Summer has a funny way of creating little pockets of time where children suddenly start getting creative.
A notebook gets left out on the table, and before long, it’s filled with made-up animals, treasure maps, secret clubs or pages of jokes about sausages and aliens. Sometimes all children really need is a bit of inspiration and something fun to write with.
Creative writing activities are such a lovely way to encourage screen-free play at home because they can be completely open-ended. There’s no pressure to “do it properly” and no right or wrong outcome. Some children will happily write pages of stories, while others prefer doodles, comic strips, clues or tiny notes hidden around the house.
Many of these activities are also brilliant for doing together. Parents, grandparents, siblings and children can all join in, whether that’s inventing silly joke books, writing treasure hunt clues or creating stories together around the kitchen table.
Whether you’re looking for fun writing activities for children during the summer holidays, ideas for National Writing Day or simple ways to encourage children to write more creatively, these ideas are designed to keep things playful, imaginative and enjoyable.
1. Create a Secret Spy Notebook
Secret notebooks instantly make writing feel exciting.
Children love having a place to record hidden clues, passwords, maps, and “top secret” discoveries. A simple notebook can quickly become a detective journal, spy diary or mission logbook full of mysterious observations.
They might write:
- Secret family codes
- Maps of the garden
- Lists of “suspects”
- Invisible ink experiments
- Spy missions for siblings
- Clues hidden around the house
This is especially good for children who enjoy imaginative play because the writing becomes part of the game itself.
The Dinosaurs Personalised Notebook (other designs available) works brilliantly for adventurous little writers, while colourful options like the Fruity Notebook - Lemons make lovely summer holiday notebooks too. Pair them with the Box of 12 Named HB Pencils or the 24 Named Erasable Colouring Pencils for sketching maps and symbols alongside their notes.
For children who really love secret missions, the Invisible Ink Spy Pen Set adds an extra layer of fun. They can write hidden messages, create coded treasure hunt clues or leave secret spy notes for siblings and grandparents to uncover using the built-in torch.
Grandparents often love joining in with this activity too. A secret clue hunt around the garden or house can easily turn into an entire afternoon of screen-free fun.
2. Write Letters to Their Future Self
This activity feels surprisingly special for children.
Ask them to imagine themselves a year from now. What do they think they’ll be doing? What are their favourite toys right now? What foods do they love? What would they like their future self to remember?
Some children may only write a few sentences while others happily fill several pages.
You could even make it a yearly tradition, storing letters away to open together in the future.
The Named Notepaper - Rainbow Unicorn (other designs available) is perfect for this kind of activity and feels much more exciting than plain paper. Older children often enjoy using “grown-up” stationery too, like the Personalised Retractable Gel Pens or the Named Pen & Mechanical Pencil.
This is also a lovely one for grandparents to join in with. Children often enjoy asking grandparents what they would have written to their younger selves.
3. Keep a Summer Holiday Journal
Holiday journals are one of the easiest ways to encourage creative writing naturally.
Children can fill them with:
- Drawings
- Funny moments
- Favourite meals
- Tickets and postcards
- Mini diary entries
- Holiday ratings
- Beach discoveries
- Funny things siblings said
And it doesn’t have to be a big holiday abroad either. Days out, picnics, garden adventures and rainy afternoons at home all become part of the story.
The Personalised Pencil Case is lovely for children who enjoy keeping all their stationery together while travelling or heading out for the day.
For children who love having everything ready to go, the Embroidered Jumbo Pencil Case - Blue (other colours available) comes packed with stationery and makes a brilliant grab-and-go creative companion for holidays, cafes and summer outings.
The 18 Named Felt Tip Pens & Clear Case are also ideal for adding colourful drawings, doodles and comic-style pages to holiday journals.
4. Invent a Magical Creature
Children are naturally brilliant at making up strange and wonderful creatures.
Ask them to invent their own magical animal and describe everything about it.
What does it eat?
Where does it live?
Can it fly?
Does it have special powers?
What sound does it make?
Is it friendly or mischievous?
Some children will love writing detailed descriptions, while others prefer drawing first and adding labels afterwards.
This kind of activity encourages storytelling and creativity without feeling too structured.
The 12 Named Chunky Triangular Colouring Pencils are especially lovely for younger children who enjoy lots of drawing alongside writing, while older children often love adding bold details with our felt-tip pens.
You could even turn it into a family activity where everyone invents their own magical creature and creates a mini “creature encyclopedia” together.
5. Make Comic Strips
Comic strips are brilliant for children who love storytelling but don’t always want to write long paragraphs.
The writing feels smaller and more manageable because it’s broken into speech bubbles, captions and short scenes.
Children can create comics about:
- Superheroes
- Family pets
- Summer adventures
- Silly monsters
- Pirates
- Space missions
- Dinosaurs
- Funny family moments
This is one of those activities that works beautifully across different ages, too. Younger children can draw while older siblings or adults help write speech bubbles.
