Things to do on a wet bank holiday! (When you don’t want to spend any money!)

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We are having a Pyjama day today, as the weather is so wet, and Mr NHM has very kindly allowed me 20 minutes to put this post together.

Then I am switching the computer off for the day and will be back online tonight, once Miss NHM has gone to bed!

Things to do on a wet bank holiday!

1. Have a pyjama day

This is what we are doing today. It feels very decadent as I never really had pyjama days before Miss NHM was born!

This afternoon I will probably make some popcorn and we will sit and watch a movie as a family.

2. Indoor games

Making Gloop

Dry food play

Coloured Spaghetti

A Toddler Box of Tricks: Things To Always Have On Hand With A Toddler Or Two

3. Play some board games

We have lots of board games in our house because Mr NHM is a bit of a geek :-D.

Now that Miss NHM is nearly three and a half she’s getting a lot more into board games.

Miss NHM’s favourites are mostly by Orchard Toys or Haba:

Shopping List

The Game of Ladybirds

Old McDonald Lotto (Thanks Pauline!!! :-D)

Fiery Dragons

Tantrix (Mr NHM bought this for a fraction of this price from a local charity shop)

4. Build an indoor obstacle course

We picked up a small tent from a local children’s market and Miss NHM loves filling this with the plastic balls that we originally bought for her to play with in a plastic swimming pool.

We also bought a Busa play tunnel from Ikea and we put out my washing baskets (which probably won’t survive much longer! lol) and use these with the balls and the obstacle course too.

5. Indoor picnic with toys

Miss NHM has lots of wooden toy food as I’m addicted to it <blush>. It’s about the only thing that I will regularly buy for her as I’m a mean Mummy! lol.

She loves it when we all sit around as a family and she feeds us and her toys.

6. Baking

Miss NHM and I have been baking together since she was about one years old. It does require a lot of patience to cook with a baby or toddler.

However, I can confirm that it gets easier. Just don’t clean the kitchen first ;-).

We picked up a really good Annabel Karmel cookbook from a local charity shop which we use all the time and I have some brilliant Usborne books from my childhood which we also use for inspiration.

7. Junk modelling

Whatever you have in your recycling bin can used for this. Miss NHM loves doing this as she gets to make a lot of mess! lol.

8. Treasure baskets

Read more about treasure baskets HERE.

9. Colouring and/or painting

Get all of the colouring and painting materials out and see what you can come up with

10. Get out ALL of your children’s toys

Mr NHM and Miss NHM are currently doing this down stairs! lol.

It’s a great way to show your child how to put things away too. And to discover bits of toys that you’d lost!

11. Make a city from all of the relevant toys your child has

We do this a LOT. We have lots of Playmobil 123 and original Playmobil which is great for this.

12. Read lots of books

Rainy days are perfect days for doing lots of reading. Miss NHM loves nothing more than throwing a book at me and demanding “Read it”, but it’s worth it as she cuddles into my lap for ages!

13. Put on an audio book

If you have read too many books, an audio book could work or some classical music. We do this sometimes when Miss NHM is having quiet time after lunch.

14. Go puddle jumping

I’ve mentioned before about how much Miss NHM loves puddle jumping. We will probably do this, this afternoon, after we’ve had lunch and watched a movie and to get some fresh air.

Looks like it might be time to get the galoshes out! lol.

Whatever you end up doing today, I hope you have fun!!!

5 More Free Rainy Day Activities

Where did the lovely sun go?!?!?! If you are struggling to keep your little ones entertained, the following list might help.

Don’t forget to check out this list also: 8 Cheap or Free Rainy Day Activities in Basingstoke

5 More Free Rainy Day Activities

1. Mr Printables

I LOVE the weather station here: http://www.mrprintables.com/my-weather-station.html

2. DABBLES & BABBLES

This is fab: http://dabblesandbabbles.com/blank-faces-drawing-page/

3. WeFreebies

Make sure you click on the English flag, to translate the text to English. I particularly love the Origami section!

4. Hobbycraft – Craft Tables

The Basingstoke Hobbycraft store is running free craft workshops throughout the whole of Easter. Worth checking out.

5. Handmade Charlotte

I love these http://www.handmadecharlotte.com/printable-mix-match-headbands/

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22 things to do with an under 7 year old in Basingstoke when it’s raining

I recently put a plea out on “Louise nhm Smith“, asking if anyone has any suggestions of posts they would like me to investigate.

Wendy came back with some great suggestions. One of her suggestions was for me to do some more research on places, other than soft play, to go on a weekend when its raining.

Great suggestions for a post, so thank you Wendy and here are my suggestions. Hope they are useful!

