to want to know your low cost ideas of things to do in the holidays

[carriedababi]

trying to think up some ideas

so sick of the park

[HoneyDuke]

Go to the beach
Water fight
Scavenger hunt.

Or plan nothing . Children get creative when they are bored.

[scurryfunge]

Scrap booking

Den building

Gardening

Make bird food

Swimming

[hobnobsaremyfavourite]

Bike ride, any free museums in your area, library.
Do you have a digital camera? Try taking it to the park and get the children to take pictures of things from weird angles or pictures of their favourite things and do a slide show on the computer when you get home.

[norksinmywaistband]

We have so far this week ( mind you i am off from work as well so only Home based week)
Made cakes, made pom pom animals
Beach
Park
Had a friends over day
Planted some flowers, after decorating the pots
Been to the library
Been to bouncy castle fun day( cost money, but big treat of the week)
Made icecream sundaes and ate them in front of DVD

The kids however, have been pirates/vets/drs/explorers, have rediscovered some of their toys - They can be creative when they want to

[Ragwort]

What age are your children?

[mediawhore]

Cbeebies until 7pm then bedtime.

Cost of a freeview box ;)

[TheOriginalNutcracker]

Mine have mostly played out front with their friends, but the novelty of that is starting to wear off.

I will be watching this thread for ideas.

[MuddlingMackem]

We like parks and so hope for dry weather.

So long as you can find ones with toilets you can venture further afield and take a picnic lunch so that you can spend the day there. Even better if you can meet up with friends so that the kids have other kids to play with.

[OrdinaryJo]

Get the train to somewhere with a park/beach - makes the day a 'treat' rather than a 'trip'.

Library.
Museum / gallery.

Nature trail if any close by (depending on age / ability to walk of DCs).

Get bikes out and give them a service - oil, clean, check fixings etc before you go out (by vagueness here you will gather this is DH's job but it does make a quick bike ride into an all-afternoon event)

[sims2fan]

Go on your council's website and they should have an events section. Most of the things in my area are free. My local library has leaflets about free activities there and in other local amenities. There is always loads on in my area for free and hardly anyone ever goes! I can never understand it!

[starfishmummy]

Park
free activities at our local museum
cooking
art/craft
tidying up
helping me shred all the old letters (well supervised of course)
TV/playstation/computer time within reason (ie all day (!), he has the squits so going out has had to stop for a couple of days)

[MegBusset]

'Paint' the patio/garden fence with water
Set up an obstacle course in the garden
Garden centre
Library
Picnic with friends
Check what your local Surestart centre has on, they're usually free

[Merrin]

Library challenge is good.

make a camp in the garden

[Merrin]

Use tesco points for cinema tickets

[carriedababi]

oh some very good ideas here thanks

yes we haven't painted the patio in a while

one dd age 4

what is a Scavenger hunt? or library challenge

cap in the garden is a really great idea, esp if i can borrow a tent

or how do you make bird food

[LaWeasel]

If you go to your local library and ask they usually do summer challenges where when your child brings back a book they've read (or for pre-readers, here it's takes books in/out so many times) they get stickers, and then when they hit a certain total get a certificate.

Sometimes older kids have to read certain books, or fill in a mini-book review type thing (just a sentence or so, answering a question usually)

If your DD is 4, your local sure start centre will still have activities on, and sometimes a few extra.

[LaWeasel]

You could look up your local council and see if they have walking routes in your area? Or if you're in a city, get a street map and mark out routes of an appropriate size that take you down roads you don't normally walk down. Take a picnic and eat somewhere you wouldn't normally.

I think we will be doing that a lot (I have a 2yo)

[valiumredhead]

Camping in the garden? My ds LOVES that!

[RevoltingPeasant]

Don't have DCs yet, but my mum used to....

Bake cakes with us, buy food colouring and let us screw them up decorate them

Melt together different odds and ends of old crayons to create new 'swirly' ones (melt in old saucepan then put into cupcake paper to let dry)

Buy cheapo biscuits - must be rectangular or square to work - and picknmix, make some stiff icing, and make 'gingerbread houses' using the biccies as sides

Make up dance routines to a favourite song

Pick wildflowers and do flower arrangements - often would make our own 'vases' from old glass bottles for recycling, decorating them with nail varnish

[valiumredhead]

Oh I LOVE the idea of decorating vases!!!!!

[LIZS]

Library challenge is to read a certain number of books, maybe too old for your dd but there maybe a preschool version. Scavenger hunt is a list of things to find while you walk or play - you can collect (ie feather, speicific shaped leaf etc) and make a collage afterwards or just tick them off. In the same vein I-Spy books are back and have a wide range of themes. Entarnce for kids at National trust is free in August and they often have trails, activities, playareas or you can just have a picnic etc.

[EndoplasmicReticulum]

www.naturedetectives.org.uk/

I mentioned this on another thread, I'm not employed by them, honest!

[Debs75]

we are going to have a few days out and a few activity days such as swimming. the rest will prob be at home so I plan to

Play dough day

Painting

Baking cakes

Making pizzas for tea

Water fight in garden

treasure hunt

pasta pictures

Gloop, a big favourite with ds

[scurryfunge]

easy bird feeder

Just google....lots of ideas for bird food and feeders.

[LIZS]

Make necklaces by dying pasta with food colouring or make beads out of air-hardening clay(Das).