Keeping the grandkids happy and occupied can sometimes tax even the most creative mind.  Here are a number of activities you might like to think about.  They're easy to do and cheap to fund and should keep them happy for hours.

​This edition we're into clothes pegs and some of the endless fun things to do with them. 

​If you have any ideas we can pass on to other grandparents use our CONTACT US form to share it with us and we'll share it with our readers.

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PEG AND POPSTICK PLANE

You'll need:
Large and small popsticks
A wooden peg
A small bead
​Craft glue

Start by glueing two large popsticks on the top and bottom of your peg.  Glue the bead to one of the small popsticks and glue it onto the front of the peg to make the propeller.  Glue the second small popstick on the top rear to make the tail. Now have fun painting it in your favourite colours.

CLOTHES PEG INSECTS

All you’ll need to whip up these little beauties is some wooden clothes pegs, textas or paint for the detail and some paper for the wings.  If you have “google eyes” in your craft collection then you can use those too!  Otherwise just use white paper with black texta.

You’ll need to help little ones cut out the wing shapes to attach to the peg, or you can draw them onto a sheet of paper and glue the painted peg to the paper.
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You can also add buttons, glitter or other details – whatever you have available!

​To make our super-cute grasshopper, you'll need some green pipe-cleaners.  Just cut one pipe-cleaner in half for the four front legs and use a whole one for the back legs.  Bend them to shape and clamp them into a green painted peg.  Add some antennae and googly eyes, if you have them, or simply use white papers with a black dot.

MINION CLOTHESPEGS

You'll need:

• Clothespins
• Yellow paint
• Blue paint
• Paintbrushes
• Googly eyes
• Glue
• Black marker

1. Paint the clothespins twice if you’re using a water-based paint. We used tempera paint, and the yellow didn’t show up that great at first. Give the coats plenty of time to dry before moving to the next step.
2. Glue googly eyes to the clothespins, and allow the glue to dry.
3. Draw a smile and hair on your minions to complete them.

PAPERBAG PLAYS

This game is ideal for larger groups and a sleepover favourite. Divide the kids up into groups. Give each group a bag filled with props, such as a spoon, toy jewellery, a sock, ball or ribbon. Then give them 15 minutes to construct a skit around the props. This game is so much fun that it doesn’t have to be competitive. If the kids want, though, they can all vote on a winning skit.

CHRISTMAS SCATTERGORIES

SURPRISE PEGS

Here's a challenge for young minds, courtesy of Making Life Blissful.  You can make it competitive, like normal Scattergories, by setting a time limit, or you can just see who's the first to fill in all the letters. Of course, there's always extra points for being "creative".

These little whimsical toys are very easy to make but will delight just about any child.  You can drawn your own illustrations or cut out images from magazines.  You can have a lot of fun with your grandchildren dreaming up what the reveal might be for each illustration or photo.