With holidays abroad having been so disrupted throughout 2020 and 2021, it’ll come as no surprise to learn that there has been a huge uptake in ‘staycations' and ‘holistays’ around the UK.

Seeing as the Great British weather is also so consistently inconsistent, it’ll also come as no surprise to learn that campervanning and motorhoming holidays have seen a huge boom too. 

What could be better than packing you, your family, and everything you need for a great adventure into the van and hitting the road in search of fresh air and freedom, sounds idyllic right?

Well, you’re not wrong. But let’s face it, no matter how exciting the adventure, or how sweet the taste of freedom is for your family, there’s bound to still be times on your trip when the kids are demanding a little more entertainment than simply being let loose in the Great British outdoors.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with the folks over at Learning Resources to provide you with some excellent ideas for pre-planned activities that you can incorporate into your trip, to ensure you and your family have a staycation packed full of fun and adventure.

One of the best things about a campervanning or motorhome staycation is the time you and your kids can spend with nature.

Download our bird spotting activity sheet to get the children to connect with and appreciate the local birds around your holiday spot.

Help develop your kid’s observational skills by seeing how many birds they can tick off the sheet and indulge their creative side by encouraging them to draw, describe and even create collage pictures of all the birds they’ve managed to spot.

Insects are such an important part of our natural environment and creepy crawlies pretty much come with the territory when campervanning. Engage the inquisitive minds of your little ones by getting them exploring outside and hunting down as many bugs as they can.

Our bug hunting sheet has plenty of space for the kids to keep track of what they’ve found on their creepy-crawly expedition.

Whether you’re staycationing near to home or a little further afield, a nature walk is not only a great opportunity to get the kids out in the fresh air and stretching their legs, it can also be engaging for their minds too.

Try taking our scavenger hunt checklist with you for 50 things that youngsters can find and tick off whilst you’re out enjoying nature.

Whether you’re in the forest or a field, get the kids to come up with their very own sports events or Olympic games to compete in.

Use the scavenger hunt as an opportunity to collect items you might need for the event such as pine cones for throwing, sticks for starting lines or relay races and perhaps even feathers, leaves or shells for creating medals for the winners too.

Read the guide, camping outdoors with kids, on the Learning Resources website for inspiration on other games you can incorporate into your event.

Whether you’re in need of a rainy day activity to keep the children entertained, or just fancy something that has a gentler pace whilst you’re enjoying family time, we’ve listed some creative and crafty activities to help keep their minds occupied, and their hands busy.

Download our handy colouring-in sheets and make sure to bring the stash of colouring pencils with you on your trip so that you’ve got a creative activity ready and waiting for you when boredom (inevitably) strikes.

You could even get the kids to draw their favourite memories from the trip as keepsakes or get them to design handmade postcards to send to family and friends.

Imagination is the only limitation when it comes to crafting things out of paper and card. You could get the kids to create paper chains, paper bunting or other decorations for the motorhome. 

Or, if you’d prefer an activity that doesn’t involve quite so much cutting and sticking, origami can be a great choice too. There are loads of online tutorials to help you craft any number of things. If you don’t want to rely on devices and an internet connection, you could choose some simple and easy instructions for making origami with children ahead of your trip so that you’ve got them prepared for when you need them.

The kids could make a zoo of their favourite animals, craft origami versions of creatures they’ve seen out on your nature walks, or even make paper aeroplanes or boats for having a race with!

Encourage the kids to find smooth and relatively flat rocks on your scavenger hunt and you’ve got the perfect medium for your next crafting activity. 

There are all sorts of ways that children can choose to decorate their stone collections. Water-based paints and glues are going to be a less permanent, easier to clean up option if you want to let the rocks return to their natural form after the crafting is done. 

Acrylic paint, on the other hand, will mean that the children’s designs will last much longer – just don’t forget to bring plenty of newspaper and/or protective sheeting if you don’t want the campervan to be redecorated too, alternatively, you could always get them painting outside if it’s a nice day.

We hope that you’ve found plenty of inspiration for keeping your children entertained on your family staycation but if you’re still in planning mode for your trip, we can help there too!

Whether you’re still deciding on which is the best motorhome for your family or which routes you can explore in the UK with your campervan, we’ve got guides to help you decide. 

Learning Resources has even got tips for entertaining the kids whilst you’re on the road and, of course, we’ve got campervan insurance or motorhome insurance to keep you covered on your 'holistay'.