Are you looking for ideas to keep your children entertained this summer holidays? Look no further than this bored jar for days when you’ve run out of ideas. Plus, 110 activities to fill your bored jar to brim with fun things for your kids to do.
Making your DIY bored jar couldn’t be easier.
All you need is some paper, a pen and a clean jar.
If you want to make things more interesting you could use coloured paper or different coloured pens.
How To Make A Bored Jar In Three Easy Steps
- Cut the paper into squares (I’d aim for 10/12 squares from an A4 sheet)
- Write out the activities you’d like to include. I’ve provided a handy list below to give you some ideas. You could also type and print if you’d prefer for it to be neater.
- Fold the squares and add to the jar. You could also add a label to the jar if you wish.
How To Use a Bored Jar
Whenever your child or children are bored, they can choose an activity from the bored jar.
You could have a rule that they need to stick at it for at least thirty minutes although some activities they might enjoy so much they end up spending longer doing them anyway.
Once done, I would add the activity to a separate jar so the bored jar can be refilled when needed and there are no repeated activities.
For things your children have enjoyed they will usually ask to do again without needing the bored jar.
Related Post: Activities To Do With Your Kids In The Evening
110 Summer Holiday Activity Ideas To Add To An ‘I’m Bored’ Jar
When creating this list I’ve tried to be mindful of cost.
Most activities here can be done with things that most people already have around their homes, although there are some for which you might need to purchase something.
With this in mind, I’ve not included anything costly, such as cinema or theme park trips, as these tend to be pre-planned anyway and aren’t something easy for kids to do when bored.
Related Post: Educational Activities For Children In The Summer Holidays
The summer holidays are a great time to take advantage of any free trials of streaming services such as Amazon Prime if you’re looking to give the children something different to watch. Just don’t forget to cancel!
Finally, a few activities here require some parental supervision such as baking.
Of course, you’re welcome to pick the activities that suit your circumstances best, leave out any that don’t work for you and add your own!
Summer Holiday Activity Ideas To Put In A Bored Jar
1. Build A Den
2. Make A Treasure Map
3. Watch A Movie
4. Make Popcorn
5. Go On A Nature Walk
6. Have A Water Fight
7. Read A Book You Haven’t Read Before
8. Play The Floor Is Lava
9. Make An Obstacle Course
10. Plant Some Seeds
11. Create A Wordsearch
12. Draw Portraits (of someone famous, of a family member, sibling)
13. Make Friendship Bracelets
14. Paint Stones
15. Play Limbo
16. Have A Skipping Competition
17. Bake Some Biscuits
18. Try Stargazing
19. Make Lunch or Dinner (with supervision)
20. Draw Outside Using Pavement Chalks
21. Create Your Own Magazine
22. Learn To Hula Hoop
23. Bake A Cake (and add Buttercream)
24. Play Hopscotch
25. Go On A Scavenger Hunt (Find an example here)
26. Read Your Favourite Book
27. Play Tag
28. Make Your Own Quiz
29. Bake Some Flapjacks
30. Downstairs Sleepover
31. Have A Treasure Hunt
32. Write A Poem
33. Learn All The Words To A Song
34. Play Stuck In The Mud
35. See Who Can Do The Most Star Jumps
36. Make Up A Dance Routine
37. Read A Magazine (find out how to get a Free Lego Magazine here)
38. Go Bug Hunting
39. Make Saltdough (Recipe here)
40. Make Rice Krispie Cakes
41. Play Dressing Up
42. Print Out Some Colouring Sheets
44. Make Paper Plate Cars
43. Movie Marathon (Pick a series such as Harry Potter or Star Wars)
44. Visit The Library (With parental supervision if needed)
45. Theme Day (Dino, Princess, Pirate etc)
46. Play Board Games
47. Have A Teddy Bears Picnic
48. Paint A Picture
49. Play Naughts And Crosses (Tic Tac Toe)
50. Watch A Cassic Movie From The 80s (eg Labyrinth, ET, Never Ending Story)
51. Paint Rocks
52. Build A Card House
53. Learn To Play Chess
54. Paint Using Cotton Buds
55. Water The Plants/Flowers/Vegetable Patch
56. Facetime A Family Member
57. Play Hangman
58. Play Snap
59. Help With Some Chores
60. Make Homemade Face Masks (Simple kid-friendly recipe here)
61. Have An Indoor Picnic
62. Do Some Yoga ( Try Cosmic Yoga on YouTube)
63. Play With Water At The Sink
64. Put On A Fashion Show
65. Write A Diary
66. Play Charades
67. Write And Post A Letter To A Friend Or Family Member
68. Learn To Play Solitaire
69. Try Origami
70. Learn How To Do A Magic Trick
71. Make Paperchains Or Bunting To Decorate The House
72. Play ‘Who Am I’? Using Post-it notes
73. Bird Wactch In The Park Or Back Garden
74. Help Wash The Car (with adult supervision!)
75. Blow Bubbles
76. Decorate Biscuits
77. Make A Futuristic Model From Recycling
78. Play 20 Questions
79. Draw Your Favourite Animal
80. Make A Card For Someone
81. Play Simon Says
82. Make Shadow Puppets
83. Play ‘I Spy With My Little Eye’
84. Watch The Clouds
85. Make Up A New Country (map, rules, flag etc)
86. Have A Karaoke Party
87. Learn To Make Paper Aeroplanes And See How Far You Can Thrown Them
88. Doodle
89. Do A Puzzles
90. Play Follow The Leader
91. Write / Make Up A Ghost Story
92. Create Your Own Board Games
93. Use Water To Paint Garden Fences
94. Play Catch
95. Perform A Talent Show
96. Make A Postcard
97. Play ‘I Hear With My Little Ear’
98. Have A Dance Party
99. Use Paper Plates To Create Funny Faces
100. Play Hide And Seek
101. Do Some Finger Painting
102. Play Rock Paper Scissors
103. Create Your Own Comic Strip
104. Make Sock Puppets
105. Use Dry Pasta To Make Jewellery or Art
106. Listen To A Podcast
107. Learn Some Words In A New Language
108. Make A Family Tree
109. Have A Tea Party
110. Blow Up Some Balloons And Play Keepy Uppy
111. Make Ice Lollies
Final Tips For Making A Bored Jar
Here are some final tips for making a bored jar.
- Plan ahead – from Easter onwards I look out for cheap craft sets and colouring books in places like Home Bargains, B&M and Morrisons.
- Puzzles and Board Games can be purchased cheaply from charity shops.
- Start saving items such as cardboard from toilet rolls to craft a few weeks before the holidays start.
I hope you find these ideas useful for creating and filling up your bored jar as well as providing lots of fun activities for the summer holidays!
