A Week Without the Usual Screens during school holiday — And What We Found Instead

Sometimes, making room for less helps us discover so much more.

School holidays with young children can be wonderful, exhausting and everything in between. And there's one question most parents know all too well:

“What shall I do?”

Sometimes, the easiest answer is a screen. A tablet, a game or a phone. Something to fill a quiet moment.

A few weeks before the school holidays, we'd started changing our family's screen habits. We put away the tablets, phones and gaming consoles to break the habit of automatically reaching for a device whenever there was nothing planned.

Not because we believe all technology is bad. We simply wanted a better balance, with more room for creativity, family time and other interests. We still enjoyed watching television together, but the boys no longer had individual devices to turn to whenever they felt bored.

Then the school holidays arrived.

With the boys home all week and no school routine to structure their days, I wondered how things would go. Would they miss their games? Would they constantly ask for something to do?

As it turned out, that week brought some lovely surprises.

It All Started With an Old Printer

We had an old printer in our attic office that hadn't been working properly. My husband brought it downstairs, and we managed to get it working again.

That's when the fun began.

My parents both had birthdays that week, and our eldest wanted to make something for them. He knew his grandfather loved Jaguar cars, so we found a colouring page featuring a Jaguar and printed it.

Then he started asking questions. What was Grandma's favourite film?

We discovered that Grease and Saturday Night Fever held special memories for my parents. Grease, in particular, reminded my mother of watching it with her daughters.

Soon, our printer was producing colouring pages inspired by those films, Jaguar cars and beautiful Balinese houses near the beach. Our dining table became a little creative workshop.

Our eldest carefully chose pictures he thought his grandparents would love. His younger brother joined in too, doing his very best to colour between the lines.

And something struck me.

They weren't just colouring to keep themselves busy. They were making something to give away.

Colouring With a Purpose

One of the sweetest things about that week was watching our eldest think about what would make someone else happy. He wasn't asking what he could get. He was thinking about what he could give.

A picture of Grandpa's favourite car. A colouring page inspired by Grandma's favourite film. A handmade card decorated with care.

It wasn't about finding the most impressive present. It was about choosing something personal. Our youngest was just as eager to take part, adding his own colours and creativity to the gifts.

The boys enjoyed the activity itself, but they also had something to look forward to: sharing what they'd made. A simple afternoon of colouring had become something more meaningful.

A Day Among the Stars

On Tuesday, the boys' grandparents took them to a space exhibition. They were fascinated by what they saw, and their grandparents gave them some lovely gifts to remember the day.

Afterwards, they visited a restaurant near the airport, where they could watch aeroplanes. There were colouring pages on hand, too.

The boys weren't asking for a phone or tablet. Between their food, their colouring, the planes and time with their grandparents, they had plenty to enjoy.

It reminded me that we don't always need to come up with something elaborate. Sometimes, a few things that spark their interest are enough.

Shirts, Ties and a Family Dinner

On Thursday, we went out for dinner with my parents to celebrate their birthdays.

A restaurant visit with two energetic young boys can be a little challenging. Sitting still isn't always easy, and sometimes they become restless. So beforehand, I asked which colouring pages they would like to bring. We printed their choices and packed some markers.

The boys were excited about the evening. They even wanted to dress up in shirts and ties!

And there they sat, happily colouring and enjoying the family dinner. No complicated entertainment plan, just a few pages they'd chosen themselves, some markers and the excitement of a special occasion.

It wasn't about expecting them to sit perfectly still. It was about giving them something enjoyable to do while being part of the evening.

Grandma's Favourite Film Became Their Discovery

Remember those Grease colouring pages? At the beginning of the week, our eldest hadn't heard the music or seen the film. He only knew that it meant something special to his grandmother.

Making those pictures sparked his curiosity, so we looked up some of the songs together. There the boys were, mouths open, completely mesmerised.

Music that held happy memories for my mother and her daughters was now becoming something another generation could enjoy.

During the week, we also watched films such as Hook, and the boys became fascinated by superheroes such as the Avengers.

Which brings me to an important point:

We didn't remove every screen from our lives. We changed how we used them.

Instead of automatically reaching for individual devices, we were choosing stories, music and films to enjoy together. For our family, that felt like a meaningful difference.

Was It a Perfectly Peaceful Week?

Absolutely not! The boys still had their arguments. They're brothers, after all, and all the ordinary ups and downs of family life were still there.

But they seemed less unsettled to me, less as though every quiet moment needed filling. There was room for colouring, creating, asking questions and noticing what was happening around them.

I can't say that reducing personal screen time was the only reason. We also spent time with family, went on outings and offered different activities. This was simply our experience of one holiday, not a promise that putting away a tablet makes everything peaceful.

Still, the week felt different. Towards the end, our eldest said something that stayed with me:

He'd loved the week so much that he wished we had another week of holiday.

For me, that was a lovely reflection of the memories we'd made.

Sometimes Children Just Need a Starting Point

That familiar question, “What shall I do?”, can make us feel we need to provide entertainment every minute. But we don't have to fill every pause or solve every moment of boredom.

Sometimes, a small starting point helps: something to create, explore, imagine or share. And sometimes, that one idea leads somewhere unexpected.

A colouring page becomes a birthday gift. The gift starts a conversation about Grandma's favourite film. That conversation becomes a shared musical discovery. Before you know it, a simple activity has become a family memory.

This is also the thinking behind our printable activity books, WHAT SHALL I DO? and WAT ZAL IK DOEN?

Created for children aged 4–10, each book offers 65 pages of creative ideas, activities and playful challenges to explore away from personal screens. They aren't about filling every moment of a child's day, just offering a little inspiration when children need somewhere to begin.

The books are available in English and Dutch:

• WHAT SHALL I DO? English edition
• WAT ZAL IK DOEN? Nederlandse editie

From Handmade Gifts to Everyday Kindness

Looking back, what stayed with me most wasn't a quieter house. It was the sight of two little boys thinking about the people they loved and making something especially for them.

Choosing the pictures. Adding their colours. Imagining their grandparents' reactions.

The joy wasn't only in making the gift. It was in knowing it might make someone else happy.

And that made me think about the small gestures we can offer beyond birthdays and family celebrations.

A thank-you for the person who delivers our post, whatever the weather. A kind note for a neighbour. A little reminder to someone we love that we're glad they're here.

We don't always know what someone else is going through. A few thoughtful words won't solve everything, but they might make an ordinary day feel a little warmer.

A Little Kindness to Pass Along

With Christmas approaching, this feels like a reminder worth keeping close. A season so often centred on presents can also be about sharing kindness in simple ways, and helping our children discover the pleasure of giving as well as receiving.

That's the thought behind Free Little Gestures, a collection of free printable cards we've created at Ignite Bloom. Little messages of kindness to print, personalise and pass along to someone you love, someone you appreciate or someone you'd like to make smile.

Share a little kindness — download your free cards:

• Free Little Gestures — English edition
• Free Little Gestures — Nederlandse editie

Because kindness doesn't have to stop with one person. One small gesture can inspire another.

Our family didn't discover that screens were the enemy that holiday. We discovered that when they weren't always the first option, there was room for creativity, curiosity, connection and thoughtfulness.

Somewhere between an old printer, a handful of colouring pencils and two boys making gifts for their grandparents, I was reminded of something worth holding on to:

You don't need to spend a lot to give something meaningful. Sometimes the smallest gestures leave the warmest memories.

With love,

Claudia
Ignite Bloom 🌿