With much of the world currently in lockdown, many of us who are not used to being full time at home parents are suddenly faced with the prospect of many weeks – maybe months – of having small people to entertain around the clock. Where parents are still working, there is A LOT to juggle. And if you’re in this situation, and you’re anything like me, this prospect was probably vaguely terrifying.

I wanted to share a few ideas of easy things you can do at home with your small children.

Art club

We’ve been getting much more creative than usual. From chalk drawings on the pavement outside our house, rainbows in the windows, to YouTube draw-along tutorials (more for slightly older kids but my 5yo has LOVED doing “Draw with Rob”), whatever your skill or otherwise there is fun to be had with getting crafty.

For slightly bigger projects why not try making a simple model to represent a favourite book? We used wrapping paper off-cuts as wallpaper and made a house for the lady from “A Squash and a Squeeze”!

Make your own adventure

You might be staring at the same four walls for the foreseeable future – so how can you bring in some of those experiences you might have had? How about going to the cinema? Choose a film together. If you’re feeling like making extra effort, draw out some little tickets your little one can sell to you! Close the curtains, grab the popcorn / snacks and turn the lights down low. 

Or if you have a garden, you could have lunch outside – it’s still a picnic, even on your own lawn! And if you’re feeling super adventurous and have the kit, what about camping in your own garden? A friend of mine had a great lie-in recently when daddy and 4yo camped out!  

Use what you’ve got

Of course we can’t go out and buy loads of new things to keep our darlings entertained, so we’re in a very “make-do” situation. But use your imagination and you’ll find lots of new ways to use old things. For example we’ve been using washed out tin cans as skittles (probably best not to leave unsupervised in case of sharp edges). And making models of whatever we have in the garden. 

You could pop your child in the washing basket, get a YouTube video of a rollercoaster on the tv and wiggle them around in sync with the movements. And let’s face it, what toddler doesn’t love a good old fashioned box to play with?! We have a big one that’s been decorated differently on each side – a car, a boat, a crocodile, and a what-on-earth-is-that (I feel like I’ve left it too long to ask without hurting his feelings!). 

Screen time

Let’s be honest, sometimes the tv or tablet is a vital distraction to allow us time to get on with jobs around the house, or even to do our work. I think now more than ever we need to not beat ourselves up about it – but there are definitely ways to make it feel less like “the easy option” and more like a valuable learning tool. There are so many programmes and apps that are educational AND fun. My 2 year old wants to be able to do the same things as his big brother – so he’s started trying to play an app that the 5 year old has that teaches reading. I’m sure some of it must be seeping in, as well as providing the older one an opportunity to practice his teaching and nurturing skills!

Current favourites in our house include Numberblocks / Alphablocks, Ask the Storybots, Maddie’s Do You Know (Maddie Moate also has an “edutainment” channel on YouTube packed with fascinating stuff) and Treasure Champs. 

What not to do?

My final tip is not to take too much heed to the amazing things you see on social media or get forwarded from your WhatsApp groups! Don’t put pressure on yourself to do huge, show-stopping, beautiful arts creations, or to bake wonderfully decorated fairy cakes, or to create the biggest rollercoaster EVER out of Duplo. Our smalls don’t have huge attention spans, and they don’t need all the bells and whistles. Your best bet is to find small, simple fun things that don’t cause you lots of extra hard work at a time when your personal reserves are limited. Stay safe, and take care of yourself.

You’ve got this covered! 

When I was pregnant with my second child, my thoughts turned to what our lives would be like when I went back to work. I definitely wanted to go back to work – I enjoy my job and get a lot of fulfilment from having that area of my life. My husband and I agreed that it made sense for me to try to make a go of freelancing, part-time.

Eighteen months later, our oldest has started school and things have changed again. I am still working for myself as a freelancer, and our family balance is, overall, working really well.

Except, of course, when it doesn’t. When the careful spinning of the plates doesn’t quite come together and one crashes to the floor. Like today. Today, the boys were supposed to go to school / nursery while I worked from home. We had a medical appointment booked for my little boy in the middle of the day, but I still had plenty of time to do a few small bits of work for a couple of clients, write this blog, and do a half day of work for a new client on a big project before heading off at 5:30 to do the nursery / school pickups.

