Summer holidays are here, not that we up North would know. Not only is this part of the country plagued with constant down pour of rain it also appears that we have a hose pipe ban inflicted upon us. Being that the weather is not that great, this being a severe understatement, we are left with time in doors to figure out what activities can be practised as the weather will not allow for any outdoor adventures to take place.
In order to keep a smile on our little one’s faces, there’s nothing better than getting mucky, although the alternative to open the door and let them run wild in the rain and mud is fun thought this alternative means you have to get cold and wet too, this is not a good solution! Watching films with a huge bowl of popcorn sounds cosy but best left for an early evening activity. Putting them in front of computer games is not a mind healthy prospect but how about doing something that’s messy and yummy?
Wow what a great idea, pop down to the local supermarket and they have stocks of cake decorations and things to mix to make their own handmade chocolates. Or even to the nearest craft shops, or shop online and get ideas for making your own chocolates. There are many pretty little tin cases for which to place the chocolates in while cooling. Recipes are readily available online. If you really want to make most of the weather you can create another activity of popping down to the local library to search and select books for pictures and recipes. A dry, fun and fulfilling activity!
Once you have all the glitter and hundreds and thousands and chocolate strands and cases and most importantly chocolate, you can now start your handmade chocolate creations. You may want to set further tasks such as creating chocolate boxes, again instructions can be found online or even at your local library, a good way to recycle boxes and get the paints and glitter out, more mess making fun!
Craft shops offer other ideas to awaken your imagination, lots of pretty things to make your chocolates really stand out, go and view their ranges and other chocolate makers for inspiration. You can be even more adventurous and really do the research into what the professional chocolate makers use, but do be warned this will take you down the path of complexity and hundreds of chocolate varieties that you never thought existed. From certain measures of certain products such as cocoa powder, the type of cocoa powder and even the bean origins itself!
Don’t be surprised if at first they don’t taste great, that’s part of the fun, making mistakes and trying again. Making your own creations, making a mess! Make a note of the ones that taste good and take photo’s to remind yourselves of the occasion, that on a wet windy day in Summer, you and your children had fun creating handmade chocolate winners and disasters!
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