Make The Most of Your August Bank Holiday

The August Bank Holiday will soon be upon us, and with it comes unpredictable weather (as is traditional for any Bank Holiday) and traffic jams on most motorways up and down the country, but don’t let this put you off enjoying your extended weekend and making the most of it. After all there’s plenty that you could do, either out and about with the family or at home – and to give you some inspiration, the team at eSpares have put together the following suggestions.

Hit the Road, Jack:

So for many parts of the UK, the last few weeks of August have been a bit of a wash out, which isn’t great for doing things at the weekends; so if you’ve been cooped up at home on your recent days off, why not hit the road and head to one of the many events taking place?

Most cities will have a number of events going on during the Bank Holiday weekend; but if you’re looking for something a bit different, why not pay a visit to one of these events:

• England’s medieval Festival (Hailsham) – taking place on August 23^rd, the event is a “magical day out for all the family” and includes falconry displays, archery competitions and demonstrations, living history encampments and hundreds of craftsmen and trades.
• Portsmouth International Kite Festival – running throughout Bank Holiday weekend is the 23^rd international kite festival in Portsmouth, which will see a number of competitors from Singapore, Japan, America and New Zealand.
• Wings & Wheels (Cranleigh) – celebrating its 10^th anniversary over the weekend, Wings and Wheels takes place at the home of Top Gear and will see an impressive aviation line-up and some of your favourite vehicles on the ground.
• Hayling Island Scarecrow Festival – what can we say, a festival of Scarecrows, which has gave us a few ideas of how you could spend your Bank Holiday with younger members of your family if you opt to stay at home over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Top Tip: Remember to keep your mobile charged if you are out and about with one of our top selling products, our dual USB charger, perfect for keeping your iPad, iPod, iPhone and other USB powered devices charged while on the road!

Staying In:

Following your recent summer holiday and with the children soon going back to school, you may decide to look after the pennies over the bank holiday and stay at home; but this shouldn’t mean sitting in-front of the TV twiddling your thumbs; instead there’s so much you can do.

Our first suggestion comes off the back of finding out about the Hayling Island Scarecrow Festival, and that’s making a scarecrow with your little ones which can then be used in your garden from springtime next year.

Now we know, not everyone is fortunate enough to have a big scarecrow in their garden but this doesn’t mean you cannot make (and benefit from) a scarecrow; and in good old Blue Peter fashion, we’re going to give you a quick guide on you to make the perfect, yet small scarecrow using two different methods.

An Old Pillowcase:

There’s a good chance that in your airing cupboard you’ll have a couple of old pillowcases lying around, so why not put them to good use by using them to create the scarecrow?

To make a e pillowcase scarecrow, along with the pillowcase, you’ll need some waterproof felt-tip pens, straw and some string. If you have old clothing or material handy, this can also be utilised to decorate the scarecrow.

Step 1: Get your children to draw a face on the pillowcase, towards the top (we recommend using the end that is sealed) and to add any other detail they wish using the felt-tips.

If you have old clothes or material lying around, these can be cut to fit the pillowcase so that it looks as though the scarecrow is wearing the clothes.

Step 2: Once the scarecrow has its face and is decorated, stuff the straw into the pillowcase so that it becomes nice and fat, but remember to leave enough room so that the bottom of the pillowcase can be pulled together.

Step 3: Happy with the amount of straw in the pillowcase? Put it to one side, take the children to the park and ask them to find the biggest stick they can carry. Once they’ve got this, and you get home, put the stick into the open end of the pillowcase, in the middle before tying it up using the string.

The rest of the stick can then be planted into the ground, to leave your scarecrow standing upright.

Paper Mache:

Everyone loves a bit of paper mache, and it can be used to create the perfect scarecrow (well scarecrow head, with the help of a balloon!)

Step 1: Pump up the balloon before covering it duct tape, making sure to leave one strand of the duct tape hanging loose.

Step 2: Paper mache the ball, making sure that there is a small gap for the loose duct tape to hang out, and leave the paper mache to dry.

Step 3: With the paper mache dry, leave the head for your children to decorate using acrylic paints; once the paint has dried, pop the balloon with a stick, which can then be secured to the paper mache head, using the loose duct tape.

If building a scarecrow isn’t up your street, or you have no need for a scarecrow within your garden, why not consider spending some of the long weekend carrying out some of the jobs around the home which have built up during the summer, such as fixing the dripping bathroom taps, pressure washing the decking before giving it a coat of varnish to keep it protected for the winter months, or fixing any of the small appliances which may have given up the ghost in recent months.

Whilst it may not sound like the most enjoyable way to spend your Bank Holiday, it’ll no doubt save you time come winter when there will be more DIY tasks to carry out.

Tags: August Bank Holiday, Bank Holiday, Fun Tips