My two do scrap books of places we have been and things we have done. They collect leaflets and such like and stick them in the scrap book and sometimes write about what they have done, which they can take into school for news time.
It really depends on the age of your children. Mine loved to play board games, cards or uno (we still do this in the caravan when it's wet). Other activities are drawing or colouring - take lots of crayons or felt pens, or writing a diary and then drawing what they have done. Mine also enjoyed making kites or paper aeroplanes etc and then trying to fly them when the sun came out. Also take wellies and a mac and let them go and jump in the puddles. You can take part in most of these activities with them too - whats wrong with a grown up colouring in a picture?!
If all else fails a jolly good book usually keeps them amused for a while.
Now that they are older and because I am a wicked mum, I make mine take their homework with them to do when it is wet and we can't use the TV!!
Mine tend to take their Nintendo DS's with them. We also have a selection of board games with us. If all else fails, we use our Tesco Days Out Vouchers or National Trust card and go out for the day or part day.
Like most others we do a variety of things. We always take a selection of games with us, along with colouring books and crayons. The DSs are great for keeping the kids amused giving the grown ups some time to do what they want. We also take a portable DVD which is usually a last resort item, but sometimes just to spend some time together when it is too wet to go out, and we are fed up with other things.
I have a rule (which is usually broken by my husband!!) that the TV/video player can only be brought out of the car into the tent on the third consecutive day of rain!!!
A lot depends on the age of the kids - for toddlers we always had a special set of duplo carefully packed in a lunchbox just for holidays.
For older ones, games such as Rummikub are great becasue the playing pieces are tiles rather than card and so are not damaged by damp.
If the weather is not too cold, dress them in swimsuits and flip-flops and send them outside. (Much easier to dry skin than lots of damp clothes in a damp tent!). If they need convincing, then suggest a mud/water fight, and/or give them a bottle of shampoo to go and 'shower' in the rain! (You can always warm them up in the real showers afterwards!). Hopefully by burning off their energy outside, they won't be bouncing off the tent walls inside!!
We clothes is one of the reasons we try to go for sites with a laundrette - means I can wash wet/muddy clothes if need be. Also the reason why I bought a portable rotary clothes line.
i was a very lucky girl at christmas and i got a game of dalek shaped uno, i was so happy when i opened it as we lost our last uno pack (i think its probably in the pocket of the outwell hartford we no longer use) for me you cannot go camping and sit in the tent when its raining and play uno!!!
------------- A tent is like a newborn born baby..... to some they all look the same..... but if its yours it's beautiful.
:o) gillychick
Willows - Laceby March
Lee Valley - London May
Nanctol Wales June
Croatia September
undecided October
Elaine, I know that feeling well. Why do they always chose the minute you sit down to take "five minutes" to chose to kill each other, when they have been playing happily for hours? It is for the times when they "HATE" each other that I take their DSs - to say nothing of helping keep them entertained when I am driving.