​Budget-friendly spring fun for all the family

It's a great time of year to enjoy fun family activities, but traditional days out can be expensive, especially once you throw in the cost of fuel, tickets and refreshments! So with prices everywhere still rocketing, why not enjoy quality time together closer to home and do more crafty items together? Kids love being creative and spending time with their parents, so you may not need anything more than a few basics to have plenty of fun together and make lovely new memories in the process.

Here are some of our favourite budget friendly family fun activities to enjoy together.

1. Paint colourful glass bottles

Make your own suncatchers by painting glass bottles in colourful patterns, and then line them up on a bright windowsill to catch the morning rays. You can fill them with fresh blooms from the garden, too, to create a beautiful display.

2. Paint characters onto jars

Simple jam jars are perfect for painting and decorating with felt, cardboard, cotton and stickers to make seasonal characters and decorative items that you can fill with battery-operated tealights for a pretty table display.

3. Make jam together

Line up those glass jars, grab some soft fruit and sugar, find a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and have a go at making some delicious jam or chutney. Jam making is a great family activity because it also makes memories together and creates special traditions that continue within families. There are also plenty of recipes to suit all types of fruit and experience levels, and if you prefer savoury produce, or have a vegetable glut, you can use similar processes to make chutneys. Find some great recipes for beginners here: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/jam-recipes

4. Create sand art

Coloured sand, layered in glass bottles, makes a pretty and fun decoration for your house. You can use the same approach to make coloured bath salts, too, using food-grade dyes and essential oils to layer up rainbow-coloured Epsom salts for the bath. These make a great gift as well and you can display a glass bottle collection filled with different coloured salts to make your bathroom look like a mini spa.

5. Make eco friendly face wipes

Older children might enjoy making eco friendly bathroom products that cut down on waste. One good example is to make reusable face wipes that sit in a glass jar filled with eco-friendly face or hand wash. You can make this using distilled water, Castille soap, oil and witch hazel. These wipes are kind to the environment because they use no chemicals and can simply be washed and reused in a new batch of the solution as needed. Find a ready how-to guide here: https://livesimply.me/diy-homemade-reusable-facial-cleansing-wipes/.

6. Experiment with overnight recipes

Wide-rimmed glass jars are perfect for making overnight oats, and these can be a fun way to get kids more involved in the kitchen and interested in food. Encourage them to make their own breakfast creations for the following morning by layering up grains, sliced fruits, nuts and Greek yoghurt and then place them in the fridge overnight for a delicious and healthy breakfast.

7. Make a terrarium

A large confectionary-style glass jar can be a great starting point for making your own terrarium. Simply layer up gravel, moss and a little compost and then add your own miniature plants, succulents, twigs and other nature favourites. You can buy these items or simply make your own with interesting things that you find in the garden. Find inspiration here: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/how-to-make-terrarium

8. Gift rainbow cookies in a jar

Why not treat friends and loved ones to their own 'make your own cookie' mix in a jar, using colourful Smarties for a rainbow batch of cookies. You simply layer the dry ingredients into your jar, screw on the lid and add instructions for the wet ingredients to add, and the cooking instructions. These make a cute gift at any time of year and they're fun and easy to put together.

9. Time capsule

Why not use a glass jar to make your own time capsule? Fill it with cute trinkets, memories and a note and hide it somewhere for another person to find in the years to come!

10. A bird feeder

With a bit of woodworking know-how and an adult who can wield the appropriate DIY tools, it's also possible to turn a glass bottle into a bird feeder. Here's a great guide to making your own: https://howtospecialist.com/outdoor/how-to-make-a-bird-feeder-with-a-glass-bottle/

Glass jars and glass bottles (https://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/search.php?search_query=500ml%20milk%C2%A7ion%3Dproduct§ion=product) are definitely handy essentials when it comes to thinking up cheap activities for all the family this spring and summer. How will you use yours? Please do send your pictures and projects with our team as we love to share them with our community and pass on inspiration and ideas!

Remember to check out our ever-expanding range of glass bottles, Mason Cash mixing bowls (https://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/the-kitchen/mason-cash-ranges/mason-cash-mixing-bowls/) and jars too as we have such a huge selection, together with accessories and other fantastic pieces for spring and summer crafts!