Whether it’s a rainy day or it’s just you that’s feeling under the weather, as a parent it can sometimes seem as if you're stuck indoors with a never ending number of hours ahead of you.
Get a bit inventive however it may be easier to amuse yourself than you think. Here are some fun ideas to put into play this Easter...
- Host a teddy bear tea party. While your little one’s busy serving all their ‘customers’ you can relax with a real cuppa.
- Play a memory game – pull out lots of photos and practice naming all your relatives. It's great fun and your family will be uber impressed when you next see them.
- See how fast you can do your child’s jigsaw puzzles – set the timer then try to beat your record. Your child will wonder what on earth’s going on but at least you’re instilling a competitive spirit in them!
- Make up your own words to their nursery rhymes (quietly), you’d be surprised at how much more enjoyable they are when you can use your own in-jokes.
- Initiate a game of hide and seek but make it a bit trickier than normal. Bring your phone and it’ll give you an extra five minutes to catch up on the goss online; just make sure you don’t play any videos and give yourself away.
- What food can you get away with eating without them noticing? I dare you to try a bag of crisps. I haven’t managed that, even in a different room – the combination of rustling and crunching is a killer.
- Get them to help you bake a cake, worst case it’s inedible and it can go straight in the bin, best case it’s yummy and you may be helping to mould the next Jamie Oliver/Nigella Lawson!
- Turn the chores into a series of competitions. All kids love to think they’ve won something. See who can put the most toys in the toy box, who can sweep up the fastest and who has the best aim when throwing rubbish in the bin.
- See what you can get them to repeat to Daddy later, then deny all knowledge. ‘Mummy’s looking so slim…’
- Play at making dens. Simply tell them to be extra quiet so as not to wake all the wild animals. Good for their imagination and a little bit of peace for you!
Jennie lives in Co Kildare with her husband Matt and son Ethan, who is two-years-old. In her blog mummyvstheworld.com she takes a lighthearted look at the world of motherhood. You can also find her musings on twitter @DennehyJennie. 