But the little one wasn’t playing ball. He woke up under the weather – nothing specific, just that general whimpering malaise that only the parent of a toddler with a snotty nose and a slight temperature can really know. I knew nursery would take one look at him and send him packing.

Luckily Daddy was able to do school drop with big brother, leaving me to attempt to get some breakfast into small, washed down with Calpol, and put him back to bed. I thought I could crack on with the big project work first. I logged in, but the information I needed hadn’t been sent to me as requested. Bother.

Oh well, I thought. I chased it and then got on with the small tasks I had, ticking them off my list as I went.

My thoughts turned to the appointment we had booked later on. I realised that talking small would be a mammoth pain in the proverbial – we were going to be in a hurry to minimise school missed, and last time he came along he was a big distraction when his brother needed to be concentrating. It was 10am. The appointment was at noon.

I called a friend who I knew would be working from home. She didn’t answer. I sent her a message – and then, knowing she never has her phone on her, I followed up with an email. (If I had been thinking clearly I would have just emailed but hindsight is always 20:20!) Thankfully, she agreed to come around and work in my kitchen and keep an ear out in case he woke while I was out. Excellent.

Checked back for the info I was waiting on. Still nothing. Got my notepad out and started making a big list of all the things I need to do this week in every area of my life (including order our Christmas tree – our school have a deal with a supplier but a very early deadline!!).

Just as I was about to get up to let my friend in, the info I had been waiting on arrived. “Brilliant”, I replied, “I will look at this this afternoon”.

The appointment went like clockwork. I got home, got up the still-sleeping youngest and made lunch for us all. I was relieved to see he was feeling much better and he did manage to eat some lunch. Including rather a lot of brie and a few olives. A true European! 

I should add that this child is a sleeper, even when he’s well. So I fully expected that this afternoon he would go down for another sleep, and I would have a chunk of time on this big project. Ha ha ha. How I laugh at my foolishness. OF COURSE he didn’t want to go back to sleep.

My hopes of a productive day slowly dissolved. Well, almost. I thought it would be apt to write this with him popping over to me and asking for something every few minutes! Soon we’ll go and fetch his big brother from school and the usual evening chaos will begin. And tomorrow… Well, I cross my fingers that tomorrow, he’ll be well enough to go to nursery. 

As the first Christmas after having a baby rolls around, everyone starts telling you that Christmas is going to be so special from now on. It’s going to be magical, wonderful, you’re going to make so many special memories… But there are some key things that no-one tells you about Christmas with toddlers, and you have to discover all by yourself. Here’s my tongue-in-cheek guide 

1) The pressure is on

We’ve all got those friends on Facebook. The ones who have those lovely, well-behaved children, who post pictures every year of all the brilliant Christmas things they do with them. They make their own cards with little paint footprints turned into reindeer. They bake and decorate Christmas cookies. They share gorgeous pictures of their whole family in matching jumpers and everyone is looking at the camera AND smiling! So you figure you’ll have a go. You get out the brown paint and explain to your 3 year old what you’re going to do. You can see in your head how the reindeer cards are going to turn out… And when they turn out looking like poos with eyes (yes this is what my version resembled!!) you give them out anyway, and the family still love them because you and your small person made them with love.

2) Nothing is safe.

Once they are on the move, the tree, the gifts, the decorations are all so wonderfully alluring! Shiny, sparkly, bright coloured things! You find yourself unable to turn your back even for a minute, for fear they might end up either unwrapping Auntie Barbara’s present, or under the toppled tree. I repeat: nothing is safe!

3) Elf on the Shelf will ruin your life

It seems like a fun idea. This little elf visits for advent and perhaps he hides around the house, or maybe even gets up to some kind of mischief. But when you already have a million things to remember,  with Christmas rapidly approaching, the chances of remembering every single night that it needs moving are fairly minimal. If you’re anything like me, you find yourself remembering JUST as you’re dropping off to sleep, and having to traipse back out of bed and downstairs to desperately find somewhere to shove it, before your small person finds it unmoved from yesterday and starts freaking out. By Christmas Eve you’ll have resorted to shoving it up a coat sleeve and hoping for the best.

