It seems like no time at all since we were paying for a new school uniform and arguing over whether trainers or Ugg boots are really appropriate footwear for school, yet it's half-term already.
This brings the problem of how to keep children occupied, with one eye fixed on the family budget as the credit crunch starts to bite. Sandra Dick looks at some inexpensive, fun-filled options.
MIND OVER MATTER • Feed thei
r minds at the National Museum of Scotland, where the October holidays are stuffed with cheap and cheerful activities.
Check out daily Super Science Events involving everything from live animal encounters to explosive scientific experiments.
Creative kids can explore their artistic side tomorrow when Big Top Glasgow rolls up to help youngsters make their own masks and puppets. On Sunday it's the turn of Alba Puppet Show to bring a child-friendly twist to traditional Scottish tales.
Drop in on Monday and Friday for Storybook Adventures, a craft session using a selection of scrap materials and clever folding to create a 3D storybook, and from Tuesday to Thursday they can help mark 500 years of printing in Scotland by making postcards.
Meet a steam-engine driver and learn about life for an Edinburgh doctor in the 1800s at A Slice of Life, taking place at various times in the week.
Round off the holidays with the museum's Roman Invasion Weekend next Saturday and Sunday (October 25-26) when youngsters can join in on a craft workshop. Check National Museum for times and booking details on 0131-225 7534 and at www.nms.ac.uk
• Head out of town for the National Museum of Flight on Sunday for the popular Scrapheap Challenge. Rummage through scrap materials and build something that flies. Call 01620 897 240 for details.
• Keep looking to the skies at the City Art Centre in Market Street where Space Age: Exploration, Design and Popular Culture explores our fascination with space and its impact on all our lives. Child-friendly and fun. Call 0131-529 3993 for info.
• You can't get any cheaper than free – Edinburgh Castle, Craigmillar Castle and Tantallon Castle are among the Historic Scotland venues that scrap their children's charges throughout October.
GO BACK TO NATURE• As autumn leaves fall, head to the Royal Botanic Garden for a string of events that make most of the estate's bountiful collection of multi-coloured leaves.
Join the rangers tomorrow when, using autumn colours and leaves, youngsters can help to make the giant Autumn Collage full of animals, plants and . . well, anything really.
Head back on Sunday for a free hour of fascinating tales of trees and travellers at the Talking Trees Storytelling Event at the Forest Room, or join them on Wednesday and put those dead leaves to use at the free Autumnal Arts session from 1-3pm.
• Don't forget Lauriston Castle – join the ranger for an autumnal adventure around the grounds climaxing with an art session on Tuesday from 10.30am. Costs £4, for children five and up.
• Head for the Pentland Hills on Thursday join the Rangers for a Drop-In Activity Afternoon seeing the woodland animals. This event is free, call 0131 445 3383 for details.
TELL THEM A STORY• Check out the Scottish Storytelling Centre in the High Street, for child-friendly events kicking off with the Big Draw: North, tomorrow – it's a Storylab event combining tales with arts and drawing. From 1pm to 4pm, free.
• Drag the kids away from the computer games and let them try their own hand at making one at the Gamemaker Workshop. There, budding game creators can explore their skills, storymaking, scriptwriting and computer programming with help from the experts. The event runs from Monday to Thursday and costs £35. Suitable for 12 years and up.
On Tuesday, it'll be pirate hats ahoy when storyteller Robert Howat will be on hand to tells his tale of Peach and the Pirates. Costs £6, family ticket £15. Age six years and up.
Finally, join an afternoon of Storytelling and Making on Friday from 2.30-4pm, and hear tales and find out how to make up your own. It's a free drop-in event for ages six and up. Contact the Storytelling Centre on 0131-556 5979.
GET CRAFTY• Let them explore their artistic side and learn traditional crafts like paper flowera, papel picado and papier mache at Out of the Blue arts centre in Dalmeny Street's Mexican Crafts Week from Monday to Friday. The creations will be used to create a Day of the Dead altar installation. Costs £25 for five half-day sessions for children aged over seven. Contact 0131-558 8844.
• Get spooked at Lauriston Castle on Monday at their Spooky Haunted Castles event. Make a model room in a box frame based on the castle's interiors, add spooks and glow in the dark paint for a Hallowe'en creation. Costs £4, age six and up. Head back on Friday for A Feast for Wrens and Robins, an activity session where you can make a beautiful bird feeder for your garden from recycled materials from the estate gardens. From 10-noon and 1pm-3pm, £4. Contact Lauriston Castle, call 0131-529 3962
• Get them drawing as part of the Big Draw, the ninth annual celebration of drawing that runs throughout October. Events are planned at various locations – head for the Talbot Rice Gallery at South Bridge next Saturday (25th) to take part in a free day long event for all ages uses magnifying glasses and periscopes.
• Take a trip to the National Trust's Georgian House at Charlotte Square (0131-225 2160) throughout the school holiday week and contribute your own work of art under the Big Draw banner.
• The Big Draw is also behind The Black Forest at the Grassmarket every Sunday until the end of the month. All ages can take part – a dart is thrown at a map, the dots are joined and a group is led by an artist to the spot, drawing what's found in between. It takes place at the Owl & Lion, 15 Grassmarket. Contact 0131-229 0990 for details.
