5 Rainy Day Activities

5 Rainy Day Activities

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Disclosure - We were sent Chicago Town vouchers to sample their pizza. We have included Chicago Town in this post however the idea, thoughts, opinions and photos in this post are our own.

There is nothing worse than planning a nice day out and you wake up to find it's raining outside. Unfortunately living in the UK this is quite normal so I always make sure I have some rainy day activities planned as a back up plan.

Baking

Little J loves baking so I always make sure I have some simple ingredients in the cupboards which we can turn in to cakes or biscuits. Baking doesn't have to be just about baking you can make it as fun or educational as you wish.

Use the opportunity to encourage some simple maths such as counting out the ingredients or reading the measuring jug.

Be adventurous. Maybe try and bake something you have never tried before especially if you have a fussy eater. This could be your way of introducing new foods.

Sort Out The Toy Box

This may not sound like a fun activity to do on a rainy day but honestly you will be surprised. I always include this activity on a rainy day and it keeps little J busy and entertained. Once I start pulling out all his toys to go through he usually finds things that he has totally forgotten about and will sit and play with them for hours.

Games

Playing games is fun no matter what the weather. We have so many games to choose from so I usually bring downstairs a handful of games that we haven't played in a while. You can make it fun by adding a score board to see who the ultimate board game winner is or whoever wins the first game gets to choose which game to play next and so on.

Little J also loves to play Top Trumps which is also a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

iPad or Tablet Time

I usually let little J have his iPad whenever he wants during day and whilst I don't restrict him to a set amount of screen time, he usually comes off after a short time anyway when he is ready to do something else. However on a rainy day he may ask for it a little bit longer as he can't go outside so I will usually let him have his own time on his iPad and then we will do something together on it.

We will play games on it together or he loves apps like Word Cookies where he needs a little bit of help spelling words. He also likes doing maths so we have an app that does basic sums that we play together.

PJ and Movie Day 

I can't speak for anyone else but it is not very often we have a PJ day in our house. There is usually always something we have to get dressed for. It is nice once in a while to let the kids stay in their PJ's and have a PJ and Movie Day. You could even create a cinema night at home.

Let the kids choose the snacks and the movies and enjoy a nice relaxing day on the sofa. The boys love it when we say we will have a movie night and will always choose pizza and popcorn.

Their favourite pizza is Chicago Town Cheesy or Tomato Stuffed Crust pizza and garlic bread. Little J has been a little more adventurous with his pizza toppings recently going for a pepperoni pizza rather than just a plain cheese. Again use this opportunity to let the kids choose what toppings they would like on their pizza or what snacks they would like to share. Children love being involved and you can even let them help prepare the snacks and drinks.

Do you have any favourite rainy day activities?

I’m featured in Twinkl’s Fun Outdoor Activities for Children blog, where you can see other brilliant ideas to keep your children entertained throughout the summer!

Michelle

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Spooky Ghost Cake Pops Recipe

Spooky Ghost Cake Pops Recipe

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Disclosure - We went sent ingredients to try out this recipe. Any thoughts and opinions are our own. 

We love baking and we recently tried this fun recipe to make Spooky Ghost Cake Pops. They are perfect for Halloween or a rainy day activity to do with the kids. 

SPOOKY GHOST CAKE POPS

Preparation time: 2 hours plus cooling and chilling

Cooking time: 40 minutes plus 10 minutes to melt 2 lots of chocolate

​Ingredients

For the cake balls

120g Cocoa Extra Dark Fine Cooks Chocolate

150g soft unsalted butter at room temp

200g Light Muscovado Sugar

3 medium free range eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp Madagascan Vanilla extract

125g Organic Plain White Flour

For the cake pops:

2 X 100g bags White Chocolate Chips melted for sticking the balls onto the sticks & coating the cake pops

Teaspoon of vegetable oil

To decorate the ghosts:

1 x  pack of Dr. Oetker White Regal Ice

Icing sugar for rolling out

Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing for sticking the regal ice to the cake pops

Dr. Oetker Jet Black Gel Food Colour.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 140°C (275°F, gas mark 1). Grease and line an 18cm (7 inch) square cake tin.

To make the fudge brownie mix melt the extra dark chocolate in a microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted,  or in a heat proof bowl on a gentle heat over a bain marie. Leave to cool.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand beater for approx. 2 minutes until pale and fluffy. If you haven’t got an electric mixer you can do this with a wooden spoon in a bowl .

TIP: if you are in a rush or the butter is quite cold, the addition of a couple of tablespoons of boiling water at this stage, beaten on slow until mixed will speed up this process.

Add your eggs on a slow speed about a third at a time, mixing until combined.

Add your cooled chocolate stirring continuously.  Add the vanilla Extract and stir. On slow speed mix in the flour until just combined. Do not over beat. Alternatively fold in by hand.

Pour the mix into your cake tin and bake for approx 40 mins. Check it with a sharp knife or metal skewer. You want this to be slightly under baked, so the knife should come out pasty, with a nice paste on the knife.

Leave to cool, then turn out into a bowl and crumble with your hands to fine fudgy crumb.

To make the cake balls, take a handful of fudge cake mix and squeeze together tightly - you are aiming for little balls about the size of a large walnut, approx. 30g each. If the mixture is dry, the addition of a little chocolate or vanilla butter cream will help the mixture stick

Once you have all of your balls ready, dip the end of your stick into the melted chocolate chips  and push the stick into each ball, about half way in. Hold the ball to stop it splitting open when the stick goes in

Once all the cake pops are ready, refrigerate them for 1-2 hours before dipping them, or pop into the freezer for 30 mins, so the balls are firm enough to hold when dipping in the coating

To coat the cake pops melt Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks White Chocolate on low power in a microwave bowl until just melted -  stirring occasionally.

Plunge each cake pop into the chocolate coating until completely covered. Tap the cake pop gently on the side of the bowl to shake off the excess. Once all are covered, dip each cake pop again

To decorate the ghosts roll out half the white regal icing into a large rectangle using plenty of icing sugar and a large plastic rolling pin. Roll fairly thinly – 2 to 3mm thick. Squeeze a little Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing onto the tops of the cake pops or brush with some melted white chocolate, to aid sticking of the sugar paste

Using a cake cutter or small bowl, cut out circles of regal icing and place on each of the pops, smoothing down with your fingers to create the white sheet effect. Allow a little wavy movement by using your fingers to create smooth.

Give them a try and we would love to see your creations. Tag us on socials @PlaydaysRunways.

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Michelle

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