Two creative siblings have been making their own garden games using nothing more than cardboard boxes.
Like all families, the Shaws are spending most of their time at home as they follow the isolation and distancing rules during the current pandemic.
Luckily they have a large garden to enjoy, but the sisters Cerys, 12, and nine-year-old Seren have been proving that you don't need to spend money on expensive toys and equipment to have fun.
The pair, who live in Oldham, have come up with five games so far, using just empty boxes saved by their dad Paul.
Their games include:
- Placing the boxes across the garden to throw balls (or other objects inside). You get more points for getting them in the boxes furthest away.
- Stacking them up to make a sort of basketball game. See how many balls you can get in the top.
- Make your own coronavirus board game.
- Making a Dalek from Doctor Who
- Making a lifesize cutout of a person - to either colour in or paint - or in Seren's case to illustrate the digestive system, which she needed to do for her homework.
Dad Paul said: "I'm always keeping boxes, cardboard and lots of other bits of pieces just in case. It drives my wife mad, but my habit has proved very useful with the current lockdown.
"Just a simple game of trying to throw balls into cardboard boxes, with scores written on each, kept the girls amused for quite a while. Then we stacked them up for basketball.
"The next day they got the boxes out again for another go. And once they were bored with that, Cerys made a board game out of one and after that they both made Daleks out of them. So you don't need to spend a lot of money to have fun - I think just playing as a family is what appeals to our children the most."
The family, including mum Renae who works for the NHS and has been busy organising doctors' and nurses' shifts, have been doing their best to entertain themselves during the lockdown.
They recently celebrated Seren's birthday and look set for another lockdown birthday when Cerys turns 13 next month.
As well as hunting down the ingredients to make another birthday cake, they've got even bigger plans for the boxes if the lockdown continues.
"Next they want to join up all the boxes to make a tube slide down the stairs," said Paul, a software developer. "I said I'd think about it.
"I probably will do it eventually, but not this week - we're just too busy with work at the moment. It's a balancing act these days, as I imagine it is for everyone.
"Besides, it appears the lockdown is going to last for a while, so I've got to keep something up my sleeve to entertain them!"
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