So your friend brought surprise guests - CHILDREN! And your friend says it's not a good idea for her/his children to watch TV. You don't have any toys or picture books to entertain them.

Here's a thought: Make origami paper out of junk mail! Flyers! Wrapping paper from the last Christmas!
Google "Origami" or "Origami instructions", you'll get tons of step-by-step origami instructions.

They will probably stop running around your small apartment. They'll quietly (or at least less screaming) sit down and concentrate on folding colorful papers... or not ;p

But this is kind of fun for you to do while watching a boring TV show or something. You don't have to look for paper called "origami." You already have it at home.

Step 1: Fold and Cut

Find some junk mail or supermarket flyers or wrapping paper from your recycle bin or in the mailbox. Spread one flyer on the table. Fold the paper in 45 degree and make an isosceles triangle by lifting up the bottom edge and laying it down over the side edge like the photo. Fold the rectangular shape area above the triangle back along the top edge of the triangle to make a mark where the edge of the origami will be (the "Fold and Cut Here" dotted line). Unfold the flyer and cut the "Fold and Cut Here" line shown on the photo with scissors or whatever tool or technique you have. Now you have a piece of origami!

P.S. Please fold the paper as neat and precise as possible. Otherwise, you'll get very frustrated while folding your origami to make your origami art ;)

Step 2: More Origami

Did you keep a strip of paper that was left after you made one origami paper? You can fold and cut this paper and make small origami!

Also, make a trash can or a treasure box out of origami, too! It'll come in handy while you are making origami. I made it with a supermarket flyer. So it was like 8" or 9" square box. FYI, because I used the flimsy supermarket flyer, the box came out flimsy, too. But it holds origami scraps and creations. If you want to make it sturdier, use sturdier paper and paste some glue between the folded areas.