities including jewellery making.

www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_jewelry/0,2024,DIY_13762,00.html


Scoobies,
They finger knit plastic strips into things that they put onto key chains and hang from their school bags, I've seen them  little kits in the $2 Dollar Shop, Make 4 things from the one kit for $2-, cheapest I have seen them anywhere, but may last a while and no mess.

They can work for their activity. Instead of pocket money have them earn SOMETHING. They can pick at the start of the week what it will be, and then if they've earned it, go and get it with them. Obviously a monetary limit will be set. Start small ie. $5.00 per week if they want something that's worth more, they have to do a whole month of chores to earn it, if they don't they don't get it.

Self Family Portraits.
Do you have a digital camera??? Set up a nice back drop in your house (have them help you do it and come up with themed idea's). Then do hair and make up, chose clothes etc. set the camera up on timer and take a heap, then take individual ones and have them have a go at being the photographer. This will tie in well with the scrap booking idea, and you could do it once every couple of months. I bet they will LOVE, getting dressed up, etc. really get into it with them, have a build up, ie. if you notice a nice hair do on someone in a magazine, suggest it might look good on so & so and show it to her etc. This can be a whole just about Saturday thing to do. You will enjoy it too I bet & have some beautiful photo’s at the end to boot. 

Iron On Transfers. 
If you have a pc at home with a printer, you can buy 10 sheets of A4 sized transfer paper from K-Mart. I can burn you a cool program which can be fun for a one on one. They can design their own tee-shirt transfers. This program even lets you use photo's you have saved as well as has cartoons etc. The transfer paper works out to just under $2.00 per sheet, but you can stick 2 things easy on one sheet. If you are online at home you can look up fave idol of the minute, save the photo's and make tee-shirts with “HIM” or “HER” on it for example, very Cool. You can help with the pc tuition so they are learning stuff and don't even realise it. If you want to be a bit naughty you can even print off popular logo’s if you google what you are after.

Go to the op-shop
as a fun family thing to do one day, give them an amount to spend and an idea of what to get ie. JEANS. You can then at a later date if you desire, paint them. get them to find a picture or draw a picture they would like on them before hand. Have them draw it on the jeans using either a felt tip (fine) or a laundry marker pen before you use paint. I got stuff that you add to craft paint to make it fabric paint, it's "Kaiser colour" brand & it's in a tube it was AU $.60 and it's a fabric Fixative.  You can also buy fabric paints including puff paints which is great fun ,to use. If you choose to paint jeans (or anything) ALWAYS  fill the garment with folded news paper to avoid transferance from front to back of the paint.

Also you can get scrap fabric or old unwanted clothes and cut them into shapes and sew on patches to jeans, this looks cool, is individual, less mess and fun. You doppn't have to do any of these activities all in the one day.  Most of these activities are llittle mess and quick to pack up or get out again.  Even painted jeans can be hung on a line to dry in next to no time.