No phones. No tablets. No small people staring silently into the glowing rectangle.
Screen-Free Children's Activity Guide
Enter the children's ages, choose a group preference, and get practical entertainment ideas using ordinary things found around the house, garden, car, holiday home or granny's kitchen drawer.
The grown-up survival guide
1. Keep a boredom box
Fill it with paper, crayons, tape, playing cards, old magazines, balloons, string, dice, pegs, plastic cups, chalk and a few charity-shop surprises. Rotate the contents so it feels new.
2. Give them a mission
Children often respond better to a challenge than a suggestion. Try: build a bridge, host a cafe, design a zoo, invent a sport, make a map, create a quiz, solve a mystery.
3. Mix calm and chaos
Start with movement, then switch to drawing, stories, food prep or quiet competition. It prevents the living room becoming a soft-play centre with better curtains.
4. Make ordinary jobs theatrical
Sorting socks becomes a shop. Making lunch becomes a restaurant. Tidying up becomes a treasure hunt. The trick is not more stuff; it is a better story.