22 things to do with an under 7 year old in North Hampshire when it’s raining

1. Libraries

Libraries are a great place to take your little one when it’s raining. They nearly always have an area that is dedicated to children. They also have some fantastic services available. Did you know that it isn’t mandatory for your child to pay late fee’s on their books (I pay anyway, as I love my local library and if we don’t support them, then they could easily be shut down).

These are some previous posts that have featured on NHM about libraries in the area and the services they offer:

Library Membership

Below is a list of Libraries in the North Hampshire area:

2. Local Museums

Our local museums do lots of events for children.

Milestones Museum

The Willis Museum

3. Kids Cinema

Saturday Morning Cinema Club – Odeon or Vue

  • Cheap tickets for children and adults go free.
  • For Odeon – recommend joining their premier club as it allows you to collect points and use them to pay for tickets or food.
  • Don’t forget to check out the Newbie session if you have a baby.

4. Places to Go

Lots of places close down for the Winter season so it can be hard to know what’s still open. These are the places that I know that are still open over Winter:

Finkley Down Farm

Intech Science Centre in Winchester

Alice Holt, Farnham

The Vyne

The Living Rainforest, nr Newbury, Berkshire (keep your receipt as it’s valid for a year)

Longleat Safari Park

This is a list of all of the places that I’ve Reviewed since NHM began, including lots of places that are free to visit.

5. Coffee Shops

There are lots of coffee shops in the area who are particularly welcoming of children. Check out the post below with a list of local cafe’s:

Reasonably Priced Afternoon Tea’s

I particularly like the Little Roses Coffee shop and The Parlour Tea rooms, who go out of their way to make children welcome.

6. Swimming

We are very lucky to have so many swimming pools in the area. I’ve been meaning to do a post about local swimming pools for AGES. I published a post in the very early days but it didn’t have the links in. I really should get that sorted and published again!

This is a list of swimming pools in the area:

These posts may also be useful:

Swimming with babies

Swimming Pools in North Hampshire suitable for Babies and Children

8. Covered Shopping

If your lucky enough that your children can be restrained in a pushchair, you can’t beat wondering around a shopping centre, window shopping and people watching.

Festival Place

Mothercare, Hatch Warren – they have baby changing facilities and it’s great to let your children have a look at all the toys. Honest.

The Oracle at Reading

Ikea at Southampton or Reading – excellent breastfeeding room and great free creche for your over 3’s.

Marks and Spencers Camberley

9. Puddle Jumping!

Wrap everyone up in their waterproofs and go splashing in the puddles. This works for pushchairs too, but I recommend making sure the rain cover is on ;-).

Miss NHM has been puddle jumping since she could walk and it’s by far one of her favourite activities. Even without her welly boots on. Grr :-D.

10. Pots2Paint – Viables Craft Centre

I love Pots2Paint and it’s great fun to work with the team to create presents that are going to be treasured.

11. Breakfast with Children

Also check out the posts listed below for posts that have been published on NHM that you may find useful:

10 Places to Breakfast “out” with Children in North Hampshire

12. Games you can play with your little ones

Coloured spaghetti

Dry food play

Making Gloop

A Toddler box of tricks

Other Suggestions

13. Airkix Indoor Skdyiving 4 years and upwards apparently!

14. Hobbycraft – do free pre schooler classes during term time, but I can’t see anything on their site that shows this. Maybe it’s school holidays only?

15. Bowling – we took Miss NHM Bowling on her 2nd birthday and she loved it!

16. Ice Skating . Try the Ice Tots class first if you are nervous about taking your little ones out on the ice.

17. Pets At Home, Tadley Pet Supplies or the Aquatics shop at Wyevale Garden Centre.

18. Trampolining at the Active Life Centre and JumpFactory.

19. Show your children some of the military history of this country. You could try the Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport, the Army Flying Museum near Andover or the Gurka Museum in Winchester.

20. Take your child on a steam train. The Watercress Line isn’t far away and is a brilliant experience.

21. Visit an Aquarium. I think the nearest ones to Basingstoke are the Blue Reef Aquarium in Portsmouth or the London Aquarium. Or you could take your children along to one of the local fish shops.

22. Take your child to the theatre. The Anvil and The Haymarket have regular children’s performances.

23. Nature Detectives – great for inspiring the family!

Do you have any suggestions that should be added to this list?

Related Posts

8 Cheap or Free Rainy Day Activities in Basingstoke

5 Places for Sunday lunch, with Children, in North Hampshire

8 “Cheap” Restaurants in Basingstoke (Meal for 2 for under £15)

9 Foody Places to go as a group of Mums with babies/toddlers

Local Parks and Open Spaces

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Things to do/Places to go with a baby when it’s raining

Claire sent me a message asking me if I could do a post on things to do with babies in the rain: ” I’m finding it hard when the weather is bad to find things to do that are baby friendly and fun for me? ”

Great suggestion for a post, especially with the weather as it is! Hopefully this is helpful!

