It is Children’s Day this Sunday and to help you celebrate Mums on Top is giving away 10 Cardboard Houses to 10 lucky families. A good cardboard house can go a long way to transforming an ordinary afternoon in the backyard into a piratical rumbustification; a hero’s journey to a faraway castle; a battle of the goodies verses the Evil Cheese Monster or simply “base” in a good old fashioned game of that Kiwi Classic – ‘Go Home, Stay Home’.
These Cardboard Houses are large enough for two or three children to sit inside of. They have a door and windows that open and shut and a roof that pops on the top. They are New Zealand made and are totally un-branded with a plain white exterior.
For us a Cardboard House is the perfect symbol of the classic New Zealand Childhood – using your imagination and simple, basic, cheap objects (such as a cardboard box) to create the perfect lazy summer afternoon of non-stop fun.
To win one for your family leave a comment below or email us at hello@mumsontop.co.nz (subject heading Children’s Day) and tell us your best tip for keeping the kids occupied on a Sunday afternoon.
(Please note to be eligible to win you must either like Mums on Top on facebook or be a member of the Mums on Top Community)
Best tip for keeping kids occupied on a Sunday afternoon is to head to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for the afternoon and early dinner!!!
The only thing that will reall keep the kids occupied is something they are involved in. The kitchen never fails as the most popular room. A favorite activity of ours is Sunday pizza night…..choosing the toppings in the afternoon, and preparing all the little bowls ready for the pizza assembly line in the evening.
Lego! We spend a sunday afternoon finding and building lego with the boys. Hours of entertainment and fun together!
Water never fails to entertain in summer. If it’s too cold then mobilo will keep my boys happy for ages.
We like to spend our Sunday afternoons ‘colour mixing’ (as my girls call it). We fill jars with water, colour them with a few drops of different colour food colouring then use pipettes to drop a few drops of different ones into empty yoghurt pots to see what colours we can make! We seem to run out of coloured water long before they get bored!
The cardboard houses sound awesome! While it’s still so hot my kids love it when I freeze some small plastic toys in an ice-cream container – they have heaps of fun chipping away at the block of ice to get the toys out!
Either going to the park or lake if the weather is good, or doing some drawing/playdoh if inside activities are required
A big roll of brown paper on the table and let the kids paint. Then if its ever someones birthday and we need wrapping paper there is cute hand painted paper on hand. Kids love it!!
Having 3 children ranging in age from 11 to 4 we often find the best Sunday afternoon activities, to entertain them all, involve going out to the park, or the beach or a bush walk. It keeps us all active and stops the annoying squabbles. I really love summer!!
We would normally have a family outing on Sunday, park, wetlands or bush walk. If not then I think it’s a good time to do some baking for the lunch boxes.
A few pots and pans some soapy water and some bath toys and scrubbing brushes. Put them out on the deck and let then have fun and get all wet, then a nice warm bath and a hot chocolate afterwards.
In summer, it’s the beach in the morning with 3 other families with friends, then books, drawings, Lego, blocks and/or probably more water in the form of a tiny paddling pool in the afternoon.
I make a chalk paint for my three children. It’s so quick, only uses three ingredients, brightens up the back yard, and we follow it by a nice warm bath
Water Water Water! If it’s mid summer, then bare bottoms, buckets and yogurt pots (with holey bases) outside under the trees and if it is winter then warm water, big pots and floating objects. It never fails.
My best tip for keeping kids occupied is giving them my time and attention, forgetting about the housework and all distractions and just being present with them in the moment.
Whether it be jumping with them on the tramp, squirting them with the hose, a bike ride to the park or reading a book, they are the happiest when we are with them and enjoying ourselves.