We all look forward to the holidays and spending time together as a family.

But you’re only human if you’ve now reached the point of your holiday break from school with the kids that you’ve run out of things to occupy them, and everyone is climbing the walls.

Let us help out by giving you a few cheap or free activities and adventures you can take with the kids to get out and about.

For those who loved scavenger hunts growing up, why not make one of your own?

Print out a list of things your children can find on a local walk, and get the kids to work together to get through their list.

Remember not to have them collect items from nature if they’re things they can’t remove, so ask them to draw a picture of the item.

On a hot day, make a laser maze at home in the air con.

Tie coloured wool up and down hallways at home, and award points to the kids for getting through the maze without touching any ‘lasers’.

Freeze small plastic toys in Chinese food containers and give the kids small plastic water guns from the $2 shop to blast and chip away at the ice in a race to ‘free’ their toy first.

Find craft supplies you have at home, decorate a ‘crazy hat’ each, and have ‘high tea’ at home, or the park.

Fill empty spray bottles with food colouring water, hang pieces of paper or newspaper on the fence, squirt madly and create wrapping paper for presents.

Buy a packet of ‘water beads’ at the shops, drop a small amount in a large tub of water, arm the kids with strainers and slotted spoons and award them points for how many they catch.

Get a notebook and allow each child to make up a story one line at a time, taking turns, then read the hilariously muddled story back to them.

Stay tuned next week for another week’s worth of boredom chasers you can try with the kids.

Happy Holidays!

By Rachael VAUGHAN