13 Mar, 2009
March Break activities for kids in Ottawa
Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Ottawa for kids|Easy ways to make kids happy
I had a very nice chat with a CBC radio producer yesterday about fun, family-friendly March Break activities for Ottawa children. I gave her all ideas I had (many of which were from a recent Savvy Mom article) and she invited me to come to the studio to talk about it Monday afternoon on All in a Day. I am thrilled about this (not just because I’m a big fan of Adrian Harewood), but because I think that there is a huge shortage of good resources for Ottawa-area families and I’m glad CBC is reaching out to the idea-starved among us. :)
I think it’s really easy for parents to burn out over March Break. The trick to surviving it with our sanity intact is to find a good balance of activities – big and small, home and away, free and not-so-free – but not overdo it so we’re feeling wrung out by the end of the week.
As we all know, if mummy’s not happy, NO ONE IS HAPPY. :)
I do like planning a little something every day. Some idea of things we might do:
- Visit daddy at work and take him out to lunch
- Design some invites, bake some cupcakes, and host a tea party with neighboring children
- Invite a little friend over for make-your-own-pizza and a movie
- Host a sleepover party without the actual sleeping. (Canadian Family mag called it a “Sleepunder party” … love that term for it!) Invite kids to come over in their jammies (with teddy bears of course) eat popcorn and watch a movie, then send them home.
- Take in a movie at Rainbow Cinema
- Baking and crafting … OF COURSE (this will be a whole separate post)
- Road trip … where, I don’t know yet. (ETA: maybe the sugarbush? We went to Fulton’s last year and it was a pretty goo.)
I would love to hear your thoughts about what you’re planning for March Break 2009 (or Spring Break as some call it). Are you like many working parents and sending your kids to camp for the week? Are you forgoing a holiday because of the economy? Do you do the museums or avoid them completely during this time of year? Are you an over-planner or under-planner? (i.e. do you find yourself scheduling every minute of every day or are you the type who chills at home?
Is it March Break for you, or March Breakdown? ;)
Anyway, I’m at the point where I have enough ideas to bring to the table, but if you have a stand-out idea that other Ottawa parents would appreciate … please share! (And I can try and give a shout out on the radio too!) Thank you!
