PROPERTY NEWS - Staycations are cost-effective, fun for the whole family and a great way to spend time adding value to your home over the holidays. Is your next holiday looking like it's going to be spent at home?
Not to worry, we've rounded up our favourite staycation home DIY ideas for the best family holiday yet.
Cleaning with the kids
Plan some cleaning fun with the kids! Looking for creative ways to get the kids involved in a cleaning spree? Remember to assign achievable, time-limited and age-appropriate tasks for everyone involved. Keep it fun, and they'll love pitching in!
Prep your home for the holidays with these ideas:
• Plan a playlist with the kids and blast some of their favourite energy-filled music to set the tone for your family cleaning project.
• Hold a sock-skating competition around the house for dusty areas. "Lace up" your old socks and wipe away all the dusty regions of the floor. Ten out of ten for the dustiest socks!
• Go through the pantry and play expiration-date detective to see who can find any products past their sell-by date. Rewards for the detective who finds the most items.
• Alphabetise the spice cupboard together and teach them the origin, appearance, smell and taste as you go along for all the spices from around the world.
• Gather up all your odd socks and dump them on your bed. Get the kids to race to match up all the socks. Put an end to lost socks around the house by donating them or ending off the sock matching games by creating sock puppets out of the leftovers.
• Plan a family fashion show as a catalyst for cleaning the closet out of any older clothes that don't fit anymore. Consider donating the things you don't keep to a local shelter.
These are just a few ideas to get you going while keeping the kids engaged, and they will finish with a great deal of accomplishment.
Wondering about where to begin with all the cleaning?
Create a book nook
Keep the kids off the screens this summer by creating a cosy corner to read together. There's no need for an extra room or to move things around drastically. All you need to create an inviting book nook is a space in your lounge or bedroom.
It's not always easy to encourage a love for reading, so it requires some effort to find out just what excites your kid.
Picnic indoors or out!
If you can't go outside for a picnic, then bring the picnic indoors! Get a few snack foods such as sandwiches, juice boxes, dried fruit, biltong and rice crackers. Add these to a picnic basket or re-usable material shopping bag (get the kids involved and let them pack it); don't forget to add paper plates and napkins. Move the furniture out of the way in your lounge and lay a huge picnic blanket and some cushions on the floor. And, then, let the picnic begin!
Painting party!
Nothing beats a fresh coat of paint to bring a breath of fresh air to any space! A great painting project for the whole family could be to revamp the kids' rooms with a fresh coat of paint. As far as home DIY projects go, painting is the most kid-friendly by far, and even unfortunate mistakes can be fixed easily.
Set up the snack table and get to work sprucing up the space.
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