The weather is yet again wet and extremely windy here in North Wales. Yesterday Caernarfon airport registered gusts of 103mph. We were lucky though last week that we had a good few days of sunshine and a chance to get out and about.
Although our fuel budget out here is quite large as we are very rural, we are also lucky to have a lot of activities for children on our doorstep.
Free Children’s Activities
Gabe is an outdoorsy child, in fact I think most toddlers and children are. All that energy needs directing somewhere, if nothing else it means come 7pm you may get that easy bedtime we all dream of!
Where we live we are a two minute drive from a lovely little beach and harbour, an extra fifteen minutes and we are in the foothills of Snowdonia. There are woods, walks, and beach activities aplenty for us to take advantage of should the weather be agreeable. The cold doesn’t bother us, only wet and windy – it is just a shame that is mainly what we have had recently.
Outdoor Activities – As well as walks and the beach we love treasure hunts here. Now Gabe is finally old enough to understand about maps (although he does need help and guidance to follow them) we have started geocaching. If you have a smart phone it really is worth signing up. There are guides as to how accessible each cache is so you know if suitable for the age of your children. We often take a small home made cake for his “treasure” at the end. There are lots of geocache sites, many in towns and cities too, so you don’t need to live in the countryside to take advantage.
On those days when getting out and about is just not feasible we have a list of rainy day free children’s activities to stave off the boredom – and I’m not ashamed to admit that sometimes that is an episode of Paw Patrol just so I can get some housework done or the dinner cooked!
Local Mum & Toddler Groups – there are often a lot of local groups for those with babies and young children. We have a fair few free community groups here. It is a great way for them to run off some steam whilst you are having a cuppa and adult company. If you aren’t sure of local groups contact your local community centre or Health Visitor and they will be able to point you in the right direction.
Arts & Crafts – Gabe loves painting. In fact most mornings when I ask what he wants to do he replies with painting. We bought him a cheap easel for Yule which he loves. However, as long as the house is warm, and you have clean clothes and a bath ready, foot or hand painting is the most fun. We also love using household objects for crafts, so lots of pasta art, messy play, and banging pots and pans making “music” (when my head can cope!).
Pretend Play – There is also a lot of pretend play here on wet days. Dressing up as Captain America or a Turtle and role playing or just having a tea party with all the teddies and dinosaurs (by the way dinosaurs love cake and it is up to you to provide it 😉 ).
Cooking – Another favourite is baking and helping in the kitchen. I think children can do a lot more around the house than we give them credit for at time. Gabe loves helping me make pizza dough to have home made pizzas. I have started showing him how to safely chop fruit and vegetables, although this does mean a lot gets eaten along the way!
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