Half Term Bucket List

It is so easy to take our children’s childhood for granted and forget that they will not be young forever. Yet each day they grow older, and in the blink of an eye the time will come when they fly the nest. So don’t spend half term stressing about who to farm them out to and expensive ways to keep them occupied, try planning to work from home for the week and working out what you can all do together in the hours you will save in commuting time and general office time wastage. Here are The Garden Escape’s top ten bucket list of things that will allow you to spend time with your children, share some great experiences and create memories that will last a lifetime.

·         Go for a really long bike ride.

Obviously the definition of really long will vary depending on the ages of the children and general fitness levels, but make sure it’s long enough to make bottoms sore, legs and lungs pumping and cheeks glowing. If you don’t have bikes, borrow or hire them.

·         Climb a huge hill

Ditto definition of huge! Take a picnic and plenty of water and a really tasty treat to enjoy at the top. Don’t forget the camera to take photos of you all at the summit.

·         Play pooh sticks or conkers or both

Go for a walk that includes a bridge and a chestnut tree, gather your sticks and conkers and stage family tournaments

·         Go geocaching

Follow the link to find out more details, but get everyone out and about for a real live treasure hunt. Don’t forget to take along some little goodies to replace the treasure you find.

·         Teach them to cook their favourite meals

Ask each child to pick their favourite breakfast, lunch or dinner and teach them how to make it. Then watch them bursting with pride as they serve the rest of the family.

·         Learn some dance moves together

Pick your own, or choose from our own personal favourites: Every Day I’m Shuffling and The Hoedown Throwdown

·         Play card games

Whether it be whist, cribbage or a simple game of snap, brush up your knowledge of one or more games, again depending on age and abilities, and have a card evening.

·         Have a night off cooking and gorge on popcorn at the cinema

Maybe make sure you all have a really big bowl of hearty vegetable soup at lunchtime and snack only on fruit the rest of the day so that everyone can indulge themselves guilt free as they munch their way through a movie.

·         Read a book out loud

Choose a classic book that nobody has read, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan have a wide age appeal, and set aside a time each day when you all sit down together and, those who can, take it in turns to read aloud.

·         Plan your strategy to convince your boss to allow you to work from home more often

And maybe start researching building a garden office to give you a peaceful and inspirational working space.