February Half Term Activities
With February half term here, we thought we would round up a few fun ideas for things you can do during half term. We might not be able to visit anywhere but with Valentine's day, Chinese New Year and Shrove Tuesday all falling in half term week, there are still lots of lovely themed activities you can try, from arts and crafts to baking and treats and outdoor activities.
Baking and Treats
Pancakes
Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, is on Tuesday 16th February this year. There are lots of delicious recipes you can find online, but this year, we thought we might try making these beautiful rainbow pancakes on BBC Good Food.
Sweet Shop Bark
As a very special sweet treat, why not have a go at making this Sweet Shop Bark? It's very simple to make, and uses melted chocolate topped with lots of different sweets.
Valentine's Biscuits
Why not have a go at baking some Valentine's themed biscuits? These Jammy Heart Drops are filled with jam, and look so tasty.
DIY Valentine's Themed Grazing Platter
We are huge fans of Taming Twins fantastic recipes. She also shares brilliant ideas for DIY grazing boards. She recently shared this amazing treat board, perfect for sharing whilst watching a family film during half term week.
DIY Valentine's Themed Afternoon Tea
Why not get the kids to help design and make a family afternoon tea? This year, we are doing our own afternoon tea on Valentine's Day. You could create your own table decorations, place names and make and hang up some Valentine's themed decorations. You can either buy or make some snacks and cakes- things like finger sandwiches, sausage rolls, veggie sticks, scones or little cakes, and heart shaped biscuits, would all be perfect for an afternoon tea. Serve with some fizzy lemonade in fancy glasses to make it extra special!
Valentine's Themed Crafts and Activities
We have rounded up some great crafts and activities in our article, which you can read here. Another recent activity we tried was heart mosaic suncatchers, which we hve stuck in our windows. They look so pretty when the sun shines through, plus they help brighten up people's daily walk.
Head over to our Facebook and Instagram page to find out how we made them!
Shows & Events
The Royal Parks: Virtual Discovery Week
Sign up for The Royal Parks virtual discovery week, where you can join in virtually with 5 days of fantastic activities, themed around nature emerging from winter. There are some fantastic interactive ideas for all the family that promise to get outisde and enjoying the fresh air.
Igloo with Egg Box Theatre
Sat 20th - Sat 27th February
Join Egg Box Theatre virtually at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre for their two part on demand frosty adventure story. Cosy up in your living room and find out all about Ruby’s great adventure, just like the ones her Granddad told her all about. You can book free tickets here.
Each part is 45 minutes long and jam packed with songs, silliness, and DIY sensory play. You can enjoy one episode at a time if you want to spread out the fun or watch them back-to-back just like having an interval. Either way, your living room will have never been so much fun!
*** Egg Box are offering a selection of audience members a free sensory box containing special multi-sensory items and an activates pack to accompany the performance. Take a look on their website and find out if you’re eligible. https://www.eggboxtheatre.co.uk/caregivers-forum
Whipsnade Zoo- #GOWILDATHOME Challenges
Keep your little ones entertained and help the zoo raise vital funds while they're closed to the public. Zookeepers have come up with a list of animal inspired athletics for you to try, including leaping like a lemur, balancing like a flamingo or waddling like a penguin to help raise the much-needed funds needed for us to continue to care for our 20,000 animals, and support ZSL’s conservation work around the world.
You can find out more here.
Whipsnade Zoo- #VETSATHOME 16th and 17th February
Join Whipsnade Zoo online for #VetsAtHome! They're bringing their popular half term event, free of charge to you at home - transforming their Vets In Action into brand new virtual sessions on Facebook.
Budding veterinarians will first learn how to triage their teddy bear using materials from around their home and can then tune into a live health check on one of Whipsnade Zoo’s rabbits, with vets and nurses talking through what they’re doing and why. Find out all the information on their Facebook event here.
Outdoor Activities
National Trust Nature Bingo
The National Trust have put together a 'sounds of nature' bingo for you to play on your own or with friends and relatives. You can play it at home, on a walk or in your local park. They have created a downloadable scorecard so you can tick off all the sounds of nature that you hear.
Download your bingo card here.
Ice Suncatchers
We really enjoyed getting outdoors and making our ice suncatchers this week. If we have any cold nights during half term, why not plan to create some of your own ice suncatchers to hang in your garden? You can find out how to make them here.
Go For a Walk
Find lots of ideas and inspiration for local places you can head to for a family walk here. Please remember to adhere to Government guidelines with regards to travel and current Covid-19 restrictions.
Garden Olympics
It might be cold but why not wrap up warm and head into the garden to hold your very own half term garden olympics? You could create an obstacle course, hold races around the garden, do a kick up competiton, penalty shoot outs, long jump, trampoline jump count, and many other things.
Family Nights
Half term is the perfect time to plan in a themed family night. The kids can help to plan the event and it gives everyone something to look forward to. Here are some ideas:
- Movie night- grab some sweets and popcorn, put on a film and cosy up under some blankets. Bliss! You can even make it into a cinema experience with homemade tickets and popcorn buckets.
- Board games night- pick a couple of board games to play one afternoon or evening. Some of our family favourites include Monopoly, Ticket to Ride Junior, Dobble and of course, The Orchard Toy Games which are brilliant for younger children to join in with.
- UV Bowling at Home- we tried this for our son's 5th birthday back in January and it was a massive hit! We set up some skittles in the hallway, created a bowling alley lane using UV tape (Amazon) and set up a UV light to illumine the hallway (Amazon). We kept score on a whiteboard.
Chinese New Year
Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, celebrates the arrival of a new moon on the first day in the Lunar Calendar. This year is the year of the ox.
Celebrate and learn about Chinese New Year with a free virtual event to enjoy from home. Join the online Chinese New Year events to reminisce on previous years, with streamed lion dances in Chinatown, entertainment in Trafalgar Square and new performances from emerging Chinese artists. You can find out more here. The celebrations are taking place on Sunday 14th February at 12pm.
There are lots of ideas for Chinese New Year themed crafts for kids here.
