21 ways to entertain the kids indoors this autumn

When the wind is blowing and the rain is lashing against the window panes there's nothing cosier than snuggling up with a good book.

Visit the library and pick out a whole heap of new books and then make a cosy corner with cushions and rugs and blankets (perhaps an indoor pop up tent or blankets draped over a clothes horse?) and curl up for a good old read.

Why wait until bonfire night? Set up some bowls of water and get the kids apple bobbing?

And afterwards, chop up the apples and do some printing.

If you use orange paint (and add detail with brown paint) you can make your prints into pumpkins. Or lay out a huge sheet of old wallpaper and paint a giant tree and then print the apples on the branches.

Gather your mini chefs and cook up some tasty autumn treats.

What about gingerbread men?

Or an apple crumble?

Or some delicious butternut squash soup?

Find loads more recipe ideas here

On wet windy days dig out some old board games from the toy cupboard and sit down to a family games session.

Will the kids be able to beat the grown ups at Cluedo? Who will be able to bend the most in Twister?

You can buy the original version of Cluedo here at Amazon and Twister, too.

Doing jigsaws is a lovely way to spend the afternoon too and don't forget good old card games. Find some easy card game ideas here.

Get out the face paints and set the children the challenge of painting each others faces. They could be jungle animals, pirates, princesses...anything they like - or simply have fun creating colours and designs!

Perhaps the painted children could put on a show afterwards?

Need some face paints? Amazon has a great set, see here.

Find face painting tips on our YouTube channel

Gather a selection of autumn leaves in different shapes, colours and sizes.

Then get sticking. Glue your leaves onto large sheets of paper to make collages, wreaths or any pictures you desire.

You can also make leaf rubbings using crayons or print them using paints.

Make your own batch of pumpkin scented playdough.

Mix 1 cup of flour, half a cup of salt, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, half a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 cup of water and a few drops of red and yellow food colouring.

Mix the dry ingredients in a pan and then add the wet and stir well. Cook the mix over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until it forms a ball and then cool.

Head to the woods and gather some pine cones.

You can make these into pretty bird feeders by simply coating them in peanut butter and then rolling them in seeds.

Hang from branches or hedgerows to help feed our feathered friends.

On an autumn walk gather bark, twigs and leaves.

Then make these pretty autumn rafts from your finds.

You could set up a raft sailing competition in the bath or kitchen sink - perhaps with mini toy rafts men steering the vessels!

Gather felt in autumnal hues and draw round the children's hands. Cut out and assemble all the hand prints to make a beautiful autumnal wreath.

You could also do this with coloured card or paper.

Autumn fun outdoors

Spooky Halloween fun

Autumn walks

Feeding the birds

Harvest festivals

Rainy day ideas

A simple but pretty autumn craft.

Simply paint branches (or blow watery paint with a straw) and then stick on some colourful buttons for the leaves.

A brilliant activity for all ages.

These tiny toadstools were cut from bark and then painted.

A really lovely little make for after you come home from an autumn walk.

You could make a little fairy garden with them too!

Easy peasy but oh so cute.

Gather acorns and use a permanent marker to turn them into your own little acorn people.

You could even paint their hats if you like!

Another cute make using acorns.

Simply add googly eyes and cut a beak and wings from card or felt. Feathers look nice as wings too.

You could make your little owls a nest using raffia or shredded tissue paper.

Pine cones can be transformed into cute little people or animals with a bit of imagination.

Here we made a tiny owl, sticking on eyes and using pipe cleaners and wool as details. You can add feathers or shapes cut from felt or card and acorn cups look sweet as eyes too.

So cute and so easy.

These are made from painted champagne corks.

They would also make cute little stools for toys to sit on at a fairy tea party.

An easy peasy quick little make.

Carefully lift off the acorn cups and glue wool on the top of the acorn for hair before gluing the cup back on top.

Use Sharpies or paint to make the eyes and mouth.These would also look nice made into necklaces with leather thread.

Place a piece of paper in a tray (a baking tray will work well) and pour on blobs of paint. Then add a few conkers and roll them around and through the paint until the whole sheet is covered with marbled colours.

This is great fun for little ones and for all ages.

You also get some cool marbled conkers at the end too - see the next slide for images.

Beautiful marbled conkers from the previous conker marbling activity.

These can be varnished one they have dried and even threaded onto a leather thread to make pretty necklaces or bracelets.

How gorgeous are these tiny autumnal creatures?

Paint details on acorns and conkers using acrylics. Use a toothpick for the finer details.

A great activity for older children as it takes patience but the results are so lovely.

Younger children can paint simpler faces on theirs and perhaps add wool for hair and googly eyes.