Keep the kids busy at home during the school holidays or on wet days with these activtiy and project ideas - there's arts and crafts, games plus more advanced projects for older kids.  Or for Favourite Toys & Games Click Here

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Projects for kids

Click Here for 30 school holiday projects under $30

Check out our 30 boredom-busting projects for the school holidays and cold, wet days.

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Create your own website at Weebly.com

This whole website was created on Weebly at www.weebly.com. And it was easy because its all just drag and drop - no special skills required and they can do it for free in no time at all.
Challenge them to create a website for their hobby, their club, your family or any other topic that interests them.  There are dozens of designs that can be used and tailored with their own images.  You can also select images via Weebly from Flickr and Weebly automatically places the attribution at the bottom of the page so there's no copyright issue.
Creating the page layout is drag and drop with picture, picture & text, title and text and even video elements.
If you don't have to pay out for a domain name you can use one of theirs with a weebly.com suffix.

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Mosaic Kits

At /www.mosaicwarehouse.co.nz you'll find a range of DIY mosaic kits on  kiwi or quirky themes.  They have Pukekos, fantails, bumblebees, seahorses and sunflowers priced between $38 - 51.

These mosaic kits have quite small tiles for a detailed mosaic however there is also a seller on Trade Me selling mosaic kits with just a few large pieces which you could then fill around with smaller tiles of your chosen colour.  The seller is Gamo2 and their kitsets sell for $15 - 30 or alternatively you can buy a completed mosaic or mosaic paver.

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Washable, Colour-me-Pony

This fabric pony with colourful mane comes with a set of four special pens so that you can colour it with bright pictures and messges.  Later you can simply wash the pony and re-decorate his coat all over again with a totally new design.  Sells for around $29.

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Latch Hook Rugs

Remember latch-hook rugs from when you were a kid?  Wonderful latch-hook rugs are a great gift or project for a child and will keep them busy during the school holidays.  It allows them to make a small mat for their own room.  The kits usually includes a colour coded canvas, pre-cut rug yarn, and instructions. The hook tool and finishing materials are not always included.
This loveable puppy rug measures 20 x 27 inches.  Amongst the wide range of arts & crafts at Fishpond are the following designs.

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Watercolour wand

What a clever idea - a watercolor paint cake is embedded inside the sponge. Dip the brush in water, blot and it¹s ready to use! Reusable and washable.
Eight colours included: Blue; Green; Orange; Pink; Purple; Red; Turquoise; Yellow;
See what amazing creations your kids can make with these clever yet affordable paint products

Click image to enlarge and for more details

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Personalised Calendars & Notepads

Plan ahead for birthady and Christmas gifts and make personalised calendars.
Why settle for a bought calendar of your favourite animals, views, cars etc when you could have a totally personal calendar.  Choose twelve of your favourite images of your pet, your kids, your favourite camping locations, whatever you like.  Totally personal, totally you and professionally printed by Vista Print.

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Books of Activities

501 TV Free Activities for Kids

Whether it's a wet weekend, school holidays or just every day boredom busters - this clever book is full of ideas to keep kids busy without watching TV/playstations/ipods/computers.
Get fresh inspiration or let the children choose for themselves from the 501 answers to the statement "I'm bored".  It is always better for them to solve the boredom problem for themselves rather than ask you.

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101 Things to do Before you Grow Up

I guess you could call this a bucket list for childhood!   The book is a list of activities for kids (and their parents) to do.
It's interesting to scan the list  and see how many of them you did yourself as a child and identify some activities and projects that you'd love to have your kids complete or achieve.

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The Thinks that make a difference

From dreamy thoughts about colour to fantastic notions on left and right, this surreal book encourages young children to let their imaginations run riot and think up all kinds of weird and wonderful things.

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Creative Companion

In SARK's New Creative Companion, you'll discover insight and suggestions for creating everyday magic in your life no matter what your everyday surroundings. You'll find stories, poems, and exercises that provide inspiration, self-reflection, and discovery - all cheerfully handwritten in SARK's trademark style and embellished with her vibrant illustrations. This book reminds you that it's never too late to kindle - or rekindle - the loving and creative spirit within.

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Games

Get Chatting!

*     If you could have any round object in the world, what would you choose?
*     Which musical instrument would best describe your personality?
*     If you could be one inch tall for a day, what specific place would you most like to explore?

Never before has it been so much fun to put on your thinking caps! Chat Pack for Kids contains 156 cards, each one featuring a question guaranteed to get creative juices flowing and great conversations going. Simply pull out any card from the small plastic box and let the big-time fun begin!   Ideal for trips, mealtime, bedtime/sleepovers, family gatherings, classroom activities, or just having fun with friends!
There is also a Chat Pack for grown-ups too!

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Go Bananas

This is a bit like speed scrabble without the board.
 The aim is build your own personal scrabble structure using your letters.  As soon as one person has fitted all their letters into connecting words they shout "Peel" and all the players have to grab two more letters and find a way to fit them in too.   Sometime the only way to progress is to break down big sections of your existing structure to make the new letters fit.  Great fun for all the family since the size of the words doesn't matter.