20 budget BOREDOM BUSTERS

If the whole family is stuck at home, there’s still plenty of fun to be had!

1 CREATE A HANGING MOBILE

Get your kids to draw some small pictures (four or six should fit on a side of A4) with brightly coloured pens, then cut them out, punch a hole in each and thread them onto a piece of string. Tie each end to a coat hanger. If you want to get more inventive, hang three more hangers from the first one and then fix three additional ones to each of those.

2 HOMEMADE PLAY-DOH

Mix flour, salt and water with a splash of food colouring and heat in a large pan over medium heat. Slowly add four tablespoons of cooking oil and tartar sauce (the tartar stops the clay cracking). Stir constantly until the play dough feels like mashed potatoes. Take off the heat and let cool until children can knead it. Store in an airtight container.

3 TORCH TREASURE HUNT

On your own, plant little treasures in your backyard (or in the house). These can be lollies or toys – just something your kids will love. Then draw up a map with directions. For an authentic ancient look, let some coffee soak into the map to brown it with age. While the paper is wet, rip it around the edges. Wait until dark, give each child a torch and let the fun begin!

4 GARDEN CAMP

Get some fresh air and camp out in your backyard for the night and tell stories by torchlight.

5 STREETS AHEAD

If your child has some toy cars, get them to make a whole city centre to play on. Put some packing tape across the carpet or floor with dotted lines down the middle. Then get them to make stop signs or shops out of cardboard. Sticks from outside can be made into trees and pillows can soon turn into steep hills. Put in a couple of roundabouts, too.

6 FASHION DESIGN

Revamp an old white T-shirt with just some crayons and sandpaper – both can be found at a discount store. Get the kids to colour a fun picture of their face on the sandpaper. Once it’s finished, go back over the design, giving the sandpaper an extra thick layer of crayon. Next, place a piece of cardboard inside the T-shirt and position the sandpaper rightside down on it. Then iron the sandpaper, on a low heat setting, for about 30 seconds. Remove the sandpaper to reveal a personalised T-shirt.

7 CREATE AN OBSTACLE COURSE

Lay old sheets down and then make a tunnel using sofa cushions, piles of books for them to jump over, chairs for them to run around and plastic pudding basins to balance on their heads. Encourage them to see who can get the best time.

8 BLU-TACK THE TAIL ON THE ELEPHANT

OK, so this works with any animal! Draw it as big as you can, blindfold the kids and get them to stick the tail on as accurately as possible after being spun round three times.

9 WOODEN SPOON THEATRE

Buy some cheap wooden spoons from the supermarket, draw eyes and a smile on each one and they’re halfway to becoming puppets! Bunch together some wool for hair, cut clothes from felt or fabric scraps and glue them on. Then it’s time for a show!

10 DRESS UP

Collect some of your old clothes and create a dress-up box for the kids. They can even put on a fashion show with their new ensembles.

11 CARD MAKING

Get some cardboard, pencils, glitter and any other craft materials and get making some unique cards!

12 MILK ART

Pour milk into a large cereal bowl, then add a drop of four different food colourings in the centre. Watch their surprise as they add a drop of diswashing liquid and an incredible pattern emerges.

13 MAKE A LAVA LAMP

Find a plastic drink bottle and pour in vegetable oil, so it’s three-quarters full. Next, mix water with a few drops of food colouring and pour into the bottle so it’s almost full. Wait a few seconds for the two liquids to separate and then get an Alka-Seltzer tablet and break it into small pieces. Drop a couple in and screw the lid on tightly. Stand back and watch it fizz!

14 BOARD GAMES

Easy to forget, but the humble board game offers hours of entertainment.

15 BUILD A FORT

Use sofa cushions or blankets propped up by dining chairs, clean buckets and side tables. If they’ve stripped the cushions off the sofa, it could be used as a base. Get all your friends to do the same, post the results on Facebook and then vote for a winner.

16 TRY FLOWER PRESSING

For a quick and easy version, simply place the flowers or leaves between two sheets of paper and into a book for a day or two, then the kids can use them to create their own artworks.

17 BALLOON PING PONG

Blow up two balloons and make some bats from paper plates glued to sticks (or simply use rolled-up newspaper) and play balloon ping pong. You could even set up a net using a clothes horse or two chairs with a skipping rope tied between them. Then have fun rubbing balloons on your jumpers or hair and see if you can get them to stick to the walls and ceiling!

18 ART COMPETITION

Get the kids to draw or paint a masterpiece on some paper or cardboard, then hold your own gallery showing.

19 QUIZ TIME

Put together a quiz for your kids and hold a trivia afternoon. There are some great templates online or make up your own!

20 TIDY UP

After all this fun, you’ve bound to have created a bit of a mess. So challenge your kids to a room tidying competition. The winner gets a prize!