Thermo 4 Life

Simple ideas to keep your children calm, creative, and connected — without the telly.

It’s that chaotic hour between school and dinner. Everyone’s tired, hungry, and a little bit emotional. And while you’re trying to cook, your children want snacks, cuddles, and your full attention — all at once.

Sound familiar?

Here are 10 screen-free, mess-free activities your children (under ten) can do on their own or with siblings while you prep dinner. They use things you already have at home, last 10–30 minutes, and many of them give your children something to proudly bring to the dinner table and share — turning waiting time into connection time.

1. Treasure Hunt with a Twist

Give them a basket or bag and send them off to find:

Something soft Something shiny Something beginning with “S” Something they think is beautiful

At dinner, ask them to pick their favourite item and tell everyone why they chose it.

2. Dinner Menu Designers

Hand them a piece of paper and crayons and ask them to design a restaurant-style menu for tonight’s dinner:

Make up fun names (e.g. “Twisty Swirl Pasta” or “Magic Green Trees”) Add pretend prices and drinks Draw a logo or decorate the edges

At the table, you can all pretend you’re at their restaurant — they can even read out the “specials.”

3. Build a Blanket Boat

Lay a blanket on the floor and invite them to turn it into a boat, spaceship, or magic carpet using cushions and toys.

They can give it a name, decide where it’s going, and choose who’s coming on the journey.

At dinner: ask them where their ship travelled and what they saw on the way.

4. Magazine Cutting Collage

Provide child-safe scissors, old magazines or flyers, and glue or tape. Ask them to cut out:

Their dream dinner Foods that make them smile Colourful pictures for a “Happy Plate” collage

They can bring their collage to the table and show everyone their creation.

5. Sock Basketball

Ball up a few pairs of clean socks and set up a basket or bowl.

Challenge: How many can they throw in from different distances? Can they beat their own score?

If you’ve got more than one child, they can each keep score and talk about their high scores at dinner.

8. Awards Night

Mine love this! Especially when I add personal and funny details to their achievements! Ask them to come up with creative awards for each other (or you!) — things like:

“Kindest Sister of the Day” “Best Fort Builder” “Most Helpful Cleaner-Upper”

They can draw certificates, make medals from paper or ribbon, and hold a mini awards ceremony at the dinner table. Everyone gets celebrated — and everyone’s smiling.

7. Build a Toy Parade

Challenge them to line up their toys or figures in a parade formation. They can:

Group by colour, size, or type Make up names and personalities Decide who’s leading the parade and why

They can bring a few “VIP guests” from their parade to dinner and introduce them.

8. Show and Tell

Another Family Favourite! Ask them to find something special of their own — a toy, a drawing, a book, anything that means something to them.

They’ll bring it to dinner and each have a chance to do a little show and tell.

This is a lovely way to bring attention, pride, and connection into your evening.

9. Create-a-Game

Give them paper, pencils, and an optional dice or coin. Their mission: invent a brand-new game!

It can be a board game, a guessing game, or something active They can name it, draw it, or write rules

At dinner: ask them to explain the game — or even play a round together after you eat.

10. Letter or Picture for Someone They Love

Invite them to write a short letter or draw a picture for someone in the family, a neighbour, or a friend.

Encourage them to think about what they love about that person.

At dinner, they can read it out or explain what they’ve drawn — creating a beautiful moment of love and thoughtfulness.

One Last Thing for Mum…

These activities aren’t about filling time — they’re about creating calm, encouraging imagination, and building little bridges of connection during the busiest hour of your day.

Best of all? You get to serve dinner without the guilt, the chaos, or the screen time — and your children arrive at the table with something they’re proud of.

Thermo Nikki, With Love xxx