When the weather is bad and you don’t fancy getting your waterproofs on and heading out anyway, it can be helpful to have a list of rainy day play options to hand. Things to have in that you can whip out to keep the troops happy.

Baking and crafting are always top of the children’s to do lists, as well as making a den or watching a movie. They might even hold their own premiere and have tickets and a red carpet!

One of the other things we’ve been doing recently is the Peppa Pig Picnic Dough Set, £12.99 from Character.

This is a bargain at £12.99 in my view. It all packs away in this neat little box with a carry handle for easy transportation. This means if you are going away for the weekend or off out and likely to need to keep the children busy for a while somewhere, it’s a great thing to just pop in the car.

Whilst it comes with a a range of colours, you do have to accept that after about the second or third use, all the dough is a sort of purpley-brown colour. In ten years of parenting, I am yet to come up with a solution to this so you do just have to go with the flow and not get too caught up on that aspect.

Children will love the fact that they can make all sorts of things with the dough, these wiggly worms or spaghetti were very popular with the children and they loved using the different tools to create new shapes.

Lots of children love the feel of the dough in their hands and squishing it through their fingers. Many also like the smell and the vibrant colours, so this is a real sensory play experience for children.

With different shapes, cutters and tools this kit make great value play and would also make a great gift.