4) You need to be an expert personal shopper (of sorts)

If, like us, you’re lucky enough to have a big family, chances are there are many people who want to shower your little one with gifts at Christmas. But – here’s the thing – they often also want your input. My second son already has everything – because his brother had it all before him. It’s hard enough to think of things to buy him myself – let alone coming up with ideas for 8 well-meaning relatives asking what he wants. Apologies to my sons who are almost certainly getting pyjamas from everyone this year as I resorted to a default answer!

5) Sometimes they’re little baby Scrooges

You’ve found the cutest costume, which you can’t wait to get them into and show off to everyone. It’s going to be utterly adorable. But they decide they’re not playing ball and sit there dressed as the world’s grumpiest reindeer. (Ok I’ll be honest, they’re still pretty cute despite the sulk!)

But, in all honesty, Christmas really does become more magical. This year, my smalls are 2 and 5 so it’s the first year they’ll both get it. The little one’s face when he came home and saw the tree that I had put up (with a bit of help from his brother) was just lovely. I can’t wait to see them on Christmas morning when they open their presents together… It will almost make up for the sudden cold sweats every time I realise I’ve forgotten to move the elf again!!

The nights are drawing in and there’s a sudden chill in the air. It seems to have happened all of a sudden – somehow, it’s time to dig out the wooly hats and wellies, and brace against the autumn showers. Or perhaps downpours…

But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. There’s so much to look forward to when autumn rears his head and the evenings draw ever darker. Here’s my list of autumn fun!

---

Getting outside

I love an autumn nature walk on a crisp, dry day. Last year my then 3 year old and I wandered around one of our big local parks with a bucket collecting as many types of fallen nuts, seeds and multi-coloured leaves as we could. He was so excited every time he found something new – from “helicopters” to conkers and leaves of every shade, yellow through to burgundy. It’s so good to do something outdoors in the fresh air, connecting with nature a bit. Keep your eyes out for squirrels! Best of all? It doesn’t cost a penny. 

For soggier days, there’s puddle stomping.. Find me a toddler who doesn’t love jumping in puddles! Sure, it can get a bit messy and damp – but sometimes you just have to roll with it. Just make sure for this activity you don’t go too far from home – soggy small children can turn on a sixpence and all of a sudden you might be faced with piercing cries of “I’M COLD AND I WANT TO GO HOME!”.

In a few weeks, leaf kicking might be the outdoor activity of choice. There’s something ever so tempting about a big pile of crisp, crunchy leaves – I’ll bet you find it hard to suppress the urge to kick them everywhere – and your toddler certainly will! Just try to avoid piles that someone has neatly made to try to clean up, you don’t want to fall out with the neighbours…!

---

Snuggling up

After that, what could be better than heading home to change into you pyjamas and snuggle under a blanket on the sofa? Turn the lights down low, stick on a good film, make a round of hot chocolates (with marshmallows, of course – and possibly a warming tot of something for the grownups!) and cosy up for an hour or two. Or possibly 20 mins, depending on your small person’s attention span.

---

Pumpkins

Last year we went pumpkin picking for the first time. My 4 year old had a ball with his little friend, picking from a whole range of pumpkins and squashes, from standard round orange ones to blue ones and knobbly ones. It was such a fun day out – worth a visit if you have a local farm that does it!

---

Fireworks

And probably the last thing that can really be classed as an autumn rather than a winter activity – bonfire night! It’s so lovely to bundle up in warm clothes and watch a display and I love watching the children’s grins turn all colours of the rainbow reflecting the fireworks as they go off. Add in a glow stick and a mulled wine and it’s pretty much a dream night all round.

So while I’m sad to see the end of summer, packing my sandals away until next June, there’s so much to look forward to over the coming months. Now, where is my scarf…?

The Autumn holidays are now here, and we all know that a very important day is coming: Halloween. The way this day is celebrated in France is generally nothing like what we see in movies. While some French people like to celebrate with carved pumpkins, make-up and fancy dress, the “Trick or Treat” tradition with knocking on doors to receive candies is sadly not yet very popular here. In France, we traditionally celebrate LeToussaint – All Saint’s Day – and the shops are full of chrysanthemum flowers for people to take to the cemeteries. 

