Surviving the Summer Holidays!!!

It's been a while! Hope you are all surviving the summer holidays so far, don't know about you but we're 2 weeks in and I'm exhausted already!

We have had some good fun despite the weather and some tantrums/ arguments which are obviously inevitable.

So, for this post I thought I would share some activities we have done so far which the girls have enjoyed and some recipes that we have made together. It is hard to think of things to do to keep the kids entertained 24/7 isn't it?! Especially if you have a child/ren who cannot sit still for 2 seconds (like Phoebe). It can get a bit stressful and exhausting to keep Phoebe entertained constantly, as her ADHD means she is always on the go, she can't sit still for very long so I have to have lots of activities lined up, but not ones that take too long as she gets bored extremely quickly!

Here's a list of things that have worked so far for us:

- Hobbycraft haul: I gave the girls £10 each to spend on things in hobbycraft that they would like to do. Phoebe got through hers in a day, but she enjoyed choosing her own activities and doing them at home.

- Cinema: now this was a risk as Phoebe usually finds it hard to sit still for a film, and it was Lucy's first cinema visit! But I didn't have high expectations, I was fully prepared to leave half way through if they didn't like it, but they were both really good so that was a win! (I think the sweets and popcorn helped!)

- Crabbing: we went to Mersea for crabbing and it was great fun, and didn't cost too much either. This was a good activity as you can spend as long as you like there so as soon as they started getting bored we went for lunch. The girls really enjoyed looking at the crabs and feeding them bacon!

- Beach day: Kids love the beach don't they?! We hired out a beach hut in Walton for the day with our friends and they really enjoyed it. Just spent all day building sandcastles and paddling in the sea. We then went to the arcades for a bit after where they had loads of fun but just a warning, both my girls had meltdowns after as they didn't *win* anything, so maybe I should've warned them about this first!

- Summer reading challenge: Both girls have signed up to the summer reading challenge at our local library, this is on until the 2nd September. The challenge is to read 6 books during the summer holidays and they get a certificate and medal at the end. It is free to sign up to the library and to the challenge so a great free activity for the children during the summer.

- Baking: Of course we have done quite a lot of baking!! A great activity when the weather is rubbish like it has been recently. My girls LOVE baking but I do have to make sure the recipes are quick and easy as Phoebe loses interest if it takes too long! One day we spent the whole afternoon making an afternoon tea from scratch and it was lovely. You can find our scone and lemon drizzle loaf recipes below.

For this post I wanted to share a few recipes to give you some ideas if you get stuck for things to do in the summer holidays. They are all simple and quick, perfect for children.

It's also National Afternoon Tea Week 7th-13th August 2023 so maybe you could use our recipes below to make your own afternoon tea! We did this together and it was great fun, we made the scones and lemon drizzle loaf from scratch, Phoebe helped make the sandwiches and we bought some macarons (I do not have the time or patience to make these from scratch) but you can obviously put whatever you like on your afternoon tea! We set our table up all fancy with lovely cake stands and it was just a really great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

We hope you enjoy these recipes!

3 Ingredient Lemonade Scones

Ingredients

175ml full sugar lemonade (any brand will work)

175ml double cream

400g self raising flour (plus extra for rolling out the dough)

Makes 10-12 scones

Equipment needed- measuring jug, kitchen scales, large mixing bowl, two baking trays, 6cm cookie cutter, wooden spoon,

Method-

1) Pre-heat oven at 220C/ 200C fan/ Gas mark 7. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2) In a large mixing bowl put the flour in first, then the lemonade and double cream. Mix gently until a dough comes together.

3) Tip dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press it down until 2cm thick, you do not need to use a rolling pin.

4) Using a 6cm cutter gently cut out the scones from the dough, avoid twisting the cutter. Dipping the cutter into flour will stop it sticking. Cut out 10-12 scones and place on the baking trays. You may need to roll out the leftover dough but ensure to do this carefully. You don't w

ant to handle the dough too much.

5) Bake for 12-15 minutes until they are risen and lightly golden in colour. Transfer to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before eating. Serve with clotted cream and jam!!

Lemon Drizzle Loaf

Ingredients

170g caster sugar

170g butter

170g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

Zest of two lemons

Juice of two lemons

50g granulated sugar

Makes 10 slices

Equipment needed- Loaf tin, mixing bowl and hand held electric whisk or stand mixer, cheese grater, kitchen scales

Method

1) Pre-heat oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas mark 4, line loaf tin with baking paper.

2) Mix the caster sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the flour, eggs, baking powder and zest of two lemons and mix until combined.

3) Spoon mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through. A skewer or knife should come out clean.

4) Mix the granulated sugar and lemon juice together. Whilst the cake is still warm use a knife or skewer to poke holes in the cake, then drizzle over the sugar and lemon juice mixture. Leave to cool fully before taking out of the loaf tin and cutting into slices.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

120g butter, softened

75g light brown sugar

75g golden caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

180g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

Makes 10 cookies

Equipment needed- two baking trays, kitchen scales, large mixing bowl and hand held electric whisk or stand mixer, spoons.

Method

1) Pre-heat oven at 180C/ 160C fan/ gas mark 4. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2) Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix together to make a cookie dough.

3) Scoop 10 large tbsp of cookie dough onto the baking trays, making sure to leave enough space between them for spreading. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking trays for a few minutes then eat warm or leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

We hope you get a chance to make at least one of our recipes! If you do, please let us know how you get on and send us some pics! Would love to see.

And if you have any suggestions for keeping the kids entertained please share as we are always on the look out for new activities.

Down the Cake Hole updates:

Availability - Fully booked now until 19th September 2023. Please send enquiries via the website or to my email address downthecakehole@outlook.com

Date for your diary- Monday 21st August 2023- I'll be at the Little City summer special sessions in Marks Tey selling my cakes and bakes! Pre-book tickets via Little City website.

Half Marathon fundraising- I will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October to raise money for Panathlon Challenge. Panathlon is an organisation that runs sporting events for children with disabilities. I have already run a very successful cake raffle and will be running some more in the near future so keep an eye on my socials!!

Thank you for reading our blog!! We hope you have enjoyed this post!

Maxine, Phoebe & Lucy xxx