Occupying kids

How about baking simple recipes and preparing simple meals. Teach them to sew/ knit or go to the library they sometimes have events going on. The countryside can be lovely just wear suitable footwear they’d love being outside exploring using up energy.

Is there a local sports centre or swimming pool?

Mess is what children are all about and you are going to have problems if you want to keep your house mess free. DGC have been spending half term with me. They are much the same age as yours.

We have been cooking, doing needlework (DGD is making herself and a doll matching dresses), raking leaves in the garden, playing with lego, drawing, writing poetry, and, yes, the house is a mess but they are on their way home today and I can tidy the house and get it back to normal in an hour.

Ours love doing crafts and we contain it in the kitchen. We put anvoilcloth on the kitchen table, provide junk and glue, paints etc. I think grandchildren equate mess.

We also have lots of games and dvds.

We find that we need to have a variety of activities

You sound very negative about the whole day

Crafts don't have to be messy - I have a big box of card, stickers, paper, sticky tape, crayons, coloured pipe cleaners, etc., and the grandchildren spend hours crafting, occasionally squabbling over the scissors or suchlike!

Even if your local playground is basic at least they can burn off a bit of energy there, followed by some TV, lunch, Lego, and maybe a short walk to local shops for a treat.

I suggest breaking the day up into some sort of activity and then " down time".
If they have pads or pods or whatever they are, let them have them.
Give them a healthy lunch and then a walk to a local shop for sweets?

I wonder why they fight.....

Yes I thought that too Riverwalk. Baking is a good idea and of course children love to put on their boots and go out in the mud. A short treasure hunt for natural items would suit even a lazy child. My grandchildren are now in their twenties and the time went so quickly, enjoy them while you can.

I think you are allowed to feel negative.

My inlaws had my kids for 48 hours and out them in a holiday club for 8 of them!!!!!

Board games can be good old fashioned fun? Plan out the day with meals as markers. Perhaps find a film you can all watch for a couple of hours in the afternoon? Are there chores that they can 'help' with? Might be boring but good life skills.

Mess is almost essential in my opinion, just protect your surfaces or contain within a tray. I used to provide craft projects, scientific experiments and building dens from chairs and blankets, in which they enjoyed a picnic sometimes made by themselves. You could even play shops with the contents of your cupboards. I bought some lengths of jazzy fabric remnants from Ebay for dressing up and putting on a 'show'.
I am afraid a bit of effort is required, but you will reap the rewards and find it less tiring in the long run if they don't argue. I wish you a good day!

Oh let your house get messy!! Do as kittylester says oilcloth on kitchen table ..paper, glue,paints, the lot! Soon cleared up. Bit of tv. Make brownies or cookies. Lunch in between all that and the day is soon over.
Can't you take them on the bus just for the fun of it? You don't need to even get off. My GC loved the novelty of at as they go everywhere in cars.
Sadly mine are older now and when they do come round are only interested in computer games. Make the most of them being little, sadly time flies and they are suddenly teenagers with their own lives

I would wrap up warm and get them out into the Countryside for a couple of hours,they would be tired by the time they came back and less likely to fight with each other.
The excercise will do you all the world of good and brighten up your mood.

2 of my GS’s used to fight and squabble so I adopted zero tolerance and separated them immediately to separate rooms where they had to read until they calmed down. I was not going to allow them to stress me out and I invented the “ 2 bees” .... be kind and be quiet !! And every time I shouted bees, it worked a treat as a 1st warning ! As they knew that if I spoke a 2nd time they’d be separated, and the separation time just got longer. Cooking is a great idea I always did that with mine on a rainy day. Or we’d do the word game, they each have paper with all the alphabet down one side. Then columns headed animals, countries, girls names, boys names, films/tv etc so they had to think of all answers to the relevant letter of the alphabet. It takes ages, they think it’s fun plus it’s educational too. Good luck !

A few hours of mess v a memory of a happy time spent with you - no contest really I would say. Put down newspapers/plastic tablecloths if you need to but do something creative with them. I am teaching my grandchildren to make simple meals like beans on toast, scrambled eggs, cheating pizza ( a wrap spread with ketchup and sprinkled with grated cheese then grilled until the cheese melts) and they love to help. Yes, it can get a bit messy but nothing drastic! We also bake little sponge cakes they can decorate. They love playing games like Kiddies Monopoly and we also do a quiz which only involves thinking of an animal/fish/bird then answering Yes or No to questions until it is identified. Great fun.

Get each boy to write down 5 things they want to do.
Make sure they are doable eg not go to Disney.
Cut up a cereal box into 10 strips.
Write one idea on each strip.
Roll a die and who ever gets the highest number gets to close their eyes an pick out one piece of card..
It doesn't matter who thought of it but let them know that tomorrow you will try and do what is on the card.
The following day the other child picks out a card for the next day.
That gives you 10 days of activities. Of course it's 3 strikes and you are out... if one of the boys does something unacceptable that is one strike. If one of them gets 3 strikes, then they miss a turn at picking out of the activities jar. Take a look at the Money Saving Expert page. They list lots of free ideas for going out.

Give them one hundred percent attention for the day.
Are there any physical jobs you could involve them in: raking up leaves, tidying the shed/ garage, sorting out cupboards, even if they don't achieve much. My children used to like 'helping', particularly dirty jobs.
Make a tent indoors,(sheets over furniture) and let them spend the day there.
Take them out for a muddy nature walk, collecting twigs, leaves, conkers, acorns etc to build a display.
If they simply want to play on technical devices, let them but in separate rooms.
And simply: stop them fighting.You are the adult.

What about a picnic? Let them choose and make the food. Go for a walk, not too far, and wrap up warm. I have my 6 year old GD this week. We've baked and done art work. At the moment she's looking at my i-pad. For a bit of peace and quiet, it's worth it! Do you have a library to visit?

Autumn is a great time for walks in the countryside - get the wellies on and give them a small bag each so they can collect leaves, etc. When they get home, they can stick them in a scrap book/ any paper. Helps them learn about nature! Wish mine lived near enough so I could have them for the day. You don't say if they are boys/ girls but I remember mine fighting a lot at that age. They grow out of it! Have a good day.

Gosh lots of clever ideas here.I'm impressed with you all.

You don't have to go for a long walk, just a short walk to the park and let them play there and burn off some energy (especially good to encourage the 'lazy' one to move a bit. While you're there you could pick up some nice autumn leaves and come back and make some autumn collages with the leaves and other craft bits and pieces.
Our DGD love doing that.

Knitting? It could take up two minutes or an hour depending on how interested they are!

Bake simple biscuits, easier than cakes and fun to stamp out different shapes if you have the cutters.

Mine like doing gym on the sofas (eek) - I don't mind but some grans may not allow that.

A bit of tv after lunch or late afternoon is fine too.

Have fun

Dress them in waterproof clothing and wellies.

...then take them for long rambles with puddle jumping.

Physical activity is essential to build camaraderie.

paints and crafts are messy but you can clear up afterwards!

I have just had my 2 grandson's and we have made a Christmas Tree bauble each, Bakes some scones , and created a Christmas list for Santa they are ages 6 and 8 I have loved the whole day. Bowl of water and nail varnished drizzled on the top and dip in the bauble then let it dry. These are hanging up to dry. Scones were eaten warm ha ha

The other day I provided my two with four (rather elderly) pillows and they had a pillow fight in the hall. That went down well.

Make the most of them watermeadow and forget about the mess which can be cleared up in no time. Too soon, they will be teenagers then they are a problem to entertain as you just cannot compete with you tube.