As a parent I’m constantly thinking up new things to do with my kids, especially on rainy or cold days where going outside isn’t a sensible option. The idea for Theme Days came about on just such a day.

That morning I had spotted a recipe for Mongolian Beef that looked simple enough to have my kids help me make for supper. As a fan of history, I immediately started thinking about the Horse Lords of the Mongolian Steppes, hunting with eagles and dressed in furs and started talking to my son about them. He seemed very interested by my stories of great armies and nomadic tribes, and as we made the Mongolian Beef together we got further and further into the theme.

We put on some traditional music, looked where Mongolia was on a map and how big it was, and looked at some photographs of Mongolian landscapes and citizens. Later we learned of Genghis Khan and the armor he wore, allowing both of us to relax and look through books together with the smell of our supper flowing through the house.

What started as a simple story grew into a micro-adventure that engaged him, educated him (and me) and allowed us to spend some great time with each other. He even told his friends and teachers about the next day at school.

With so much easy access to information it’s a relatively simple activity to do with your kids and they can get a lot out of it. You can cook a cultural meal with them, listen to music, look up images and even include elements like drawing and dress-up. It also doesn’t have to be about a place or culture. You could theme your day on anything from Ponies to Trains!

Why don’t you try your own theme day and let us know about it?

Ollie Sykes is the Creative Director here at Budge Studios and is also a father of two little gamers. He’s been making video game magic for over 20 years and also teaches game design at a local university.