I have a few top tips for things to keep the kids occupied when it rains so I thought I'd share them here in case anyone else is in the same boat of always trying to think up activities to do with kids in the summer holidays! I'll keep updating this post with any new ideas we try too ;)
Almost as much fun as an outdoor picnic, this is a surefire way to get my kids to eat their lunch without complaints! They get the same stuff, we just pack it all in a box and eat it on a blanket on the floor!
Priya loves nothing more than pretending to be Mummy! Kalyan is generally happy to join in too and they often play Mums & Dads or Pirates or Buzz Lightyear (we have an actual costume for that) or princesses with various accessories, some of which are homemade like Priya's "laptop" and ID badge below...
They've also started putting on plays, they rehearsed and everything, I was so impressed!
Don't worry I didn't leave them there, haha! These boxes from our delivery of new dining chairs provided hours of fun though - becoming a kitchen, a den, a castle... we planned to paint them but I chickened out since we couldn't get outside that day without them going soggy.
Embrace the rain!
Despite how cold he looks, this was a warm rainy day and they were so excited to go out and splash in the puddles! Until Priya got wet anyway. But we also like to wrap up and play in the muddy puddles on colder days.
I was surprised just how much these two loved flicking through my new photography magazine, This Detailed Life, when I asked them to pose with a copy. Priya in particular sat there for ages looking at the photos inside and asking me questions. They also LOVE kids magazines, a treat we usually save for plane rides to keep them occupied on the flight but they're still finding games and stickers inside old ones we kept.
Hide & Seek with toys
We spent a good hour taking it in turn to hide a set of magnet toys around the twins' bedroom and the other two of us hunting them down, sometimes with clues from the "hider" until we found them all. They were quite sneaky and imaginative with their hiding places too! It's good fun and you can sneak a couple of minutes of peace if you hide them quickly and sit down before letting the kids back in the room ;)
(We also play regular hide & seek in the house too, top tip - hide somewhere comfy.)
Booby Traps!
Not actually an activity I planned but the twins have taken to setting up booby traps then calling me upstairs! It gets them conspiring and playing nicely together when they can gang up on me - I suspect letting them watch The Goonies was a mistake! ;)
I have one who loves to bake, do all the measuring and mixing, and one who just likes the spoon licking opportunities and eating the final product! I think you can tell which is which...
So far this summer we've made Key Lime Pie, Brownies, Banana Bread, Brownie Cake, Gingerbread, and Crumble.
This ties in nicely with the baking, it's fun to set up the table once in a while and make everything look pretty, brew a pot of tea (fruit tea or babyccinos for the kids) and get all dressed up to eat sandwiches and cakes :)
Movie Night
My kids call it this even in the daytime, basically we all snuggle up together on the sofa with popcorn and a film. We often resort to screen time here!
Dance Parties and Music
Kalyan turned some bowls into a drum one day to accompany his sister's dancing (which she does OFTEN). It's entertaining for us all! We've also been enjoying listening to soundtracks and learning the words to Frozen 2 and Hamilton among others!
I have one very keen construction worker in my living room, Kalyan is forever building dens - there are cushions EVERYWHERE, he collects them from upstairs too and creates his hidey holes.