One of my favourite things about being a Dad has to be the activities I get to do together with my family. Over the past 6 years I have experienced lots of different activities. Some of these were great and I do them regularly and some have been terrible that I never want to do again! This post is about the good ones so here is my "Top Ten"...
1) The Park
I love a good park! In the NE of England we have an abundance of good parks which I'll regularly take the twins to. The thing I love about going to the park is that the twins get to run about in the fresh air, they socialise with other kids and its free! I also love a park that I can play in too. If it's got things to climb and giant slides I'm in there with the kids.
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| The twins in the park |
2) The Cinema
I'm a huge movie fan and I genuinely believe the only way to truly experience a movie is by going to the cinema. Sure, I watch movies at home with the twins but nothing beats the big screen. Kids Club at our local Odeon is the best thing as all 4 of us can go see a recent(ish) movie for £10. The twins love going to the cinema and, like me, are turning into huge movie fans.
3) Swimming
I'll confess I'm not the strongest swimmer in the world and it isn't an activity I would choose to do by myself. But I love taking the twins swimming and they love going swimming. My Mam is the Reception Manager at a community run leisure club and the trustees encourage the family of staff members to come and use the facilities for free which, naturally, we do. The twins have private lessons every Saturday afternoon and they are great at swimming and they love being in the water.
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| The twins after a swimming lesson with their latest achievement |
4) Cooking / Baking
Both Kate and I love to cook and bake. I studied, worked and taught in hospitality for 17 years so it was only natural that I would want to pass this on to the twins. We've been cooking and baking with them since they were old enough to hold a wooden spoon and stir. All 4 of their grandparents love to cook and bake too which is an added bonus. Cooking and baking is a great indoor activity for rainy days and the twins love the science of combining ingredients and seeing the end result. They also love eating that end result...especially if it's got chocolate in / on it.
5) Soft Play
OK, ok...I know it's a controversial choice as no grown ups really like soft play. It's overpriced, has a funny smell and is loud and annoying. But all kids love soft play and I think once they get to be 4 or 5 and don't require assistance it becomes a great activity for a bit of adult relaxation! Kate and I love a play date with our friends at soft play as all the kids go off and play and we can all drink tea, eat scones and catch up. So, yeah, it's a selfish activity but it's totally worth it every now and then.
6) Crafting
We like a good crafting session in our house. It looks nothing like it does in the magazines, and it definitely isn't anything like Kirstie Allsop would do, but it's fun. There is usually a lot of mess, paint all over the place, glue stuck in their hair, sticky things where they don't belong and glitter EVERYWHERE! But come on, when your 4 year old gives you a hacked up toilet roll tube covered in random s*** and proudly tells you she made you a "dinosaur" you have to smile.
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| Ruby painting eggs for Easter at The Manor |
7) The Beach
We live five minutes away from the coast so we regularly visit the beach. The twins love the sand and they love the freedom of just running around and digging for treasures. We dont care what time of year it is...if its winter and freezing cold we just wrap up. As a Dad I'm a fan of making sand castles and burying my kids until you can only see their heads. There are also several parks next to the beaches we visit as well as the all important ice cream stall. If there is a cafe and we can get a coffee to take with us then that is an added bonus.
8) Walking Trails
I love a good walking trail. The twins do too. Usually we find these in "places of interest" and there is usually a small charge for them which I don't mind if there is a reward for the kids at the end. Just this week we have done several:
Dragon Egg hunting at Lowther Castle near Penrith
Herdy Sheep hunting at Brockhole in Windermere
The Gruffalo Spotters Trail at Whinlatter Forest near Keswick
All three were great and the kids loved them. They are just like my next favourite activity...
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| One of the sheep on the Herdy Trail |
9) Treasure Hunts
This is an indoor activity that I like to do with the twins at random. I usually do this if they are at school and I'm on a day off. I will write clues and leave the first one on the front door so they see it when they get in. This usually results in mega excitement as they solve the clues and riddles to find the next one. I'll always leave a prize at the end (usually some sweets) as a reward. It might sound a bit random but I like to do this to get their brains working and to get them to do some lateral thinking. I guess this is the nerd in me coming out to play. Great fun though and costs nothing.
10) The Library
The twins love to read! Kate is an avid reader (She's one of those ones who has like 9 books on the go at once) and I like to read too. We have read to them since they were babies and reading is still a thing we do every night before bed. Because of this they love a trip to the library to borrow some new books. We have a number of libraries in our area and not only do they have books to borrow but they do activities too. These can range from movie screenings to crafts to colouring competitions to story time with a local author. The best thing about libraries is they are free, they are educational and they are so welcoming. If you have a local library please use it...they are so important and such a great resource.
And that ends my "Top Ten Activities To Do With The Kids" post.
Until next time
The Twiglet's Dad
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