How to make Skittles from juice bottles

I should ‘fess up now and tell you that I let my children drink Fruit Shoots (the releveance to making a garden skittles game will become clear shortly.) I know that this confession will bring forth a torrent of abuse from committed members of Mumsnet, but I can’t keep it a secret any more. Admittedly they don’t have them every day, but the sports bottles are brilliant for drinking when out and about and they really like them. They also happen to be very good for crafts, so I have been letting The Girls have a few more than usual to amass the correct number for this craft (I’m kidding about the last bit: I wouldn’t force feed my children just so that I had the right number of empties. Often.)

Anyhow, to make these fabulous skittles for playing in the garden, you will need:

10 sports drinks bottles, ideally all the same size.

a few cans of spray paint (or paint mixed 50/50 with PVA glue)

a large mess mat

a ball

I scored recently in my local DIY store, because they were selling old stock at bargain prices, so I got three cans of spray paint for £1 each. I confess I went a bit mad and used them for about three projects. And when I couldn’t find anything else, I raided our recycling (which goes out fortnightly) and was inspired to make this Skittles game. It really couldn’t be easier.

Make sure that your bottles are clean and the lids are screwed on tightly. Then spray them (this is why you need such a large mess mat- spray paint goes a long way!). Leave to dry. Set up your skittles and knock them down. I found a ball in the dog’s basket that she refuses to play with, which works very well for my girls since it is made of cotton and doesn’t bounce.

They loved setting up the pins and knocking them down again. Dimples thought it was hysterical in fact.

Garden Skittle is a great game for:

improving hand-eye co-ordination

teaching them to take turns

working on motor skills (standing the bottles upright)

learning colours

counting