So, if you are not going out with your little monsters to collect sweets, why not choose this special night to discover or re discover the best Halloween themed movies and plan a scary evening together! (Or perhaps a very scary afternoon – you choose!) 

I’m not including The Nightmare before Christmas (L’étrange Noël de Monsieur Jack) as this movie is the first one above all the others that we think about when it comes to Halloween s. This masterpiece is of course a must-see film and Tim Burton is an amazing film maker. 

Here’s my own personal selection of the best Halloween movies to watch with your children, classified by age. In brackets, I’ve added the movie’s title in French, just for fun! This selection is totally approved by Stacha and Chiara, my own daughters! 

For 3 to 5 years old: 

• Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween movie (Lumpy fête Halloween): Heffalump doesn’t know anything about Halloween so all his friends try to explain it to him. But someone ate all the sweets!!! 
• Mickey’s House of Villains (Mickey, le club des Méchants): Mickey, Donald and the whole gang will have to deal with the bad guys – Jaffar, Cruella, Hades and all the Disney villains! 
• Monsters, INC (Monstres et Compagnie): Sully and Mike are in charge of Boo, a little human who arrives in their Monster Company by mistake. 

For 6 years old: 

• Casper: the cutest ghost ever becomes friends with a nice young girl who moves into his haunted house with her father. 
• Wallace and Gromit, the curse of the were-rabbit (Wallace et Gromit, le mystère du lapin-garou): based on the werewolf myth, a great adventure to follow with the famous clay pair. 
• Kiki’s delivery service: a beautiful Japanese cartoon by Hayao Miyazaki where we follow the initiatory journey of Kiki, a 13 year old witch, and her cat, Jiji. 

For 8 years old: 

• Hotel Transylvania (Hotel Transylvanie): In a world where humans and creatures live separately, a young human arrives by mistake in Dracula’s castle, which is transformed into an hotel for all kind of monsters. He then meets Dracula’s daughter, Mavis… 
• The book of life (la légende de Manolo): In this film, we discover the Mexican myth of Dias del los Muertos (Day of the dead) and its coloured Calaveras (decorated skulls), with a young boy named Manolo. 
• Spirited away (Le voyage de Chihiro): another Miyazaki’s anime. Chihiro needs to fight the dark world to find her parents who were turned into pigs by a witch. 

For the 10 years old: 

• Frankenweenie: a Tim Burton’s movie based on the Frankenstein’s myth. Victor is devastated when his beloved dog Sparky dies. He decides to resuscitate him. 
• The Addams Family (La famille Addams): one of the most popular Gothic-styled movies where we follow the life of a spooky family, the Addams: Morticia, Gomez and their children, Wednesday and Pugsley. They have to deal with a strange member of the family – Uncle Fester…
• Corpse Bride (Les noces funèbres): another Tim Burton’s movie. For Victor and Victoria, it was love at first sight. But Victor accidentally got married to Emily, a dead woman…  

For the 12 years old and over: 

• Hocus Pocus: Max, a teenager just moved to Salem with his family. He doesn’t believe in all the stories about witches in the neighbourhood. But on Halloween’s night everything will change… 
• Sleepy Hollow: In 1799, Ichabod Crane, a scientific police officer, is sent to the village of Sleepy Hollow where a lot of crimes have been committed by a mysterious headless horseman. (Tim Burton) 
• Beetlejuice: Adam and Barbara, young newly-weds, suddenly die in a car crash and come back as ghosts in their own house. But a new family moves in it and decides to change everything… (Tim Burton) 

As you can see there’s a lot of Tim Burton’s films in our selection, but he is our favourite movie-maker and his vision of the fantastic and magical world fits for a lot of different ages. From James and the giant peach (James et la pêche géante) to Sweeny Todd (16 years and over) he always writes great stories full of poetry. 

Now, just grab a blanket, sort out the snacks (perhaps a cheeky glass on wine for yourself) and cuddle up – it’s time to watch a movie!