September is nearly over, after a busy summer with the whole family, endless activities and hours spent searching for new and wonderful ways to keep the children (and a grumpy daddy) entertained. You may now feel like you have exhausted every option and explored every activity available. However the youngest member of the family is still at home and still wants hours of entertainment.
Now you have this special time to devote to your toddler whilst their brothers and sisters are enjoying time at school. You might think you have run out of new ideas, but there is no need to worry. Play Factore still has lots of ideas that will allow you to make lots of lovely, happy memories without the constant chorus of “are we there yet” or “I’m hungry”.
That’s why we have come up with a list of ten toddler-friendly and super fun activities for you and your younger family to enjoy. Not to mention, we have included a few rainy day suggestions for when the good old British weather does what it does best!
- Build a fort – Send the little ones off around the house to find all the teddy bears and blankets, not forgetting all the cushions you have just managed to rearrange after the older children headed off to school. Build a cosy fort, decorate with fairy lights and all curl up together with some books and drift off into a land of imagination.
- Play time – Come and spend the afternoon at Play Factore and discover our large Toddler area, with a wide range of activities to keep your little ones happy. From climbing to the top of one of the many slides to relaxing in the soft play area. Maybe your youngest will enjoy riding the tricycles around. Or showing you their skills on the interactive iClick floor. Mummies and daddies are encouraged to join in the fun, which will provide your little ones hours of fun and giggles as they watch you make your way up the play frames and down the slides.
- Dance around – Put your favourite sparkly clothes on and dance around like no one is watching. You can dance at home around the kitchen to your favourite songs or join a local toddler dance group. Not only will this provide hours of fun and keep the two of you active but it will also provide the rest of the family with hours of watching as you recreate the funky moves you learnt.
- Get baking – Spend a morning getting messy in the kitchen, whether it’s baking cookies, cupcakes or a bubblegum cake. Take turns licking the bowl before spending an afternoon eating the delicious treats, and if the rest of the family are lucky there might even be one or two left for them. Or at least eat all the evidence!
- Visit the Library – Whether your little person dreams of captioning a ship of pirates or longs to be a zoo keeper, surrounded by lions and tigers. Your local library will provide hours of fun for their imagination.
- Lunch time treat – Enjoy dinner for two, three or four. Play Factore have a team of chefs working daily to prepare delicious, homemade dishes using only the freshest and locally sourced ingredients. From the handmade dough and sauce for our pizzas to preparing the freshly breaded chicken breasts for our Pollo Milanese Morsi. We have something to keep even the fussiest eaters happy and after all chasing your toddler round, why not enjoy a one of our delicious slices of cake.
- Visit your local park – Wrap up all warm and cosy and take a little walk down to your local park or green space. Explore new walking routes, feed the ducks or spend a couple of hours splashing in puddles.
- Teddy bears picnic – It might be raining and cold outside now, so why not get all your fluffy little friends and have a picnic in the warmth of your family room. Spend hours munching on little jam sandwiches whilst listening to all the gossip from teddy avenue over a pot of tea.
- Get artsy – You and your youngest could show the rest of the family just how much you miss them during the day by making them a keepsake. Whether it is a finger painting of the whole family together or creating finger puppets for an after dinner show. Enjoy and encourage their creativity just remember not to wear your favourite outfit, creativity can be very messy.
- Toddler sports – There is a whole range of sports available for children as young as six months. Why not become the cheering mummy or daddy from the side lines as your little monkey tries toddler cricket or rugby. Who knows you may be standing side line in years to come too.