There are few things harder than keeping kids entertained – especially younger children on rainy and cold days. Given we are in Ireland and not blessed with tremendous weather – these rainy days sometimes seem like they will never stop.

We have some ideas below for messy play which kids just adore. Something equally important for your own sanity though is the ability to keep things clean and tidy of course!

Mix paint and use enjoy messy crafts with this big Mixing Tray

This big tray was originally designed for mixing mortar on building sites. When lockdowns first came in many people started to use these for kids arts and crafts projects in an attempt to not totally destroy the house.

They are 1 metre x 1 metre and can be used inside or outside. They can just be wiped or hosed down afterwards and then they are ready to go again. They have a lip around the edge of them to keep the paint in place.

They are great for the likes of glue and paper etc too or papier mache projects. All in all a very handy thing to just keeping a bit of order in place.

Our 15kg bags of Play Sand are perfect for kids of all ages. This sand is specially graded so is finer and ideal for sand pits outside or even suitable areas in a playroom or garage etc for rainy days.

This play sand can be used on its own with toys or used with sand wheels etc if you want. Getting those toy diggers and tractors in there is great fun for all boys and girls.

If you are using this outside then you might want to use the likes of an old water table or something with a cover to prevent any animal getting access etc.

Another option is to build an easy outdoor sandpit and dumping a few of these bags into it. Let the kids get messy and play to their hearts content.

Our big bags of compost have proved a real hit with families over lockdowns and when spending extra time at home. They can be used for growing vegetables and plants when getting them started in small pots or moving them to larger patches.

This premium compost is suitable for all stages of plant growth and includes John Innes and is trusted by horticulturists nationwide.

Any child will get great enjoyment from planting seeds and bulbs and getting their hands dirty – through to watering and tendering early shoots and seeing these grow over the year.

Finally when harvesting time comes kids get to pull all that fresh produce out of the ground and they absolutely adore that.

Vegetables that grow underground are particularly good as they won’t get devoured by snails and slugs and the likes of carrots and onions can be seen just at ground level to keep the kids interest going.

Our decorative mini bark helps retain moisture in soil and suppresses weed growth so can be used to create a clean background when displaying plants or flowers.

It helps reduce the need for weeding and provides thermal insulation for plants so just helps things along.

This bark can also be used in craft projects or some play areas to create a softer surface so is an all rounder.

Our big 220 Litre Composter is perfect for any garden and is designed to cope with large quantities of kitchen food waste and grass cuttings etc.

It will turn this into lovely high quality compost that can then be spread on to plants, vegetables and flowers and kids love digging into this and spreading it about.

Composting helps young people to learn about reusing what we can and it helps you save money by avoiding refuse charges.

The big top lid is windproof and lockable and the compost is easily accessible via the lower door opening.

Our ever popular Poly Tunnel with Frame creates a lovely environment for kids to learn to enjoy growing vegetables and flowers – and keep out of the elements.

It is 3m x 2m x 2m and features a steel frame so is even suitable for the very keen gardener.

This type of Poly Tunnel extends the growing season so kids can be in early in the year planting seeds and bulbs and then get great enjoyment all throughout the year checking progress and maintaining their produce.

We also have some other bits and bobs which will help kids enjoy being outside – e.g. our Teepee Play Tents and our small garden hand tools will help them start to enjoy gardening and getting mucky and dirty without wrecking the new sofa.

We have a tremendous range of seeds available which give great enjoyment throughout the year. Vegetables in particular are always a big hit with the likes of onions and carrots always being popular along with Halloween Pumpkins for that big wow factor later in the year!