Life Hacks

School Holiday Boredom Busters

The winter school holidays are looming. With cold days, unpredictable weather, and some of us stuck in lockdown (again!),
keeping the kids entertained for hours on-end can be a tricky business.

Thankfully, parents can stay one-step-ahead of those inevitable cries of “I’m bored!” with a little creativity and help from Samsung.

It’s showtime!

When it’s cold outside, there’s nothing better than cuddling-up with the kids on the couch with a warm blanket, a big bowl of popcorn and a movie.

Dim the lights, shut the curtains and turn on your Samsung TV to indulge in the sights and sounds of the latest streaming services – all from comfort of your living room!

The kids will be treated to a front row experience as the screen bursts to life with the rich colour and contrast of Samsung’s latest Neo QLED 4K Smart TV, while the specialised Quantum Matrix Technology makes it feel all the on-screen action is taking place right there, in the room.

Want that extra cinematic experience? The Neo QLED’s range of room-filling audio features offers truly mind-blowing sound that’ll leave kids thinking they’re at the cinema.1

Activity Tip:

• Get your kids to dress-up as their favourite characters from the flick they are about to watch.

• Create a movie trivia quiz that you can give out after the credits roll with prizes for the most correct answers.

• Make it an all-day pyjama party! Let the kids snuggle up in their favourite PJs for the movie – bonus points if you let them stay in them until their actual bedtime.

• Continue the fun after the movie by re-enacting your favourite scenes or listening to the movie soundtrack!

Best buds

If you’re a parent working from home during the school holidays, we feel you. It’s not an easy juggle! Even when you’ve managed to entertain the kids so you can get some work done, the background noise can still be incredibly distracting.

The Galaxy Buds Pro are the perfect antidote to working in a noisy environment. These comfortable wireless ear buds deliver immersive sound with intelligent Active Noise Cancelling, so you can effortlessly control what you want to hear and seamlessly switch between noise cancelling and fully adjustable ambient sound. So keep an ear out for what’s going on with the family or be truly immersed in your world of work – the choice is yours.

Activity Tips:

• With the kids in front of their favourite movie, you have an hour free to jump on that important work call using your wireless ear pods.

Feast on food

Does the never-ending school holiday chorus of “I’m hungry!” have you staring into your pantry in despair? Why not get their creative juices flowing and encourage the kids to help out with family meals.

Cooking can be a great experience for children as it teaches them about the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet. It also offers so many learning opportunities for young minds, from team work through to practicing their fine motor skills through pouring and stirring.

You can start off by teaching the youngest ones how to make something simple like smashed avocado on toast or helping to put together a salad. For the older kids, get them to help out on the BBQ putting together a quintessential Aussie beef barbie.

Baking is another great option. Measuring out ingredients will not only create a delicious afternoon snack, but it will get your mini chefs-in-the-making engaged with maths without them even realising.

When they’re ready to up the ante, let your budding cooks pick their favourite dishes to try out with Smart Recipes on Family Hub – Samsung’s family-oriented smart fridge – which gives you access to many delicious recipes with simple on-screen instructions . 2

Activity Tips:

• Create a list of simple but fun recipes for your kids, according to their age, covering different mealtimes. There’s an abundance of kid-friendly cooking recipes available for free on the internet to inspire you.

• Pick a recipe per day and integrate the food into their mealtimes. For example, add some fun by asking the children to prepare rainbow popcorn using the microwave as an afternoon snack.

Watch them run

Most parents would like to encourage their teens to practice healthy habits and incorporate exercise into their daily lives. Add in some healthy competition with siblings or friends, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a great afternoon out.

Whether they want to reach more steps in a day or raise their heart rate playing a bit of one-on-one basketball or on a high-speed bike ride, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active2 has all bases covered. These smartwatches can be customised with a standard watch band to suit all tastes, the device feeds back all activity to your compatible smartphone, ensuring all activity is tracked and logged in the Samsung Health app. 3

Activity Tips:

• Go for a bush walk. Not only will the teens – and you! – get your steps up, but the terrain will be sure to raise your heart rate too.

• Stay in touch with your family and friends by linking your health apps and see if you have what it takes to be the step count winner – some healthy competition never hurt anyone. Challenge them beat their own record!

Game on

Those who play together, stay together. And let’s face it, games are something modern day kids can rarely avoid.

From big kids to small, Samsung’s latest tablet releases will have your back. Choose from either the Galaxy Tab S7+ or Galaxy Tab A7, both of which have a great range of local multi-player apps suitable for the entire family. From learning and educational games to charades, the Galaxy Tab A7 handles gaming on an expansive 10.4” display for ideal visibility for the whole family . 4

Activity Tips:

• Dress-up for games and create fun character personalities to add a bit of extra excitement.

• Balance out screen time with IRL game reenactments, whether it’s hide-and-seek or the floor is lava, their playroom has become the battlefield.

1Audio quality may vary depending on the source content and environmental characteristics (e.g. ceiling)

2Requires download of Family Hub™ app on your compatible smartphone.

3Using Samsung Health app with Galaxy Active requires signup and pairing with your compatible smartphone. Smartphone pairing is recommended in order to keep data stored.
Galaxy watch Active2 is not a medical/therapeutic device. Fitness and health functions are for informational purposes only.

4Galaxy Tab A7 screen size measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners.
Actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.

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