School Holidays? Already!

Can you believe it's time for school holidays again! Where has the time flown this year? I'm about to embark on my first child free week as Mr PA takes Emily to Canberra to spend time with her cousins. I am both excited and nervous about how next week will pan out. Will I miss her like crazy and want to jump in the car and go get her? Or will I enjoy the full nights uninterrupted sleep that I've missed for the last three and a half years? I've already made lists of things I want to achieve while she's away....like get the sewing machine out, RUN EVERY DAY, eat healthy and at an adult time (not 5pm!). 

So what is everyone else doing for the holidays? I think one of the hardest things is keeping the kids occupied and using up some of their endless energy. And if it rains.....well you just don't want to think about that! 

I have a few holiday ideas for keeping the kids occupied and I thought I'd share them....

I found this at Vibrant Designs and thought it was brilliant! How many times do you here "Mum I'm bored" during the school holidays? Add a bunch of paddle pop sticks with different activities on them to an empty jar. Every time you hear that annoying sentence get them to pull one of the paddle pop sticks out of the jar and what ever activity is written on it is what they will do. Here are some examples:

Ride your bike

Pick up 10 things and put them away

Draw

Play hopscotch 

Have a tea party

Make a collage

Read a book

Clean two windows

Dance

Watch a movie

Play dress ups

Vacuum one room

Explore the garden

Play in the cubby house for one hour

Build a sandcastle

Make mud pies

Water the plants

Hide and seek

Elastics 

Do a puzzle

Make a kite and fly it

My list could go on and on but you get the idea... Just make sure you mix some housework up with the fun stuff!

Remember this? Daju is bringing back the fun with Elastics! They've been featured in so many blogs and magazines lately and they're really are fantastic to keep kids active and occupied. I remember when my sisters got sick of playing with me I'd attach mine around the bottom of some chair legs and do it by myself. You can get your own Daju Elastics here, complete with instructions and song list. 

Glottogon make an awesome range of puzzles and Emily can sit on the floor and play with hers for hours. We have a whole new range coming in for Christmas (which is less than 100 days away now!). My favorite is the Knights Big Puzzle which is so beautifully illustrated. Every time I look at it I find some new detail I never noticed before. It's a huge floor puzzle and a great way to encourage independent play. 

Last summer if I wanted to get some housework done, I would put Emily in her swimsuit and give her a bucket of water and a paint brush and tell her to paint the cement under our pergola. She would spend a good hour, sometimes two, painting that cement. Amazing! 

Lastly my theory with kids and keeping them occupied is that the more kids you have, the easier it is to occupy them. So pre-plan some independent play activities, invite some friends over and watch them go for it! As a bonus it probably means you can offload yours to those friends houses and get some valuable "me time". Win! 

Share your best holiday activities. What's your favorite thing to keep the kids busy? Is it so wrong to dump them in front of the TV every now and then? 

Gifted

Every day Mums, Dads, grandparents, aunties, uncles and friends come into our little store looking for the perfect gift for a newborn, birthday, christening or just because. Buying for someone else's child is not easy. You don't always know their taste and  if it's for a baby shower, you may not even know the sex of the child. 

I thought I'd share some of my ideas on what makes a great gift. 

The Baby Shower

If you don't know the sex of the baby there are plenty of neutral options to choose from. 

Gaia Organic Cotton newborn gift set with 'Take Me Home' onesie, mint stripe wrap and hat packed in their 'Special Delivery' bag. It's the perfect gender neutral gift. 

BABU NZ 100% Merino Wool blanket comes in gender neutral grey and is great for the pram, cot or used as a wrap. Put it with something pink and it's a girl, blue and it's a boy! 

You can never have too many hooded towels and we still use our Aden and Anais towel and face washer set now, even though my little girl is almost 3. They are so generous in size and lovely and soft. Plain white keeps it gender neutral. 

Handmade and totally gorgeous, this soft rabbit from 'and the little dog laughed' will be a keepsake for the newborn and a lovely addition to their nursery. The overalls and shoes are hand-crocheted and it comes complete with a handmade linen gift bag so you don't even need to wrap it! 

1st Birthday

Daju Balloon Balls make a perfect 1st Birthday present. Their are boy and girl designs to choose from and they come with 4 balloons to get him or her started. Best of all they can be used indoors and outdoors so a great entertainer on rainy days. 

Woddlers insulated lunchboxes are so handy. We use ours on trips away, play dates at the park or when we send her to grandparents for overnight trips. Great for storing bottles of milk, snacks and lunches. There is a great selection of styles and colours too. 

At this age they are learning to talk and Glottogon make a great range of "My' books such as My Body, My Week and My Manners. It's a great way for them to learn all the parts of their body and a gift that can be used well into the toddler years. 

2nd Birthday

Another one by Glottogon. Puzzle Pairs are designed for 2 years plus. They teach Opposites, Matching and Colours. Each puzzle has beautiful illustrations and only the correct pieces fit together which is great for encouraging independent play and analytical skills. 

Daju Chalkmats make fantastic gifts! Each mat features cloth chalk fabric on one side and laminated fabric on the other. They come with two pieces of chalk and an eraser and roll up to a compact size so they're perfect for the car, travel and at home. The reverse side is great for using as a mat to do all those stick and messy craft projects on too. 

3 years plus

Wee Can Too Veggie Baby Finger Paint is great for all ages. Made from organic food based ingredients such as fruit and vegetables, this paint is safe to eat! It's also gluten and dairy free so if the child has allergies this paint is perfect. 

Kaboodle Kits for Kids Create Your Own Treasure Box contains everything they need to make their very own keepsake box. Suitable for boys and girls, this box contains glue, glitter, paints, jewels and a paintbrush as well as the blank box. 

Glottogans Big Puzzle. We have three styles available. A truly BIG puzzle - measuring 60cm x 55cm when complete. Made from extra thick board and with 30 pieces to play with. Wonderful illustrations by French artists Emilie Chollat make this a must have gift.

Let me know if you have any great gift ideas. I'm always looking for more!