Things to do with the kid's in January

Cheap or free activities that will help beat the January blues

Let's face it, January is a fairly dull month. Pennies are at their tightest so it's good to find ways of keeping the kid's occupied in the great outdoors, and it doesn't have to cost the earth.

There are real health benefits of going for a walk, as fast or slow as you like, but getting fresh air and stepping away from computers and TV. It is very important to wrap up in the right gear -a base layer, jumper and waterproof coat, hat, gloves, and of course a pair of warm and cosy warm wellies.

There are lots of blogs out there with ideas for kids, so we've pulled some of our favourite ideas out and included them here.

Egg Box Challenge

Do you recycle your old egg boxes? We have friends with hens and they talk to schools about how to reuse/repurpose egg boxes:

Seedling/bulb planter - Use the boxes to plant seedlings or bulbs - the boxes are biodegradable, so when they are planted out in the soil the boxes, become mulchy and let the plants grow.

Treasure chest - when going on a welly wander in the woods, see how many items you can collect in an egg box- they're lightweight so not too hard to carry.

Firelighters - are you thinking of having toasted marshmallows by a woodland campfire? Egg boxes make great dry fire starters - especially if the sticks you find are not that dry.

Egg and cress heads - well, what a good idea if you like egg and cress sandwiches! It's certainly a good one for letting kids see how things grow. Take an egg box and pop in some compost (or cotton wool also works), drizzle the top with cress seeds and spray with water - then watch them grow. You will be able to see them sprouting after a couple of days and you can cut them very soon after for your sandwiches. If you want to do something different - you could crack an egg or two at the top and make lunch then decorate the egg shells before filling them with seeds. Thanks to The Lakes Free Range Egg Company for these ideas.

Wandering in woods

Walking is great value - not only is it free (apart from the odd car park), and it is very good for you. It lifts the spirits, gets you off screens and is good for your health and well-being in so many ways.

We've picked some of our favourite places to find walks and have included them here as links too:

The Hiking Household (HH) - This is a great place to find child and pushchair-friendly walks. Laura founded The Hiking Household to allow families to get outside more with a mission to offer resources, and events, to help support happier and healthier children in Cumbria. We have kitted out the family with wellies and love the walks they organise

National Trust Walks - What we love is the fact they have country and forest walks and sections for each of the regions in England plus sections for Wales and Ireland. Visit the National Trust website. The National Trust For Scotland has their own site with walks too - you can visit Scotlands National Trust website.

Some of our favourite things to do in the woods include: