The useless mum's summer survival kit (AKA how to get through the school holidays with your sanity intact!)

As the school summer holidays get underway, mums across the land fall into two distinct camps: the ones that embrace the endless weeks of carefree time with their children, with no alarm calls, fraught school runs or homework deadlines.

And then there are those who dread the extended break, wondering how on earth they'll occupy their kids for weeks on end, their ears echoing to the sound of 'I'm BORED'.

Whether you're a full-time mum or you juggle raising a family with work commitments, it can be a shock to the system to have your brood off school for the entire summer, so check out our handy hacks for keeping them entertained without spending a fortune. 

Get dirty

Let your children get dirty - just make sure you've got a hose ready for afterwards!

Seriously. Give them free rein to build mud castles, or use poster paint in the garden to make a huge piece of art on a paper tablecloth: spray paint using straws or use their hands and feet to make marks. Encourage them to really get filthy and immerse themselves. Just be ready with the hose and a towel at the end of it.

Make a movie

Even the smallest children can make a movie with a bit of help these days. Grab a smartphone or tablet and use a simple stop-motion animation app to make a short film using plastic figures or toys. Older children can be tasked with creating a storyboard, writing a script and making props, or even using animation to – you'll be amazed how intuitively they use new software or apps. To motivate them, why not give them a title or theme? It could be an ongoing project over the holidays or a one day challenge.

Put on a fashion show

Kids love dressing up, so ask yours to stage a fashion show - it'll keep them busy for hours!

Give the kids – boys and girls - access to the whole family's wardrobes and ask them to stage a fashion show, styling outfits and sorting the soundtrack and choreography. Perhaps you have a dressing up or craft box they can use to make accessories? They can mix and match garments, and can knot them or layer them, but no cutting, sewing or other customizing! 

Make a scarecrow

Challenge your children to make a scarecrow. Give them a pile of junk and some old clothes and leave them to it. If you're near the beach, get them to make a summer snowman in the sand. 

Summer holiday fun.... but the long school holidays can be tricky unless you're ready for them!

Create a holiday memory book

Children of all ages can be encouraged to make a scrapbook documenting their holidays. From saving museum ticket stubs to making collages from booklets and pressing flowers or leaves, there are loads of ways to record their activities - and they can take it back to school in September to talk about what they've been up to.

Do a scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunts can be a great way to get the kids outside - and you can always theme them or perhaps include a couple of sweets to be found along the way! 

Hunts can be taken outdoors or kept inside on rainy days, and can be made age-appropriate. Make a list of things the children - in groups or individually - need to find: it could be that they have to find items in a range of specific colours, and collect them, tick them off a list or photograph them.

Water works

Smaller children don't need much more than a washing up bowl or paddling pool filled with water, plus a few plastic vessels for filling and pouring, and they'll stay entertained for hours. Add a sprinkler, some water pistols and some water balloons, and even older children will be happy.

Make a den

Everyone remembers how fun making a den was as a child - and while a simple concept, it's still a great way to keep the little ones entertained on a rainy day 

Use a clothes line or salvage some boxes to create the basic structure of a den, adding a blanket or sheet to make the 'walls'. Or let them play under the garden table or climbing frame with a huge sheet to make it more den-like. 

The kite challenge

See if older children can make a kite that will fly, or buy a cheap kite (find them online or in local toy shops and bookshops) and get them to make a colourful tail using tissue paper, crepe paper, scraps of fabric and more. They could even decorate the kite using stickers and scraps.

Make a souvenir t shirt

Buy cheap, plain t shirts and fabric paints and get your kids to make a holiday t shirt: remember to slip a piece of cardboard inside so the design doesn't seep through to the back. Younger children could colour in an outline you've drawn on with permanent marker, and older kids can create their own design. Make it an annual family tradition, and don't forget to photograph them in their finished designs.

Make them rock stars

Unleash their inner star (and help them burn off some energy!) by encouraging them to form a band. Just be aware you may have to sit through a few 'performances' and show your appreciation for their talent! 

Use MP3 players and whatever you have around the house, from xylophones to saucepans and spoons to make music. Write some lyrics, raid the family's wardrobes and put on a performance at the end of the day (and don't forget to video it, ready to embarrass them in later life!).

10 SUPER easy things to cook with your kids (and some of them are healthy!)

Banana flapjack fridge bake

Whizz two large or three medium bananas in a food processor with a teaspoon of honey and some finely chopped dried apricots (or cranberries, raisins, or sultanas). Stir in a cereal bowl full of large porridge oats by hand so they don't break down, then press the mixture into a lined shallow Swiss roll tin and leave in the fridge to set. Score, slice and serve.

Make smoothies

Encourage children to eat fruit by letting them make their own smoothies, using some Greek yoghurt or apple juice with their favourite berries and chopped fruits in a blender.

Or why not try making fruit lollies?

Fruit lollies are a great - and easy - activity to do with the kids, and are a healthy treat for them on hotter days 

M&S has a beautiful and deliciously different range of ice lollies this summer, with Dragon Fruit & Watermelon (perfect for kids!) and Colombian Iced Coffee (yummy for the adults!) flavours, £3 for four lollies

Kids will love to share this drink, made and served in its own natural cup. Slice the top off a NEW Baby watermelon, £3. Push a stick blender into the watermelon flesh and blitz until smooth. Filter out the seeds if you like, then mix with lemonade to taste

Pour your homemade smoothie mix into a lolly mould with some sliced strawberry or kiwi fruit and some raspberries, add a stick and freeze for a few hours. Et voila! Delicious homemade fruit lollies.

Let them make their own picnic

Even if it's a miserable day, they can have an indoor 'carpet picnic'. Spread the table with a variety of sweet and savoury foods and encourage the children to use their imagination and make their own picnic. Whatever you do, don't interfere.

Give them cookie cutters to make shapes from slices of bread, and let them put whatever combinations of sandwich filling they like. So what if they want chocolate spread, cucumber and cheese, or they want to top an M&S Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookie (£2 for 225g)with jam and popcorn?

Whether inside or out, a picnic full of tasty goodies is a great way to keep the kids (and grown-ups!) happy 

Pack a perfect picnic

If you're juggling over the summer and want a perfect picnic with minimal effort, then head to M&S Food, where there's a huge range of products to take the stress out of preparing the perfect picnic!

Barbara Ross, M&S deli product developer, says: 'When you're preparing for a picnic or entertaining friends it's all about the ease of preparation. 

'Our delicious deli collection takes inspiration from traditional recipes found on street foods stalls across America and is a real adventure for your taste buds. Most of the range can be eaten hot or cold and is easily shared, so there's very little for you do when creating the ultimate summer picnic for the whole family.'

Pack a ready-made selection of empanadas, tacos, kebabs and pasties for a perfect, portable picnic with maximum taste and minimum effort!

These delicious Carnival Fire Crackers from M&S (£2 for 200g) are a sweet, spicy treat

Let the children can make their own pizza toppings - allow them to get inventive too, even if the results do look a little odd.  They'll still taste absolutely delicious, and your children will be so proud of them! 

Themed lunches or suppers

Escape to foreign climes by giving kids the taste of more exotic lands, introducing them to new flavours and encouraging them to dress up and listen to local music for a fun meal. Invite friends round and get them to bring a dish or stock up on easy-to-serve snacks and sweet treats from M&S. 

From Creole Spiced Bean & Rice Corn Chips (£1.50 for 100g) and Jamaican Jerk Beef Patties (£2.80 for 62g) to Carnival Fire Crackers (£2 for 200g), and Coconut & Lime Rum (£14 for 50cl) for the grown-ups, M&S has everything you need to enjoy a Carnival-themed feast.

Homemade pizzas

Make a simple pizza dough base, then the children can make their own toppings. Use a little mozzarella or try grating M&S Hickory Red 'Red Leicester' cheese (£2.50 for 150g), then add some tomato passata and whatever takes their fancy.

For added flavour, why not heat up some of M&S' delicious Spirit of Summer marinaded skewers (you can also serve them cold) – try Caribbean Style Chilli Ham and Pineapple (£2.80 for 100g), Smokey Barbecue Chicken and Smoked Ham (£2.80 for 100g) or Sweet & Sticky Fruity BBQ Chicken Lollipops (£4.50 for 450g), then add the flavoursome meat to your pizzas?

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT - Coconut Chilli Mini Chicken Fillets,£2.50 (120g); Broccoli, Cauliflower, Black Bean and Pea Shoot Salad, £2 (158g); Spicy Malagueta Chilli Dip, £1.50 (170g); Peruvian-style Chicken Kebabs, £1.50 (250g); Rice, Black Beans and Feta Salad, £2 (170g); Serrano Ham and Manchego Rollitos, £3(110g); Chorizo and Diablo Cheddar Rollitos, £3 (110g); Cooling Mint Yogurt Dip, £1.50 (170g); Handcrafted Sweetcorn Empanadas, £2.80 (120g); Handcrafted Jamaican Jerk Beef Patties, £2.80 (80g); Handcrafted Duck Tacos, £2.80 (66g) and Hot Jamaican Boneless Chicken Thighs, £4.50 

Make meatballs

Get your kids making homemade meatballs with some lamb mince, herbs, chopped onion and garlic. They will love squidging the ingredients together into balls, then you can cook them up with tomato sauce and spaghetti for supper.  Meanwhile you might like to heat up a few M&S Peruvian Chicken Kebabs (£4.50 for 250g) to add a delicious new taste for dinner!

Decorate biscuits

Make simple butter biscuits, and put edible decorations in small bowls for children to use as decoration. Use icing to stick them down, and encourage them to be creative by making faces.

Decorating biscuits is great fun, challenges their artistic side, AND ends in yumminess - a win for everyone! 

If the prospect of the school holidays is weighing heavy upon you, we suggest you pour yourself a glass of something lovely and nibble on some of these Manchego & Jalapeno Hand-cooked Crisps (£2 for 150g, M&S, pictured bottom right). Or why not try the Creole Spiced Bean & Rice Corn Chips £15.0/150g, or the Monterey Jack Refried Bean Corn Chips £1.50/150g. Get saucy with M&S's 3 Salsa Selection (£2.50/210g)

Get crafty

Use potatoes (cut in half then cut designs in the flesh) and other fruit and veg to make interesting stamps to paint and print patterns with. Slice a small cabbage, peppers, a lemon or celery and dip them in paint to make fun shapes. 

Take them to the market to choose interesting varieties of veg and experiment for different results. Try artichokes, okra, chicory or maybe even dip corn on the cob in paint and use as a roller for an all-over design!  The mess may stress you out, but pour yourself a glass of wine and relax in the knowledge that your children are having fun and all too soon it'll be time to dig out the school uniform again...

Have a happy - and sunny - summer holidays!