You stay at home with your children - we bring the forest to you!

March 24, 2020

No school, no kindergarten, no meeting friends, not even outdoors or in the forest. Keeping children occupied during this time turns out to be a real challenge. We at NIKIN have an alternative for all children and parents who stay at home: We bring the forest to your home.

While there are parents who currently have time for their children all day, others are faced with the challenge of continuing to take care of the daily work routine in the home office and looking after the children at the same time. And they have to do this without losing their nerve. It is not uncommon for everyday life to turn upside down for one family or another. Especially now that children have to do without meeting friends outside, a wealth of ideas is needed in the childcare programme. We have put together some alternatives for all parents and children that can also be done at home and are fun.

Competition: Show us your most beautiful forest

Colouring templates

Download templates now

One of the best things about being a child is discovering the world with friends, going into the forest and looking for little treasures. So that your children don't have to miss out on the forest completely during this time, we simply bring the forest to your home without further ado. We have pre-drawn three tree-like templates so that your children can colour and decorate them to their heart's content - complete with animals, flowers and even tree planters. The best thing about it: We'll be looking for the most beautiful forest and will be giving away 3 x a Treeanie Kids of your choice as well as a 50 euro voucher among all the entries.

And this is how it works:

Print out the template you want and let your children colour in the drawing
Take a photo of the drawing
Post the photo of the drawing on Instagram or make an Instagram Story
Tag @nikinclothing on the post
If you don't have Instagram, just send the photos of the coloured drawings to: sven@nikin.ch
All participants between 1 - 10 years old may take part
Closing date is 29 April 2020
The three winners will each receive a Treeanie Kids of their choice and a 50 euro voucher.

Ladder game

Download ladder game A4 or Download ladder game A3

Is there anything better than organising cosy game evenings together? If you are isolated as a family, you can try our fun forest ladder game. All you need is our printed template, a dice, game pieces (you can also use stones, buttons or colourful M&Ms) and you're ready to go. If you win, you can decide what you want to do next on the list of ideas.

Organise a fashion show and sort out

Getting rid of old things has never been so good as in spring. Just in time for the first warm days, the annual urge to spring clean comes to the fore for many people. This also includes clearing out the wardrobe. Use this time to combine sorting out with a fashion show - the crazier the combination of clothes, the better. In the end, saying goodbye to the old jumper or the torn jeans will definitely go better.

And for those who find it difficult to part with clothes they love but have already worn out, sorting boxes can help. Set up three large boxes and separate clothes that you want to keep, clothes that belong in the trash and clothes that will be donated.

Craft presents and paint for the grandparents

Just as for children and parents, all grandparents are also faced with great challenges: For the time being, they are not allowed to have any contact with the grandchildren. However, they would certainly appreciate some attention from the family. Let the children make or draw something for them - for example, with one of our colouring templates. These can easily be sent by post and are a small gift as a reminder for all those elderly people who feel lonely at the moment due to their limited mobility and miss their families.

Grandparents who own smartphones that can play videos will certainly also be happy about a rehearsed play that the grandchildren perform and film for them. This way, grandparents can also take part in the family fun - even if only digitally at the moment.

Cooking and baking together

Structure is especially important - not only for parents who have to follow their jobs at home and manage their tight schedules. Children also benefit from knowing that even without school or kindergarten, there are things that need to be managed. To ensure that at least the cooking runs smoothly and there are no disagreements about what to have for lunch, you can make a weekly cooking plan with your children. Write down who is responsible for what and when. For example, while smaller children can take care of setting out the cutlery, older children can take care of whole menus. This way, everyone knows what their task is, which makes the whole cooking process faster in the end.

Another way to share the kitchen as a family is to bake biscuits or other treats. After all, it's not only fun during the Christmas season. Try out new delicious recipes together and then eat them together at a movie night.

Building huts and adventure corners

Who actually said that you have to go outside to camp? There are no limits to creativity, because with a few cloths, blankets, cardboard boxes, umbrellas and a lot of imagination, the children's room can be transformed in no time at all into a lovely hut landscape that invites them to play, a campsite for home or a hideout that only allows the youngest members of the family access. What is taken into the hiding place is up to the children: Books, games, dolls, stuffed animals or even homemade biscuits.

Sow seeds and watch the plants grow

If you have a garden or a balcony, you can use the sunny spring days to remove the winter's dirt and plant the first seeds in pots. These can also be decorated with colours and labelled so that you can keep track of the plants while observing them. In any case, gardening can be done much better and faster as a family than alone. Removing weeds, cleaning garden furniture, mowing the lawn, collecting beautiful stones, arranging pots and getting everything in shape - by working together as a family, there is more time to enjoy the spring sunshine afterwards.