Five days at home. It sounds cosy beforehand, and then the child is standing there at half past nine saying there's nothing to do. Here are seven things that usually work, and most of them cost nothing.
1. Build something that can stay up
The biggest difference between a game that lasts twenty minutes and one that lasts all week is whether it has to be tidied away every evening. Find a corner where something can be left standing. A town, a track, a den. When the play can be picked up exactly where it left off, the child goes back to it by themselves.
2. Go conker hunting
It costs a raincoat. Conkers, acorns and leaves become figures, food for the dolls or just a collection in a bowl. The trip out is half the point, and most children come home in a better mood than when they left.
3. Set up a workshop at the kitchen table
Put down an oilcloth, get out markers, scissors and paper, and leave it all out. A place where it's fine to make a mess is worth more during a holiday than a planned activity. If you have any unpainted toys, this is where they get coloured.
4. Build a den
Blankets, sofa cushions and a laundry basket. A den is one of the few places where children play for a long time without an adult, and it can stay up until tomorrow.
5. Put on an audio story
For the days when everyone is tired. A story in their ears while they build or draw works better than a screen for many children, because their hands still have something to do. We have made four audio stories freely available.
6. Bake something they can get their hands into
Buns or biscuits. It takes a morning, it gives you something to eat, and it's one of the few activities where children of very different ages can join in with the same thing.
7. Leave one day completely empty
Not all five days need filling. The day with nothing planned is often the one where the longest play happens. Boredom isn't a problem that needs solving straight away.
If you need something to build with
Our toys are open ended play: they click together without glue, and there's no right way to set them up. They come unpainted, so they can be coloured and recoloured as the play changes. Designed in Odense and produced in Danish sheltered workshops.
Bus Adventures
The classic town bus. Small enough to get started with straight away, and it runs happily on its own before roads and houses join it.
DKK 49
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Adventure Track Extension
Four road pieces that can be laid in any direction. The track looks different every time, so it can be rebuilt for the rest of the week.
DKK 249
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Crateit Playful Markers - 3mm - 6 pcs.
Acrylic markers in six colours. These are the ones used to colour the toys at the kitchen table.
DKK 129
View productQuestions we often get
When is the autumn half-term 2026?
The Danish autumn holiday falls in week 42. Most schools and childcare settings close for the whole week, and many parents need to cover five days with the children at home.
What can you do in the autumn holiday when it rains?
Build something that can stay up all week, set up a workshop at the kitchen table, build a den, or put on an audio story. The most important thing is that the play can be picked up again the next day without having to be rebuilt from scratch.
How do you get children to play on their own during a holiday?
It helps to let the boredom sit for a while, and to have something out that doesn't have a right answer. Play without a right solution typically lasts longer, because the child decides what should happen.
Is it a bad idea to plan the whole week?
One or two fixed things a day is usually enough. Too many planned activities mean the child waits for the next adult-led thing instead of starting something themselves.
