Of course, on some days, you will find yourselves stuck at home, but that doesn’t mean anyone has to be bored. You could take the opportunity to spend some time sharing a favourite game or story with your children or, if you want some more inspiration, try some of these activities.

• Arrange a movie day – choose a couple of favourite films, get some popcorn and put your feet up with the kids
• Get cooking – pick a recipe with the kids, go shopping for ingredients and cook something together that you can enjoy eating afterwards. Depending on your child’s age and interest, this could be anything from a simple sponge cake to a mushroom stroganoff!
• Dig out the puzzles, games and books and give them a go. Some good old-fashioned entertainment can be really fun
• Have a look in your cupboards and play dress up with your old clothes. Sort through your clothes together and recycle the ones that you never wear and the stuff your little one’s grown out of
• Encourage the kids to put on a play or a magic show. They could even use the dress up clothes and props from around the house. If you have a camera, you can even film it, for great memories
• Build a den with the kids – if the weather is ok, you could even risk doing this outside! All you need is some boxes or sofa cushions, a few blankets, and a bit of imagination
• Create a scrapbook together using photos from your family album or torn from magazines
• If your children enjoy arts and crafts, keep some cardboard boxes back before putting them in your recycling, these can be used to make anything your child imagines
• Painting, drawing or using playdoh can also keep the kids busy
• If your children enjoy teddies, why not bring them downstairs for a teddy bear picnic
• Reading together is also a lovely, free way to spend quality time with your child, you can snuggle up on the sofa with a book with some snacks

Sometimes you want to get the kids outside and it is always good to get some fresh air. Going for a simple walk can really break up the day and children may enjoy going to your local park, woods or maybe even the seafront if you live near one. If they have a bike or a scooter, make use of this by taking it with you.Sunny days are great for simple activities like picnics and ball games. This can be done as close to home as in the back garden!

• Organise a treasure hunt around your home and garden with clues and treats for the children to find
• Hold your own mini-Olympics with games that require little equipment… a sack race with pillowcases, a tug of war with a dressing gown belt! Use your imagination.
• If outside is dry, wrap up and go to the park or a nice walk somewhere quiet with the children with a flask of hot chocolate – sure to go down a treat!
• Kites are great if it is a windy day and they can be bought from bargain shops very cheaply
• If you want to keep the activity going for longer, why not play a game such as ‘eye spy’ whilst you’re out
• Older children might enjoy doing a scavenger hunt, which you can make yourself or find one that you can download online.
• You can collect leaves and twigs to take home and help the children make autumnal pictures with lots of glue.
• If you have some outside space or a garden, maybe you can make a homemade camp with sheets and cushions, this will keep the kids occupied for hours.

During the school holidays, there may be lots going on in your local area that your family can enjoy, often for free. Check the websites of your local council and tourist information centres for local days out or scan the local papers and community centres to see what’s going on in your area. Visit your local library and look for adverts of events. Many libraries hold events such as story time, and arts and crafts days. Libraries are also a great source of activity in themselves, with plenty of books and computers to keep children busy, plus they often have story time for toddlers and parents.

• Check to see if your local council swimming pool offers free or reduced-fee entrance in the school holidays
• Museums and galleries often have new exhibitions and events running in the summer. Many art galleries put on special events for children and families – this could be just the thing to stimulate your child’s artistic streak
• Check out your local leisure centre – there are plenty of indoor sports and activities they can participate in

Be creative – make things together like greeting cards or use beads to make some jewellery.

• Have an arts and craft day and get some canvas and paints, they can be bought in bargain shops for as little as a pound and use paints or crayons and the kids can hang up their creations in their rooms.
• Make a list of your favourite childhood games – old favourites such as hopscotch, putting on a show or marbles won’t cost the earth and your children will enjoy you reminiscing!
• In the evenings get the kids to design a game that you can make the next day – give them ideas to keep it simple such as a paper boat race in the paddling pool or homemade skittles using a tennis ball and empty toilet rolls.
• Have you ever thought about Origami? All you need is paper and instructions which can be found online, will keeps kids amused and they will learn a new skill

Don’ttry and fill every minute of every day. Encourage your children’s imagination and independence – let them play in their rooms or the garden.

