The Ultimate Summer Holiday Activity Guide (With a Little Help From Ruby Diamonds)

Six weeks. That's what's staring most of us down once the school gates close for summer, and if you're anything like us, by day three the "what shall we do today?" question is already doing the rounds. 

So this year, we've teamed up with the brilliant Ruby (@rubydiamonds) to put together a proper summer activity guide, one that doesn't just tell you what to buy, but how to actually use it. She's picked out age-specific bundles for 4+, 5+ and 6+ years, mixing gifty treats, hands-on activities and a few sneaky educational wins, across a range of budgets. Whether the holidays have just started or you're three weeks in and clean out of ideas (we see you), there's something here to fill an afternoon, or several.

She's also been putting the products through their paces at home, from nature walks to rainy pavement-chalk days, so you'll see her real activity ideas woven in below.

Nature-Led Days: Bringing the Outside In

Before we get into the age guides, a few of Ruby's favourite low-effort, high-reward activity setups are worth saving, because they work brilliantly across ages:

A Nature-Themed Play Tray: Set up an Inspire My Play PlayTRAY with natural bits and bobs (pinecones, leaves, stones), pair it with some animal-shaped snacks, and pop on a nature-themed Yoto story in the background. Low prep, high engagement, and it buys you a solid half hour of peace.

A Day in the Park: Pop on the Yoto Mini with a Percy the Park Keeper card, take a video camera along, and turn the walk into a leaf-and-flower scavenger hunt. Bring it home and paint what you've found. Simple, screen-free, and it works just as well in the back garden as it does at the park.

An At-Home Day:  For the days you don't leave the house: nature-themed sensory dough, Yellow Door rollers, and an animal figure set laid out on a tray is enough to occupy little hands for ages. Add in a Kidywolf camera, a Little Dutch drawing tablet, or a Maileg set-up (the tower house and Princess and the Pea storyline are firm favourites here) for an afternoon of imaginative play.

Now, onto the main event. 

4+ Years: Sensory Play & First Adventures

At this age, it's all about hands-on sensory play, first introductions to letters and numbers, and stories that spark imagination.

• My Creative Box Bitty Bugs Dough Sensory Craft Box – £19.95
• Cotton Twist Snap & Match Card Game – £8.95
• Yellow Door Let's Investigate – Dinosaur Footprints – £22.91
• Curiosity Corner Sensory Dough – Autumn Air Teal – £5.95
• Inspire My Play PlayTRAY – £49.95
• Inspire My Play Lowercase Letter Set – £13.95
• Inspire My Play Sensory Play Starter Tool Kit – Blue – £19.95
• Mojo Mini Prehistoric Life Tube (12 Piece) – £13.00
• Rex London Bath Crayons – £4.95
• Yoto Mini Player – £59.95
• Yoto Peppa Pig Play Days Card – £9.95
• Little Dutch Insect Jar – Forest Friends – £8.06
• CONNETIX Magnetic Tiles 32 Piece Pastel Mini Pack – £32.95

Try it: build a whole afternoon around the PlayTRAY. Use the dinosaur footprints set for some prehistoric detective work, keep the Yoto playing in the background, and finish with bath crayons at bath time to wind down. It's a full day of low-key, screen-free entertainment from just a handful of pieces.

5+ Years: Building, Creating & Exploring

Five-year-olds want to build, dress up, dig into a story, and get a little messier with their crafting; this guide leans into that.

• My Creative Box Jungle Dough Sensory Craft Box – £19.95
• Inspire My Play PlayTRAY – £49.95
• Inspire My Play Numbers Set – £13.95
• Mojo Mini Wildlife Tube (12 Piece) – £13.00
• Curiosity Corner Sensory Dough – Leaf Zest Green – £5.95
• Londji Tattoos – Jungle – £5.95
• Ooly Switcheroo Colour-Changing Markers (Set of 12) – £11.95
• Little Dutch Drawing Tablet – Safari Friends (Green) – £17.95
• Kidywolf Kidyprint Camera – Green – £84.95
• Yoto Mini Player – £59.95
• Yoto Percy The Park Keeper Collection Card – £7.95
• CONNETIX Magnetic Tiles 64 Piece Pastel Starter Pack – £73.95

Prices are correct as of 14/07/26

Try it: this is the guide Ruby built her "day in the park" idea around. Pop on the Percy the Park Keeper card, take the Kidyprint camera out for a proper little photographer's mission, and come home to build something with the CONNETIX tiles once little legs need a rest.

6+ Years: Independent Play & Bigger Adventures

By six, kids are after a bit more independence, think proper craft projects, imaginative worlds they can direct themselves, and activities that hold their attention for longer.

• My Creative Box Pet Carnival Village – £34.95
• Maileg Big Brother Beach Mouse – £32.95
• Billie's and Co Marbles Magic Forest Mini Box – £17.50
• Ooly Shrink Its Garden Pals – £11.95
• Inspire My Play PlayTRAY – £49.95
• Janod Pavement Chalks (Set of 6) – £3.50
• Mixies Glitter Sand – Construction – £15.00
• Zoofamily Zoo Video Camera – £79.95
• Yoto Mini Player – £59.95
• Yoto BBC Earth Collection Card Set – £24.95
• CONNETIX Magnetic Tiles 40 Piece Pastel Geometry Pack – £54.95
• Curiosity Corner Sensory Dough – Frost White – £5.95
• Yellow Door Emotion Stones – £27.95
• Inspire My Play Mini Blocks – £13.95
• Le Van Toy Construction Vehicle Set – £24.95

Prices are correct as of 14/07/26

Try it: chalk out a whole obstacle course on the pavement with the Janod set, film the "action" on the Zoofamily camera, then head inside to shrink your own garden pals in the oven as a rainy-day comedown activity. Big energy, followed by something a little calmer.

Short on Time? Quick-Fire Activities for Any Age

Not every day needs a full set-up. For the ten-minutes-before-dinner window, or days when you need something with minimal mess and maximum distraction, Ruby's go-to shorter activities are:

• Puzzle time together — try the Londji Life Puzzle
• A pavement chalk session with the Janod Pavement Chalks
• Air-dry clay modelling with the Ooly Creatibles DIY Air Dry Clay Set
• Shrinking your own charms with Ooly Shrink Its Garden Pals
• A watercolour painting session with Ooly Chroma Watercolour Pearlescent paints and the Ooly Lil Paint Brushes Set

Follow Along

Ruby will be sharing her own take on all of the above throughout the holidays, think real activities, real mess, and real reviews from someone who's actually road-tested every product on this list. Keep an eye on her page for the full mood board and carousel of picks linking back to our summer holiday activities collection.

And as a little thank you for following along, use code RUBYSUMMER at checkout for 10% off anything in the collection (Exclusions apply to Yoto & Stapelstein.

Whatever the weather does over the next six weeks, we've got you covered. Shop the full Summer Holiday Activities collection.

By Charis Patel