Large family holidays can be so much fun, whether it’s a stay with friends and their offspring or multigenerational family days away. If the sun is shining you can make the most of the space indoors and out - but we all know how unreliable the weather can be in the UK, so how do you fill those days when the weather’s not on your side?
When you’ve got fantastic facilities like spa halls with indoor swimming pools, hot tubs and saunas, and there’s a games room and a dedicated movie room, it’s easy to keep all ages happy, but there’s so much else you can do to add to the memories. We’ve put together 10 great ideas for you to have as much fun as possible with your family in a holiday house.
Have a Movie Marathon
Our large group holiday houses all have big screen TVs or projectors with access to streaming sites. Several have dedicated movie rooms and some even have a mini cinema. Imagine that – your own private Odeon, with tiered seating, interval lighting and a popcorn machine! Decide on a theme - maybe Disney, musicals, Star Wars, Harry Potter or comedy. Otherwise, have a mix of genres for a more diverse experience. Set a duration and plan how many films you can fit in, including breaks and plan your snacks. You could even take it one step further and write reviews!
Play Board Games
Most holiday houses have a good selection of board games, but we all have our favourites so it might be worth packing a few that don’t take up much room in the car. Decide on the games you’ll play, taking into account the ages of your party; create a warm atmosphere with snacks and drinks, and set up different games in separate areas with comfortable seating. Make sure instructions are handy so that everyone understands the rules, and for the end of your Board Game Bonanza, have prizes.
Have a Dance-Off
This will be Fun with a big fat capital F! You’ll definitely want someone making videos! Firstly, work out the best area to hold your dance-off – somewhere with plenty of room and seating for when a rest is needed. Select an upbeat play list and decide who’s dancing against who, or even better, pull names out of a hat. Strutt your stuff, show off all your best moves, or create dances to copy. Expect a whole load of Dad dancing!
Get Baking
You’ll need to be organised for this, with the right ingredients and utensils – fortunately our holiday houses have well-equipped kitchens and plenty of oven space. Decide what you’re going to make – cakes and scones for afternoon tea, sausage rolls for a mid-movie snack, pizzas for dinner, bread for the next day’s breakfast. Get in cupcake cases and sprinkles, aprons and even chefs hats; put the kids in charge of the scales, take turns with the mixing. You could even turn it into a Bakethon or a Bake-Off with things being made in different parts of the kitchen and a prize for the winning creation. Pop some music on, bake away and when you’ve finished – tuck in!
Play Charades
There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned parlour game to keep you entertained and it’s so much fun for all ages. Form teams and write the titles of movies, books, songs or plays to pop into a box; each team takes it in turns to draw a title and act it out using only gestures – no words. The rest of the team has to guess what it is within a set time limit, the team that guesses correctly the most wins.
Have A Scavenger Hunt
A brilliant way to keep all ages amused on a rainy day, especially with a huge holiday house for your scavenger hunt. Have a list of things to find and clues leading to them, then hide them around the house and set a time limit for all the clues to be solved. Theme it as you like – a colour hunt, a number hunt, or base it on the people in your group. When the final clue is solved award the winners with a prize.
Make a Movie Together
This might take some planning, but it will be so much fun, and you’ll have the movie to look back on – a unique memento of your family holiday. Firstly, plan your movie, the theme, the story and who’s going to play the characters; get any props ready and get in costume as much as you can. Have someone as the director and if you’re following a script, someone to be the prompt – but it’s much more fun to go free flow. Giggles guaranteed!
Have A Story Time
Another great way to pass the time, and it can be themed according to the time of year (spooky stories at Halloween, festive stories at Christmas, beach tales in the summer). Gather together somewhere cosy and comfy, sit around and take it in turns to tell stories – they can be funny, romantic, fantastical, whatever you like, as long as there’s appeal for everyone. Turn the lights down low for atmosphere, or if there’s a BBQ lodge at your holiday house, head out there for your Story Time. Whoever tells the best tale gets a prize.
Play Musical Statues
This can be added into your dance-off or played separately – either way it’ll mean lots of laughter. Remember playing this at birthday parties when you were kids? Great fun! Put music on to get everyone up on the floor grooving and suddenly – stop the music; everyone has to freeze exactly as they are when the music stops. Anyone caught moving is out of the game, and of course, the last one standing gets a prize for being the best musical statue.
Get Crafty
Crafting sessions are a good way to pass the time when you’re stuck indoors because of the weather. You can make and create whatever you like, from rock painting and making bookmarks, to a family photo collage and sock puppets. You might need to be organised so that you’ve got everything you need, or you can book an activity like pottery painting from one of the suppliers we work with (see Extras). Arrange all the bits and pieces on the dining table, have snacks and drinks ready and get creative. The hours will fly by!
So, it doesn’t matter what the weather’s doing because as well as all those fab features in your large group holiday house, there are endless ideas for having fun with the whole family. This is your time to relax and enjoy those special times, dancing, baking, playing, most of all, laughing and making the kind of memories to hold on to. Happy holidays!