• Fountainbridge and Ratho Libraries are both running Inky Fingers events on Tuesday – Oxgangs and Craigmillar on Thursday. It's a chance for over-sevens to celebrate 500 years of printing in Scotland by trying their hand at printing. Friday is Family Printing Day at the Central Library. Contact 0131-242 8040 or 0131-242 8000 for details.
IT'S SHOWTIME• All mischievous boys and girls will be found at the King's Theatre from Wednesday until Saturday when anti-hero Horrid Henry will be creating havoc. Tickets cost £14/£10 from the box office.
• Every child loves Mary Poppins, which is currently running at the Playhouse, right through until the beginning of December. Tickets cost £14.50-£42.50.
• Few parents can have escaped the madness of High School Musical. If you can't fight them, join them at cinemas across the city, where the hottest teens' movie of the year kicks off on Wednesday.
• If they want to become more hands-on, try the Filmhouse in Lothian Road. Peephole Pop-ups on Monday is for ten to 13 year olds (£20), and uses film clips to create a scene or stage set within a box.Head back on Wednesday for You Are the Character in Life's Motion Picture, a workshop for 12 to 15-year-olds aimed at giving them the chance to create the basics of a movie (£20).
Try the Superhero Workshop on Friday for five to eight year olds (£15), using recycled materials to create a cityscape.
Finally, return on Sunday with nine to 12 year olds for a Storylab event inspired by Legends and Life of the Inuit (£10). For details of all Filmhouse events and bookings, call 0131-228 2688.
SPORT • Edinburgh Leisure is running a series of events to help keep youngsters active during half-term. Activator clubs for five to 12 year olds, run at a variety of venues across the city offering arts and crafts, bouncy castles and sports activities and team games. Older children (nine to 14 years) will love the Multi-sport camps which provide coaching for a range of sport, while for water babies aged eight to 14, there's Aquavator, a water-based camp with snorkelling to aqua jetting and raft races, and the club is available at Gracemount for younger children. Budding sports stars will enjoy the sports camps and sessions running during next week, including tennis at Craiglockhart and football at Gracemount and Ainslie Park. Edinburgh International Climbing Arena and Port Edgar marina also run holiday week courses. For details go to www.edinburghleisure.co.uk
MESSY TIME• Put the kids to work in the kitchen – but train them up first. Cookingmania in Davidson's Mains is the city's only purpose-built children's cookery school. Hallowe'en Workshops run on Saturdays throughout October for children age seven to 11 (£25 for two-hour sessions). On weekday mornings send your little wannabe cooks along to make delights such as popcorn monsters, chocolate eyeballs, cookie monsters, strawberry ghosts, and afternoons for Chefs in Training, when it's pumpkin pie and pumpkin lanterns on the menu. Costs £25/£30. See www.cookingmania.co.uk or call 0131-336 2012.
• Alternatively, go potty at the Hallowe'en Party at Ceramic Experience in Marchmont on October 22, creating spooky plates and pottery. Book on 0131-662 6666 for details.
OUT OF TOWN• Venture out to Linlithgow for the town's Celebrate Linlithgow Festival which begins today. Two weeks of arts events for adults and children including plays, concerts and ceilidhs. Call 01506-844 645 or go to www.celebrate-linlithgow.org.uk
• The town's Code Nightclub in Westport is the venue for Rocking Rascals Hallowe'en Party on Saturday October 25, an afternoon disco from 2-5pm for young ones up to seven years old. Costs £6 or £25 per family of two adults and three or more siblings.
• Head to North Berwick to join the Scottish Seabird Centre's Puffin Club Big Pirate Weekend this Saturday and Sunday for a string of swashbuckling events, free with admission to the Discovery Centre. Go to www.seabird.org or call 01620-890 202 to book.
• Head across the bridges for Deep Sea World's Creepy Crawlies Fortnight. With regular handling sessions daily throughout the fortnight you can get up close and personal with some of nature's neatest beasties. The venue's Hallowe'en Weekend begins on Saturday, October 25 – dress the kids up for free entry when accompanied by an adult. Call 01383-411 880 or go to www.deepseaworld.co.uk
• Finally, chug along to Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway in Bo'ness next Saturday for a spooky ride on their Ghost Train. Call 01506- 825 855 or go to www.srps.org.uk/railway.
CAMP OUT IN A TEEPEE• Teepee Village in Castle Street offers free fun on Sunday and Monday. It starts on Sunday with a free family day from 10.30pm until 5pm, with everything from puppet shows to comedy and face painting.
There's drama with Rumplestiltskin at the Fairytale Laundry for three to seven year olds, and Scottish folk stories from Jockanory. They can also catch Professor Bumm's Story Machine and join author Linda Strachan in a workshop based around kids' favourite Hamish MacHaggis.
On Monday with guest appearance from Maisie the Kitten author Aileen Paterson, and they can also see James Campbell's Comedy 4 Kids Show. It's all rounded off on both days with a show of mind-bending tricks and scientific experiments.
The full article contains 1965 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
