As the school holidays kick off, you may be wondering how to keep teenagers entertained for the next few weeks.

While it would be easy to let teens occupy themselves in front of a laptop or the Xbox, there are plenty ways they can learn new skills, get creative or just have fun without shelling out a fortune on trips and days out.

So why not take a look at our guide to some cheap and cheerful ways to keep youngsters smiling - some of the time.

Learn a language

Ok, so not every teen eagerly anticipates French lessons during term time so the idea of learning away from school might not seem appealing. But if you are planning a holiday abroad, it might be worthwhile to encourage teens to download one of the Coffee Break podcasts to learn a few handy phrases in French, Spanish, Italian or German depending on your holiday destination. Easy to follow and downloadable for listening on the go, the classes encourage learners to think more about pronunciation and repetition than writing or reading.

Explain that native language speakers will be delighted with your teen's efforts to speak the local lingo and even offer to learn alongside them. Even if your youngster just learns the basics of hello, goodbye, please and thank you, it will certainly be impressive to their language teacher when they return to school. High Five French from Radio Lingua is specifically aimed at kids with videos as well as podcasts, but all of the Coffee Break languages have beginners lessons to listen to.

Make non toxic powder paints

If your teens are a little too old for water fights but a bit young to sign up to colourful charity fun runs, why not give coloured powdered paints a go? Simply mix cornflour and food colouring into a paste, bake and blend in a food processor for a fun non-toxic coloured paint.

You could even throw a paint throwing party, asking guests to wear cheap white clothes, sunglasses and flipflops as you paint bomb each other. Stick some music on and dance with some cheap glowsticks as the sun goes down - and take plenty of pictures. Just remind them to be careful when treading back through the house after all the fun and wash paint out their hair before bed.

Get ahead with costume making

With weeks of spare time, now is the perfect time to make costumes for any parties coming up or even get prepared for Halloween. Eye masks can easily be made by cutting a large piece of tin foil and pressing gently into your face, around the eyes, nose and mouth to create the shape, then balancing on a few screwed up plastic bags and paper macheing the general shape over the foil for a few layers using newspaper and watered down PVA glue. Cut into a half mask-shape around your nose and eyes, add a few more layers of paper mache then paint the match a favourite superhero or try making a Venetian mask.

Alternatively, why not try this duct tape DIY to make a Batman mask. They'll be feeling pretty smug come October when their costume is fully prepared for any party invites.

Learn how to make bath bombs

If like many teens your kids are obsessed with the fragrant heaven that is Lush but frequently blow their allowance on sparkly bath bombs that make cleaning the tub a pain, then perhaps consider letting them learn how to make their own. With a few supplies ordered online and some cheap essential oils from health food shops, they can get creative on a rainy day and keep their stocks piling high.

Encourage teens to create signature mixes based on their friends favourite colours and scents and gift a few, dropping some heavy hints for some summer gifts for their granny, aunts, sisters and mum. Oh, and as an added extra, teach them how to properly clean the bath afterwards.

Make your own gummy sweets

While it's easy to pick up a bag of Haribo at the local shop, learning how to make your own crystal clear gummy sweets will make your teens feel a little like Willy Wonka.

Perfect for a grey day, simply stock up on powdered jelly, packets of powdered gelatin and golden syrup (a good UK alternative to corn syrup) and make a variety of jelly sweets that can be kept in the fridge for up to a month. Pick up a few fun shaped moulds to make their sweets even more appealing.

Learn how to make flower crowns

If your children are planning to head to a festival this summer or just fancy wearing a pretty flower crown to a party, encourage them to step away from purchasing cheap headbands and instead go for a walk around a local park or forest where you are allowed to pick fresh flowers and make their own.

With just a few supplies such as florist tape and wire, wind flowers and fauna around florist wire to create instagrammable crowns that will rival any snapchat filter. Alternatively scour the cut price flower bin at a local supermarket for supplies and invite friends over to make their own. Even if they don't have tickets, they can watch footage online and have their own mini festival at home.

Decorate a pair of trainers

Forget tie dying T-shirts or making friendship bracelets, a fun way to get creative and have a new set of shoes this summer is to decorate a plain pair of white tennis shoes. Using fabric pens and a piece of paper, you could draw lines on a cheap pair of white trainers to create a chevron design or use fabric paint to create an abstract design.

They could try making a watercolour rainbow design, glitter shoes with an accent heart or even transfer pictures of their favourite bands or superheroes onto the shoes using mod podge glue.

Challenge them to recreate their favourite restaurant dinner

Whether your teen loves a cheeky Nandos, lives for Domino's two for Tuesdays or can't walk past a Wagamama without craving chicken katsu curry, put down your wallet and instead challenge them to recreate their favourite food for the whole family instead. Cheaper than a meal out, it will also help kids understand how to meal plan, how to time cooking different elements such as chicken, potatoes or rice and give you a night off washing up duty.

Depending on their age and kitchen ability, offer to be on hand to help with any difficult techniques such as chopping or handling hot pans, but otherwise give them the freedom to get their ideal dinner on the table. There is a wealth of homemade recipes of restaurant food online, whether your teens fancy recreating burgers, curries or even sushi. If you have more than one teen interesting in cooking, get one to tackle starters or desserts and enjoy the full restaurant experience without leaving the house.

Design a new set of phone cases

If your teen is forever buying and switching phone cases for their mobile, encourage them to get crafty one afternoon and decorate a few cheap cases. Using everything from washi tape to sequins, googly eyes and paints suitable for plastic, decorate to your hearts content.

If they have a little more patience, why not try this unique beaded design in their favourite colours. If your teen enjoys it, why not encourage them to expand their phone case empire and make a series of them for friends and family this summer.