There are lots of options within our Personalised Notebooks range for children who want a dedicated notebook for comics, stories and doodles they can keep coming back to.
For children who love visual storytelling, the Beano Build a Comic Kit is a brilliant addition. The pre-printed comic pages, stampers and stencils make it feel much more approachable for children who are full of ideas but aren’t always sure where to start.
Superhero fans will also love the Design Your Own Superhero Comic Book, which encourages children to invent their own characters, powers and storylines before bringing everything together into their very own comic book adventure.
6. Leave Tiny Notes for Family Members
Tiny notes can become surprisingly exciting for children.
Encourage them to leave funny messages, little compliments or silly surprises around the house for family members to discover.
Ideas might include:
- “Good luck today!”
- “You make the best pancakes.”
- “There’s treasure hidden somewhere nearby.”
- “Warning: dinosaurs may be in the kitchen.”
This is such a simple but lovely screen-free activity for children because it combines creativity, kindness and imagination.
A colourful set of stationery often makes children much more likely to start writing spontaneously, too. Our personalised category includes lots of personalised notebooks, pens and pencils children can use for little notes, doodles and creative projects at home.
You could even encourage children to turn their notes into secret messages using the Invisible Ink Spy Pen Set, making ordinary family notes feel much more exciting and mysterious.
7. Create Treasure Hunt Clues
Treasure hunts never really lose their magic.
Children can write clues for siblings, parents or grandparents to follow around the house or garden using rhymes, riddles and secret instructions.
Younger children may prefer simple clues like:
“Look where the shoes are kept.”
Older children often love making clues trickier:
“I’m cold inside and full of food, your next clue waits where drinks are cooled.”
This activity naturally encourages creative thinking while still feeling completely playful.
There are lots of different designs available within our Personalised by Theme range too, so children can choose notebooks and stationery that match their interests, whether that’s dinosaurs, rainbows, animals or vehicles.
8. Start a Family Joke Book
Children absolutely love silly jokes.
Creating a family joke book is a brilliant rainy-day activity and often becomes something everyone adds to over time.
Children can:
- Invent jokes
- Collect favourite family jokes
- Draw funny cartoons
- Create comic-style punchlines
- Decorate pages with doodles and stickers
And honestly, the sillier the jokes are, the better.
This is a particularly lovely activity for grandparents and grandchildren to do together because it naturally leads to lots of laughter and storytelling along the way.
The Named Pens & Pencils range includes lots of personalised options children love using for projects like this, especially when they’re creating something that feels properly their own.
9. Use a Story Jar for Writing Prompts
A story jar is one of the easiest ways to spark ideas on quiet afternoons.
Simply write lots of imaginative prompts onto little pieces of paper and place them into a jar or box.
Ideas could include:
- A dragon appears at the supermarket
- Your teddy comes to life
- A pirate arrives at school
- You discover a hidden tunnel in the garden
- Your dog suddenly learns to talk
Children then pick a prompt and turn it into a story, comic strip or drawing.
This activity works brilliantly for summer holidays because it’s easy to revisit again and again whenever children need a quick burst of inspiration.
The Roald Dahl Storytelling Dice are perfect for this kind of activity, too. Children can roll the dice to create unexpected characters, settings and story twists, helping spark ideas for imaginative stories when they’re not sure what to write about.
The 24 Named Erasable Colouring Pencils are perfect for story planning, doodles and colourful illustrations alongside writing.
10. Design Their Own Newspaper
Children often love pretending to be reporters.
Ask them to create their own newspaper filled with “important” family updates and stories.
Their newspaper could include:
- Interviews with grandparents
- Pet news
- Toy reviews
- Weather reports
- Family recipes
- Puzzle pages
- Comics
- Garden discoveries
Some children may enjoy turning this into a weekly summer project with new editions every few days.
There are lots of options within our Personalised Pencils range too, from classic HB pencils to colourful named sets children can use for sketching, story writing and creative activities throughout the holidays.
Why Creative Writing Activities Work So Well at Home
Creative writing activities give children space to slow down, invent stories and use their imagination in their own way.
Some children naturally love filling pages with stories, while others prefer comics, doodles, clues or tiny notes hidden around the house. The lovely thing is that all of it counts as creative expression.
And during busy summers filled with screens and constant entertainment, activities like these offer something refreshingly simple.
They encourage:
- Imagination
- Independent play
- Creativity
- Storytelling
- Family interaction
- Quiet moments away from screens
Often, the setup is wonderfully simple, too. A notebook with their name on it, a few colourful pens and an idea or two is sometimes all children need to disappear into their own imaginative world for an afternoon.
Whether it’s creating spy missions with grandparents, inventing family joke books or designing comic strips together at the kitchen table, these are the kinds of small moments children often remember for years afterwards.
And sometimes, that’s exactly what makes them so special.