Use up odd socks by making an Easter bunny sock puppet. Use buttons or cut out pieces of paper or card for eyes and a nose and hey presto! You have all you need to create your own Easter bunny puppet show.

Make Easter cards. You can use scraps of paper, old birthday and Christmas cards, magazines etc.

Make use of your local library. It’s free to join and you can borrow multiple books at a time.For a small fee you can also borrow DVD’s and music CD’s.

Make a bunny den. Put a sofa and chair together, drape over a sheet and put some cushions inside to make a comfy den. Take some chocs inside and have some fun!

Memory Minute– Place ten small household items on a tray or table, cover with a tea-towel. For example, a button, keys, a cotton bud, a fork etc. Show the items for about thirty seconds then re-cover. Each child has a minute to write down as many items as they can. Smaller children can reel them off and you can write them for them. The best memory wins.

Bat and Ball keepy-uppy– Use a soft indoor friendly ball, sponge balls are ideal. Each child takes turns with the bat to see how many taps they can keep the ball in the air.

Precision Roll– Find a long clear space on the floor. Place a tin from the cupboard at one end of the room, kids at the other. Each child has one chance to roll the ball as near to the tin as possible. Use a tape measure to record the distance for each child, closest wins.

Egg Collage– give each child a piece of paper and draw a big egg shape outline on it. With a pot of paste and scraps of material or ribbon they can make their own creative picture. For ribbon scraps raid your wardrobe and snip off all those ribbon hangers in the shoulders of tops and jumpers that often don’t seem to serve a purpose and usually end up getting in the way. Have a small prize for the best one or the best one in each age group so everyone gets to be a winner.

Mini egg challenge– Make up a small race track or obstacle course on the floor or table.Give each child four chocolate mini eggs of the same colour and a straw. Let each one have a turn at blowing down the straw to guide each egg in turn to the end of the course. You could use your watch to time how long it takes for all their eggs to get "home". To make it even more of a challenge you could tie their hands behind their backs with a scarf so they are not tempted to use them to cheat.

Easter decorations– Use paints or felt tips to decorate some eggs (you can use hard boiled or blow some if you prefer). To do these, make small holes each end and then blow the contents into a bowl – you can use this for scrambled eggs or omelettes for tea. As it’s a good idea to rinse the eggs out and leave them to dry you might like to do this the day before the planned activity. Keep the egg box to stand them in and it’s also useful to put them in when they are drying off after being decorated. Suggest faces with glasses, hair, beards, etc. or zig-zag patterns or just let the children’s imaginations run riot. When they’re done they can be used on a plate as a decoration – perhaps with a couple of chicks on top (these are really cheap to buy in card shops or similar or make your own with yellow wool) or you could get a small twiggy branch from the garden or elsewhere and stand it in a vase and hang your eggs on with cotton or ribbon.

Make a pasta picture. A small pot of glue and a bag of dried pasta shapes can be bought very cheaply and can produce amazingly creative results.

Have a picnic. Prepare your lunch, lay down a blanket and enjoy your day out.If it is raining or cold, you can have an indoor picnic instead!

Have an evening abroad! Choose a country, say Italy for example. Spend the afternoon making Italian flag placemats and table decorations.Look up on the internet how to say a few Italian words like hello, goodbye, please and thank you. Get the kids involved making an Italian dinner like pizza or pasta and enjoy.There are so many countries to choose from it’s a great way to encourage the children to experiment with new foods and languages.

Easter cornflake cakes. You might want to getbaking, use this recipe below to make Easter nest cakes which are of course very yummy!

• 225g/8oz chocolate, broken into pieces
• 50g/2oz butter
• 2tbsp golden syrup
• 75g/3oz cornflakes or shredded wheat
• 36 mini chocolate eggs

Line a twelve-hole cake tin with cake cases. Melt the chocolate pieces, butter and syrup in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water Remove bowl from heat and stir in cornflakes or shredded wheat Divide between the cake cases Place three mini eggs on top of each cake and chill for one hour.

Visit the Henry website for activity ideas and recipes

Find your local library and see what events they have

Visit the BBC Tiny Happy People website for activity inspiration for all ages