Don't forget kids swim for free at Birmingham leisure centres for more information click here.

Birmingham Museums and Art Galleries have a fantastic new interactive website for kids.  Great for fun and learning, view it here.

1. Be brave get the paints out.  Use that old newspaper to cover the table and get the kids stuck in.  Get them to make cards, pictures, anything that grandparents, aunts, friends would like.  Frame them and you have a whole lot of birthday pressies ready.
2. If you have some left over balloons and an old box, wrap it up and let the kids dive in to your surprise box.  Not only will they make a new use for the box, they will also love playing with the balloons.
3. Make some play dough, for a recipe try here
4. Get the kids to write, dress up for and star in their own play.  This could take hours and the kids will get involved in their own imagines.  Make sure you have time to sit down for the production which could take hours after edits.
5. Make your own treasure hunt with these instructions.
6. Go for a bike ride.
7. Create your own zoo, using toy animals, a toy shop and some CD, Video boxes.  Who needs the real thing, when the kids can take you on a tour themselves.
8. Make a scrapbook with the kids
9. Look through old photos and then make a family tree.  This could be photocopied and given to the grandparents
10. Use a digital camera and get the kids to dress up and make funny faces and then make a collage on the computer.
11. Make your room into a hospital with toilet paper for bandages if you do not have the real thing and get the kids to make you or each other feel better.
12. Go for a bug hunt with an old jam jar and a notebook - but make sure you put them back afterwards.  The last thing you want to do is to be making jam and discover last year's spider.
13. Go and pick some blackberries and reuse that jam jar with the real thing.
14. Download a dinosaur here.
15. Take them out to count birds/cars/planes at the location of your choice
16. Try science experimentation from here.
17. Visit Birmingham's museums
18. Go brass rubbing in Stratford
19. Nature trail at the park
20. Fly a kite

If all else fails invite a friend around to play or visit the grandparents.  They are always a great source of free entertainment.