lol Gingermuggins,

Hope the vacuuming got finished !!  Thanks for the extra tips, i really like the bubble painting idea.  Will definately do that one !!

When i woke up today it was raining and looks pretty set in, so i decided to rummage through the boys rooms and find the raincoats and gum boots.  So we had a rainy day treasure hunt, although the chickens found a few of the treasures in the garden, but they handed them back with little fuss. The boys got a little distracted and started searching for lizards (must be a boy thing !!)  and they are still out there running around in the rain with raincoats and gumboots.....they look so cute, ive been trying to get photos.

Yesterday we went for a nice long walk in the afternoon, i pushed lawson in the pram and cooper rode his bike.  We are going to make it part of our daily routine from now on.

Well the boys are coming inside so it better go and run a nice warm bath for them, they look like drowned rats !!!!!!

tutter

I was in the middle of vaccuming when i thought a a few other ideas and just had to let you know, lol, anything to get out of vaccumming.

Paint paper with water and draw a picture with chalk. Somehow the water makes it easier to draw.

Fill a shallow tray with water, add food colouring, get the boys to blow bubbles in the water with straws then lay a piece of paper over the bubbles, tada, a bubble picture. You can always laminate it and use as a place mat.

Obstacle courses will incorporate fun and fitness.

I love the idea of the treasure hunt, maybe have the boys make treasure chests from shoe boxes, that way they can keep their treasure for a few days.

Ok, i will leave it here (back to the vaccumming). It sounds like your holidays are going to be fun filled. Keep us updated on what you do and how it went.

Keep Smiling

gingermuggins xx

 Thank you so much for all your wonderfull suggestions, I have written all of them down and we will pick one each day to do.   Im now looking forward to all the exciting things we can do...

Happy Holidays everyone

Tutter

How about baking cookies or cakes or pie, and let them make a mess,who cares it fun! the other thing that I found to fun was a treasure hunt! This can be done indoors or out doors, look for a special shaped leaf, a round rock , a flat rock, a piece of wood that looks like an animal! how about dress up and a play? Let them go through old clothing and become pirates or Harry Potter, or whomever they want then have a play or a sing along! It really doesn't have to cost you anything to have a bunch of fun and be creative! If you find them not interested, start yourself and soon they will want to know what you are doing and join in the fun, and you will have more fun doing these activities then you could ever imagine! Happy New Year and enjoy.

I have a table set up on the verandah with a box of craft odds and ends. Material, paper, pencils, glue, scissors, paints, glitter etc, etc. My kids love to 'create' and the grandparents love to 'recieve creations'.

If you have a cubby house, give the boys a paint brush and a bucket of water. They can pretend to paint the house.

Cooking is always a great thing to do, as is playing with playdoh which you can easily make. Finger painting with soapflakes mixed with water and food colouring is another messy idea.

Tape a garbage bag to an outside wall and spray whipped cream from a can on it and the boys can make pictures with it ( was told to use shaving cream but its not good if the kids put fingers in mouths).

For something not messy and good for quiet time, if you have a scrabble board have your older boy try and use all the letters to make words or sit with him and have a proper game of scrabble.

The internet has some good educational sites for kids, just limit the time the boys are on the computer. There are also some colouring competitions you can download. I have found this to be good to get the kids to do something quiet as they like entering comps.

I hope the above helps. I have girls and they play shops, schools, barbie dolls, dress ups, dancing, so im not to famililar with how to keep boys amused yet.

keep smiling and remember to take each day as it comes and enjoy the precious time you have with your boys. They grow up to quick.

There is a book available at Big W called 501 things to do that arent watching TV. Games are always a big hit but the most fun I had with kids was cooking and they're never to young to learn. I have four children 15 mths apart so when the were little we had our own crowd on the holidays. Food prep and cooking is fun and educational, asking questions like how many do we need if ... you can incorporate shopping into this activity, this is the money we have, here's the calculator this is what we need. Holidays shouldnt be a chore, they should be fun with your kids before they are all grown up and left the nest :-) and that happens in a blink of an eye!

My children are of similar age (6,4 &21mths) you are so right that everything is verey expensive, there is not much to do that's free.  Mentioning Movie World I assume you live in QLD.  Try checking out the website of either your local council or the queensland one and check out things to do, parks, attractions etc.  Even try googling free things to do in your QLD etc..  I found some good websites and places to go by doing that for Melbourne/Victoria etc.

There is also the magazine which is called Melbourne's Child they have a website http://www.melbourneschild.com.au/  if you go there they have a brisbanes child as well as other states.  Every month they have a calender as to what's on in that area, it covers all over Victoria so I can only assume the Brisbane one is the same.  It lists every day and also what event and also the cost (if any) I foudn some really good free things to do from this mag.  They also publish articles such as listing all the parks in Victoria and what age they are appropriate for.  So maybe check the website out and see what's available.

Some libraries have story reading days or you may have a toy library in your area to check out.  If you lived Melbourne way I could offer some suggestions but sorry can't offer too much for QLD.  But definetly check out the Brisbane Cild

I have a 2 yr old girl and a 5 yr old boy....
we have spent time at the park ..... the pool, taking a bike ride to the shops....

train rides are always a hit...we go to the city and catch a ferry to no where..... often manly....

 trips to the museum are good..... in sydney the power house museum is very interactive.....t

rips to the local library are great and they can borrow books to read or listen to story time......i am on limited funds and cant do much with the kids so i have to make life inventive..

why not start a little garden together if you have the room...(can just be in a container) and go to a nursery to get a few seeds..... my 2 yr old and 5 yr old love watering the plants and it gives us something to do together

even going to maccas and having a 30c icecream and playing on the equipment can be awesome for all...also lets you grab a coffee and 5 mins of mummy time

Sorry I can't help much I have found that it is hard to find things for the kids to do when there is an age gap like that . I have found that colouring, painting, bike riding, and baking are all things that my kids did together well with a 3 1/2 year age gap. I hope this helps like I said it isn't much.