Make the most of your summer holidays with some fun filled outdoor activities. Kids love flying kites, but making a personalized kite is even better.

You’ll need:

• Two 12” thin, bendable cane sticks
• One large colored plastic bag
• Tape
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Thread
• One roll of string
• A small wooden dowel as winder
• Marker pens (optional)

How to make it:

1. Make a cross with the cane sticks. Tie them together at the intersection using thread.
2. Place the cross on the flattened plastic bag and cut out a kite shape according to the width and length of the cross.
3. Tape the cross to the kite shaped plastic piece. Fold and tape the edges of the plastic around the kite frame.
4. Cut 4-5 ribbons from the remnants of the plastic bag.
5. To make the tail, staple the ribbons together at the bottom end of the kite.
6. Flip the kite and punch two tiny holes near the upper and bottom ends of the kite.
7. Pass one end of the string through the holes and tie a knot. Wind the other end to the dowel.

Your kite is ready. Create decorative patterns on the kite using colored marker pens.

Have Fun!

Image: dkimages.com

If cooking is your forte, hosting a barbecue can be a great way to spend your Independence Day with family and friends.

Ingredients:

• Chopped rosemary – 1 teaspoon
• Olive oil – 2 ½ teaspoons
• Vinegar – 1 table spoon
• Salt – ½ teaspoon
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 Zucchini halved lengthwise
• 1 yellow squash halved lengthwise
• 1 eggplant halved lengthwise
• 1 bell pepper cut in quarters
• 1 red onion (sliced)
• 1 large tomato halvedPinch of ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Mix rosemary, garlic, olive oil, vinegar pepper and salt in a bowl. Whisk to blend them well.
2. Cover the exposed inner surface of the vegetables with the olive oil mixture.
3. Grill the vegetables. Turn them after 5 minutes.
4. Brush the remaining oil mixture over the vegetables and grill until the vegetables become tender.
5. Remove from grill and allow to cool.
6. Garnish with tomato and onion before serving.

Image: allposters.co.uk

America has some of the best fishing hot spots in the world, instead of water parks and artificial recreational activities, take your kids fishing in Riverhead, New York this summer.

The newly refurbished township of Riverhead awaits you with great vacation houses for rent and a beautifully landscaped waterfront. There you’ll find fishing, boating and various other family fun activities in the picturesque Peconic River. Kids will enjoy participating in the Annual Riverhead Moose Fluke Fishing Tournament held in July every year. For a fun-loving family, it’s a double treat – enjoy vacation and win prizes for a day’s fishing!

Image: skiffguide.com

Baking cookies together is a great way to enjoy quality time with your family. As kids are crazy about cookies, they will readily agree with you – even if it keeps them away from the computer.

Family Fun

Here is the quickest Peanut Butter Cookie recipe we know of. For extra fun, try using animal shaped cookie cutters.
Ingredients:

• Peanut butter – 1 cup
• Sugar – ½ cup
• 1 Egg
• Baking powder – ½ teaspoon
• Flower – 1 cup
• Salt – ¼ teaspoon
• Cream and chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation:

Blend everything together to create dough. Make small rolls and place them on slightly greased baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a spatula or spoon and cut out animal shapes with readymade cookie cutters. Bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit for about 15 to 18 minutes. Let the children play with their imagination in decorating cookies with yummy creams and caramels.

Have a great time!

Image: Flickr

Outdoor activities are on the decline these days, but that’s no reason to follow the trend. Organizing family games and sports will help keep your family fit and close-knit.

One of our favorite outdoor games is tossing the Frisbee – it’s cheap, portable, and of course, fun. Make your Frisbee play family-oriented with this game:

Team Frisbee

First, divide family members into two teams. If possible ask your kids’ friends and/or neighbor’s kids to join you. Ideally, you’’ll have four players on each side (but you can always play with less).

Next, raw a court in the backyard of your house (you can use chalk, draw a line in the dirt, or just use objects as boundaries). Your court should be similar in size to a badminton court.

Line up each team inside of their own respective end zones. Flip a coin to see which team starts on offense. The goal is to throw the Frisbee into the other team’s goal without going out-of-bounds, or letting the Frisbee touch the ground. First team to reach eleven points wins.

Have Fun!