Five fun holiday activities for the whole family
Ensure your kids aren't just planted in front of the television or bugging you for snacks or something to do during the holidays with these activity ideas.
• Build a backyard obstacle course
Keep the kids busy by planning and building an obstacle course and (of course) then holding a competition to see who can complete it successfully in the fastest time.
Include elements you already have in the garden, like swings, the swimming pool, sand pit or trees. Other obstacles can include running between cones, rocks or other objects, jump ropes, crawling under a blanket or net tied between poles or chairs, jumping over an object like a stack of tyres or a chair, walking on top of a row of bricks (like a balance beam).
• Hold a board game tournament
Do you have board games gathering dust in the cupboard or looking for an excuse to go buy your old favourites? Hold a board games tournament on one or over several days. Pick a few of the board games that can accommodate the whole family and decide on an order to play them in.
Decide on a points system or several ‘winning’ categories like “winner of most games”, “person that made everyone laugh the most”, “best strategist” or “best loser”.
Print a page to write the tally on and put it somewhere everyone can see.
Award the winners with small prizes like sweets or toys at the end of the tournament.
• Go on a scavenger hunt
Organise a scavenger hunt for your kids (similar to an Easter Egg hunt) by giving them lists of things to find (or photograph).
You can either give them a straightforward list with things like ‘a green leaf’, ‘a pretty rock’, ‘a yellow flower’ or riddles they need to solve to find the next clue like ‘Find a rock shaped like a snail’ or ‘You’ll find me under the tall place where birds nest (the tallest tree in the garden). You can get more creative if they only need to take photos.
The first person to complete the list or reach the final clue wins a prize.
• Organise a family picnic
Get the family together and decide on a menu. Everyone can help prepare the food, which will help keep little hands busy for an extra hour or two.
You can either set down blankets on the grass, at a local dam or visit one of the Kruger National Park’s picnic sites:
Skukuza: Downstream from the main camp. It has a swimming pool and small shop.
Afsaal: Located on the H3 between Skukuza and Malalane. Very popular site with a small shop.
Nkhuhlu: Located on the H4-1 between Skukuza and Lower Sabie, on the banks of the Sabie River. It has a small shop that stocks a wide variety of curios.
Albasini Ruins: Next to the Phabeni Gate at the start of the S1. It is a rudimentary picnic site which hosts a historic display but has no gas and the nearest toilet facilities are at the nearby gate.
• Start creating a photo diary
This is a great project if you’ll be spending some time at a holiday destination. Make up a list of moments children need to capture like ‘lunch with mom’, ‘playing outside with dad’ or objects and scenes like a sunset or dogs playing with a ball. This will make great screensavers or can be turned into a slideshow or even a photobook for grandparents.