Check out this post first: http://www.northhantsmum.co.uk/activities/baby-classes/

Softplay

Softplay – Bouncing Tots and Active Tots have areas for small babies.

Swimming

Swimming – Basingstoke Sports centre has a small pool that is kept at 32 degrees and open between 12 and 1.30 on a week day and is an open session.

I would also check out the QMC pool as we swam in there last year and it was really warm! Also check out my recent review of Basingstoke Aquadrome.

Pots2Paint

Pots 2 Paint – Viables Craft Centre

A great way to get some special Christmas (or birthday) presents done. Handprints or footprints of your little one whilst they are tiny, will be treasured forever!

Baby Massage Classes

We did a baby massage class through our local children’s centre and I really enjoyed it. It was a great opportunity to bond with my daughter when she was tiny.

There are also several Mum’s in the area who run their own Baby Massage classes. I posted a list of them recently HERE.

Find some Mummy friends!

There are lots of Mum groups in the area who are on Facebook.  It’s a great and easy way to keep in touch. If you are feeling a bit lonely, then post something up and you will be overwhelmed with the response. You can find some of these groups HERE.

North Hampshire Mum’s are VERY friendly and supportive :-D.

Grab a coffee and cake

There are LOADS of little cafe’s in the area which are very supportiive of new parents. My favourite for new parents is Elm Tree Garden centre (which I haven’t been to for ages!) which even supplies wet wipes in emergencies!

I also really love the Parlour Tea rooms, but it’s very popular now (for a good reason!) so you need to book in advance. It can get VERY busy.

I still haven’t been to the Tea Bar at the top of town either, which looks lovely too!

Go for a walk

Yes, I know it’s raining. Sometimes though, it’s just good to wrap up and get out of the house. Put the waterproof cover on the pushchair and just go out of the house and get wet. It’s not going to hurt either of you to get some fresh air, just make sure your baby is well covered.

We love Basing Wood and the Lime Pits (as I’ve raved about before!) but there is a great list of local walks suitable for pushchairs HERE. You can also see a reviews I’ve done recently on Alice Holt and Farleigh Mount.

Go (window) shopping

There are lots of local independent shops in the area. You can find a list of them HERE.

Also, you can’t go wrong in Festival Place. It’s mostly covered and sometimes it’s nice to just wonder around or people watch.

Debenhams cafe has a bottle warmer and microwave if you are weaning.

Places to Go

This is actually a tough one. Especially when it’s raining. These are some of the places that I went too when I had a small baby, that I found were supportive of Mum’s with tiny ones.

  • Milestones Museum
  • The Vyne – although watch out for the gerriatrics who can get upset over buggies being in the way :-D.
  • RHS Wisley Gardens – yes, this is a bit of a trek, but they are very baby friendly and even have a discreet baby feeding area in their main restaurant.

Do you have any other suggestions for new parents who want to get out and about with their little ones when it’s raining?

8 Cheap or Free Rainy Day Activities in Basingstoke

I hope you had a fabulous Jubilee weekend but hasn’t the weather been awful for the past week? Why does it always seem to rain when the children are on their holidays from school? It’s even more galling given how glorious the weather was last week. So, if you are looking for some free or cheap things to do during this half term, I’ve put together a summary of ideas below. Do you have any other suggestions that you would like to share?

1. Visit your local library. Lots of libraries in the area have Children’s libraries with toys and books for little ones to play with.

2. Take the children to a soft play centre. There are several in the area and you can find details of them on this previous NHM post: Soft Play Centres. Also check out my previous review of Kids’n’Action over near Winersh Triangle, Berkshire.

3. I’ve raved about Nature Detectives before. They have great packs that you can download for free to keep your little one’s amused. I especially like the “Outdoor” pack which changes depending on which season it is.

4. Goobeetsa has some great free papercraft toy plans and masks that can be cut out and made.

5. Patterns for Colouring has some very cool patterns that are designed by guest illustrators and are free to print out for colouring or painting. It’s updated regularly.

6. Organise a play date with your child’s friends.

7. Story sack loans. Chineham Library have story sacks which can be borrowed from the Children’s Centre. I’ve tried to find the details about this via the Action for Children website but no luck. Does anyone know if this is still available? I think they were £1 to borrow for a few weeks, but not sure.

8. Go puddle jumping!! You need the right clothes for this though, e.g. a water proof onesie or galoshes!