Wall art
Spruce up children's bedrooms with some simply cut out shapes from a selection of cheerful wallpaper or fabric samples

Try butterflies, cars, animals... we’ve got loads of template shapes for you to download here

Presents for next to nothing....

Get licky with it!
With a lick of paint you can create an imaginative present at little to no cost.

Girly Themes
Get an old wooden chair - second hand and charity shops have plenty. Perhaps paint it pink, stencil it with leaf patterns or hearts, decorate it with ribbons and a fluffy cushion and give your girl a 'magical fairy throne'.

Boyish Ideas
Paint a low wooden coffee table a single colour and on top stick or paint buttons, knobs and dials. It could be your child's take-off console.

Fancy That  
Trawl the charity shops for sparkly outfits, funny hats, toy swords and wonderful accessories. Put them in a wooden box or chest of drawers; paint it, add glitter and stickers, and what have you got? A dressed-up box of tricks.

Freecycle
www.freecycle.org is your portal to free stuff! Members are always willing to help out. If you need a cuddly Tweenie for your kid, there’s bound to be someone out there who wants to find a good home for theirs. And in the last month there have been Playstations, computers and mountain bikes. Who cares if it doesn’t come in a box!  

Free Play Ideas!
Click here A great web site for fun and instant ideas. Simply select your child's age and the type of play you are interested in on the play deck, and enjoy ...

Send your ideas for thrifty thoughtfulness to web@roundaboutmagazine.co.uk

Playing with time
Simple ideas you knew but forgot:
5 minutes:
Bubbles! They love them – make up games like Chase The Bubbler or get them to sit still, close their eyes and feel them popping on their face.
10 minutes
Skittles: even just plastic bottles. Watch them fall about laughing.
15 minutes
Assault Course: all you need is movement and whatever you’ve got – maybe a ladder laid on the ground or a pop-up tunnel. Set them a strict routine and they’ll wear themselves out nicely, ready for bed.
30 minutes
Tents: all you need is a blanket and a washing line – anything that will prop – to play ‘Camping in the wild’…
And more…
Paint job: give the kids housepainting brushes and let them paint the outside wall with water. It’ll make dark marks on the dry surface that disappear. Everyone’s happy.

Pet Shop Zoo
Take them to a pet shop or aquarium. They won’t care that there’s a counter and a shop assistant hoping to sell another guppy (maybe he will!). Kids love animals and you can comfortably kill some cold weather time waiting for a terrapin to move or a gerbil to sneeze.

Charity Toy Store
Some charity shops in Worcester are vast with big kids sections. Whittle time browsing books and toys. You will have to buy something, but it’ll cost less than a bus fare and you be doing something for someone in need. Not just yourself!

Library Hide
Libraries are great. They have colouring sections and reading corners. But you can also do treasure hunts. Give them a category letter and ask them to bring you books. E.g., Bring me a book on Bridges. The clue letter is D (or whatever the classification system is).

Please email us your winter warming suggestions for those moments when you’re cold out of ideas!

If you can remember any of the games you played in the playground or the street and the songs and rhymes you used while you were playing them please add them to the collection on this site

www.childrensgames.org.uk