On rainy days during the summer holidays, you can often be left wondering- what on EARTH am I going to do to keep the kids entertained?! Indoor entertainment such as the cinema can often be an expensive day out if you haven’t planned for it, so it’s always great to have some budget-friendly ideas up your sleeve for when boredom strikes. Here I have put together a few budget crafts for kids ideas which will encourage a bit of creativity, and the best thing is, you’ve probably got most of the items in your house already.
POTATO STAMPS
The humble potato stamp is something that crafters of all ages have been using for years- and children are always thrilled to see how perfectly the shapes come out on paper. Using potato stamps for homemade cards, cardboard masks and wrapping paper is a cute and inexpensive way to wrap your gifts- especially at Christmas time.
To start making your potato stamps all you need is some medium to large sized potatoes, some cookie cutters, paper and some paint. To begin with, you’ll need to help any young children as you will have to cut the potato in half, press the cookie cutter into the flat freshly cut side of the potato, and then cut around the edges of the cookie cutter with a knife (but don’t cut all the way through the potato). Then you can remove the cookie cutter and you should be left with your very own potato stamp!
After you have made a few different stamps, the kids can get involved. Lay out a few paint colours on some plates and then they can print away to their heart’s content!
PASTA PHOTOFRAME
The pasta photo frame is a little old school, but makes a super thoughtful gift for a family member or friend. For this one, you will need a photo frame (which can be picked up cheaply from Poundland or a charity shop), uncooked pasta of your choice, and some PVA glue. If you are lucky enough to live by the beach, you could exchange the pasta for some pretty shells.
To make this, the frame needs to be slathered in PVA glue (take the glass out so it doesn’t get glue all over it), then the pasta can be stuck on in a nice pattern, you then let this dry and can either paint over the pasta, or coat the pasta in another layer of PVA glue to give it a shiny finish. Voila!
HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH
Homemade playdough is so easy to make that you will wonder why you ever bought the original! You can find most of the ingredients at home in your kitchen cupboard, and even making the dough itself is a great way to keep the little ones entertained. There is an excellent 10 minute BBC goodfood recipe that goes through the method and the ingredients, but all you need is plain flour, salt, water, food colouring and vegetable oil- so simple!
PAPIER MACHE
You can make the paste for papier mache from either flour and water, or PVA glue or water- whichever is easiest for you. If you decide to go for the flour and water recipe, you need about 1 cup of flour per one cup of water to make a paste. After you make the paste, all you need is some newspapers or magazines- tear off in strips or small pieces and this will keep kids entertained for hours.
Free Cash Envelopes Download
Could cash envelopes be the key to helping you budget better? Download my free cash envelope printables to create your own.
