Autumn break without screens: games, building sets, and things to do
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
Surviving a rainy holiday week without a tablet. What to get in advance for twenty minutes, two hours, and an entire afternoon — with prices included.
It's day three of the autumn break, it's been raining since breakfast, and the question "what are we going to DO?" has already been asked four times. The tablet is an easy solution and works for exactly half an hour. Then the same conversation starts all over again.
The alternative doesn't have to be a big project. What works is a small pile of things that you buy in advance and only bring out on such a day. New is more important than expensive: a game for €6.99 that nobody knows will last longer than a board game that has been in the cupboard for three years. Below is a practical list, with what you buy for what purpose.
First this: buy for time blocks, not for ages
The autumn break falls in October and varies by region, but the pattern is the same everywhere: a week with a few days when you're really stuck indoors. Don't think in terms of "what does an eight-year-old like," but in blocks:
Twenty minutes — something small you can put on the table quickly. A card game, stickers, a dice game.
An hour or two — a game with rules everyone participates in, or something to build together.
A whole afternoon — a building set or construction project that stays put and you come back to later.
If you have something from each block, you'll save a week. If you only have things from the third block, you won't start it at a busy moment.
Twenty minutes: cards, dice, and stickers
The cheapest category and often the most used. UNO Flex for 2 to 8 players costs €6.99 and works with a group of very different ages — which is exactly where family visits often get stuck.
For those who prefer something neutral: Mini Poker Playing Cards, 54 cards cost €1.95. A standard deck of cards is surprisingly versatile — Crazy Eights, Quartet-like variations, Solitaire — and fits in any jacket pocket.
If you often play with the same deck, the Automatic Card Shuffler for 1 to 2 decks (€12.95) is a small thing that children, for unclear reasons, really enjoy. It runs on batteries; see the last paragraph.
Here you want something with rules that you can explain in one minute. The 99-in-1 Game Set with dice and checkerboard (€14.95) is the classic solution: one box, many variations, and you don't have to choose what to buy every time.
If you want something that makes them get off the couch: the Basketball game for children is a table game for €9.95. The Bean Bag Toss Game (€19.95) can be used indoors and outdoors and also works with adults — handy on the day grandpa and grandma visit.
And for the day it's just dry: the Bubble Gun (Rocket Bubble Gun) costs €19.95 and the Reusable Water Balloons €16.00. Water balloons in October sounds strange, but in the garden with boots on, it's exactly the kind of nonsense that saves an afternoon.
A whole afternoon: building
Building sets are the only category where time disappears by itself, because the project remains and you continue with it the next day.
First: batteries. The number of gifts that don't work on a rainy day because there are no AAA batteries in the house is remarkably large. Card shuffler, bubble gun, many lights — all batteries. A set of Dynamic Energy AAA batteries, 16 pieces costs €5.95, or take the Panasonic AAA, 4 pieces for €9.95. Always check the toy's packaging for the type and quantity you need.
Secondly: the evening. Early darkness and later bedtime don't work well together. The Children's Night Light Projector with 15 slides (€39.95) is a larger purchase, but it transforms the bedroom into something they want to go to instead of something they want to avoid.
What you don't need to buy
Another set of colored pencils, if there are already three boxes. Something big and expensive for the last day — by then everyone is exhausted. And gifts you save "for later": during the holiday, delayed doesn't work, just give it on the day it rains.
A realistic budget for the whole week is about thirty to fifty euros, provided you spread it over the three time blocks above.
If you're looking for something for a specific age or for a group of very different ages, please email us at info@verpakkingdeals.nl. We'll then check what's in stock and what fits the amount of time you want to bridge.
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