5 fun activities to do as a family over the school holidays

What's tastier than consuming cranberry sauce or apple pies? Picking fruit on your own! Picture: Pexels

What's tastier than consuming cranberry sauce or apple pies? Picking fruit on your own! Picture: Pexels

Published Nov 9, 2022

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Having enough of the same old thing? Try out some new, enjoyable hobbies while spending quality time with your family.

In today's fast-paced world, it might be difficult to find time to regularly interact as a family, yet doing so is crucial.

According to studies, spending time with family helps strengthen relationships, improves social development, and increases self-esteem in children.

Here are a few fresh suggestions for fun family activities that can be done both inside and outside.

Embark on a picnic cruise

Enjoy a meal then an expedition on the water. Kayaks and canoes are frequently available for hourly or daily rentals at sporting goods stores.

Paddle boats can be available at your neighbourhood park. Set out on an excursion to a neighbouring island, beach, park, or along the banks of a nearby river with a packed lunch. Invite other families, and turn this into a group outing by holding paddle races on the water.

From the field, head to the fork

What's tastier than consuming cranberry sauce or apple pies? Picking fruit on your own! Visit a pick-your-own farm with seasonal fruits like pumpkin, apples, strawberries, and blueberries with the family.

Then set a challenge for each other to create a menu that uses your selection as the main element.

For instance, after spending the day at a pumpkin patch, serve pure soup as an appetiser, top a salad or meat dish with toasted pumpkin seeds, and finish the meal with pie.

When you and your family prepare meals together from beginning to end, they taste so much better.

Make your own ice cream

Three basic ingredients—heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract—are all you need to make homemade no-churn ice cream.

By simply beating the cream until firm peaks form and then mixing them into the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract, this may be accomplished without the need of a machine.

After that, you can fold in any flavourings or additives of your choice. After creating your base, you'll need freezer-safe containers.

Picture: Pexels

A metal container will freeze the ice cream faster and better than a glass pan, so you can use a 2112cm bread loaf pan as your container (this one is perfect because it has a lid).

Consider purchasing an insulated ice cream tub or container, or lidded containers for individual servings on-the-go, if you plan to make ice cream frequently.

then serve from frozen! To serve, let the ice cream stand at room temperature for a few minutes, then scoop it with a wet ice cream scoop into bowls, onto cones, or directly from the container.

Decorate ready-made pottery

Visit a self-serve pottery painting studio with the family. The majority of studios provide pre-made pottery in a range of sizes, including plates, mugs, tiles, frames, bowls, and vases, as well as pottery paints and brushes.

The ceramic item you want to decorate comes first, after which you select colours and patterns. You don't have to be Picasso to decorate; just use your hand print, stencils, shapes, or other objects.

Picture: Pexels

The majority of the pieces are prepared for pick-up within a week, after they’ve been glazed and fired.

Numerous studios hold a variety of family-friendly events, including story-time painting and pottery parties.

You may even create a sweet hand print or footprint of your child. Some locations provide discounts for families painting together on specific days or let kids paint for free when accompanied by their mothers.

Making art fosters creativity and provides a reminder of the enjoyable time spent together.

Go on a geocache treasure hunt

Finding caches (or containers) that contain items that other people have hidden is the purpose of geocaching, an outdoor treasure hunt that takes place in the real world. To find cache locations close to you, visit the official website, Geocaching.com.

Then, using your smartphones (the majority of which have GPS tracking), locate the hidden riches, which are frequently hidden under boulders, in tree hollows, or beneath benches.

Picture: Pexels

The caches contain mementos and logbooks for the finders to record when and where they made the discovery. They must always be repositioned.