Under £5
15 mins
Ages 4+
Fluffy cloud slime
Three cupboard ingredients and the stretchiest slime you'll ever wash out of a jumper.
Crafts and slime
Homemade jigsaw puzzle
Glue a picture onto card, draw wiggly lines on the back and snip it into pieces. It costs nothing, uses up the recycling, and the kids get two activities in one, making it and then solving it.
Ages5+
Time45 mins
CostFree
MessLow mess
WhereIndoors
What you need
Little ones should use child-safe scissors. Grown-ups can do any cutting through thick card.
Let's go
Cut a piece of card a little bigger than your picture.
Spread glue over the whole back of the picture, right to the edges, so the pieces won't peel later.
Press the picture onto the card, smooth out any bubbles and leave it to dry under a pile of heavy books.
Once it's dry, turn it over and draw your jigsaw lines on the back. Big wiggly shapes for little ones, lots of small pieces for older kids.
Cut along the lines, then trim off any bits of card sticking out around the edges.
Jumble up the pieces, start a timer and see who can put it back together fastest.
Real talk
- Write a secret message on plain card instead of using a picture, cut it up and post the pieces to a friend or grandparent to puzzle out.
- Pop each finished puzzle in an envelope with a sketch of the picture on the front, so the pieces don't go missing.
- Under-5s? Draw the lines yourself, keep it to 4 to 6 big pieces and let them do the gluing.
Puzzle fans?
Escape rooms for families and science centres with brain-teaser zones make a great day out for kids who love a challenge.
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