It's the school holidays. And we guarantee your kid has already said THIS.

You love having the kids home.

You really do.

Everything’s exactly how you planned. You’ve got muffins baking, play dates galore, you’ve got every Pixar movie ever made lined up and ready to go.

You’ve got improving outings planned for every second day, and laid-back mornings where no-one’s having to be told to put their shoes on 28 times, and today you’re having popcorn for lunch.

Oh yes, you love having the kids home.

But by day three it’s beginning to dawn on you that these school holidays aren’t exactly the way you imagined them in your stressed, end-of-term-time reverie.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Kmart. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100 per cent authentic and written in their own words.

For a start. The holiday fairy dust has not magically made Grumpy Kid and Sulky Kid start getting along. In fact, spending so long within the same four walls is making them turn more than a little feral, and you might have actually had to stop Grumpy from sitting on Sulky’s head several times today. That wasn’t in the brochure.

And that trip to the zoo? After the first excitement has worn off, the kids were mostly interested in snacks and the playground. And the animals were hiding. You might as well have taken them to the local park.

But still, chin up. There’s a lot more fun to be had, and it doesn’t require expensive ticket prices.

So you’re planning an indoor movie-marathon picnic, because who in the heck doesn’t love one of those. You dug out some baking bits and tried to interest the kids in baking some cookies. But they’re much more interested in EATING the cookies, and are quite happy to leave you to bake them, thanks. So you’re in the kitchen, yelling, “Don’t start Frozen without me!” and pausing from beating the cookie batter to separate scrapping children, and getting flour all over everywhere in the process.

That scene didn’t feature in your daydreams.

But redemption is at hand as you all snuggle down under floor doonas to, you know, actually watch Frozen, and you’re not sure of the exact moment, but you seem to have fallen asleep and woken up under a cushion tower, with Sulky sitting on your head.

That wasn’t part of the plan.

But you love having the kids home, you really do. You just kind of wish that you were on holiday as well as them. Unfortunately, you still have to get all the stuff done that you have to do during term-time, whether that’s some work or just the joy of feeding the little people and cleaning the place.

Which is why wise parents pool resources around holiday time. Multiply the kids and, as long as you’ve got the space, they’ll entertain themselves, right? So you invite a gaggle of your kids’ best mates around. They’ll be happily rumpusing about, while you get some peace and space, right? Right?

That can work, but, noise levels aside, you’ve never felt quite a UN negotiator until you’ve settled 15 tiny school kid disputes before 10am, and never more like you’re on a My Kitchen Rules challenge until you’re feeding a horde of hungry kids from morning tea to dinner. Piles of sandwiches, mountains of fruit, plates of sausage rolls from here ’til Tuesday.

Baking tray burns weren’t in your holiday fantasies, either.

But you do love having the kids home. Really, truly. Because even if the holidays seem a little imperfect around the edges, you have a whole different set of problems than in term time, and they’re ones you’d really rather deal with.

Because you know that you and the kids might not be making epic movie-worthy memories, but you’re together. And even with all the fighting, and bodily fluids, and fearsome exhaustion…. you love that.

Here, some of our favourite mums talk about what they do when they hear the words, “But mum, I’m bored.”

Take a look at Kmart’s easy guide to school holiday activities below …

What do you do to keep the kids entertained when you start hearing them say, “I’m bored”?

Say No to Boredom!!

When it comes to the power of imagination, kids prove anything is possible.  A saucepan lid suddenly becomes a mighty warrior’s shield, or cleverly stacked blocks can form a three-tier wedding cake. 

Kmart understands creative play and we never want the fun to end.  Inside this easy guide to school holiday activities you’ll find playful twists on all Kmart’s fun everyday items and toys at the low prices we’re famous for.

CLICK HERE to view Kmart’s easy guide to school holiday activities.