What to do with teens during half term?

[worriedmum20000]

Has anyone got any good ideas they can share for half term activities or outings with teenagers? whilst I accept there is going to be a certain amount of lazing around & gaming, I don't really want them to spend the entire week staring at a screen so trying to plan a couple of activities or just a few hours out each day. We are doing cinema one evening and meeting friends for a long dog walk with pub drinks en route on another but now I'm stumped. Funds are limited so nothing too fancy (London eye skywalk or snow zone suggestions by ds1 a bit ambitious!)

Cinema plus meeting friends is surely enough family activities for a week? I can't imagine planning more stuff than that with my teens - they will want to spend half the week sleeping plus they will have plans with friends.

(If it helps, DD and I are planning a mooch round charity shops and DS and I will be going for a long walk).

Try the limited edition autumn/Halloween drinks in Costa or Starbucks.
Check out whether your local leisure centre has a swim session with inflatables. Our local one has an inflatable assault course in the pool for two hours every day.
Bowling
Make a gingerbread haunted house. I’ve seen kits available to buy online but you could print off a template.

@Ricekrispie22

Try the limited edition autumn/Halloween drinks in Costa or Starbucks. Check out whether your local leisure centre has a swim session with inflatables. Our local one has an inflatable assault course in the pool for two hours every day. Bowling Make a gingerbread haunted house. I’ve seen kits available to buy online but you could print off a template.

This 100%. My little ones are only little (6, 4 and 28 months) but I look after my cousins regularly. They love a good Costa visit and bowling is great 👍 .

Cards / board games evening.
If you have a garden, a fire.

Ds and I have have found a new way to pass the time by downloading things like dingbats to the iPad and having competitions - who can do first 10 first etc.

Also playing card games etc. But we do this by having a walk (local or drive). Finding somewhere with coffee and cake etc and sitting and playing cards on the nice sofas. We got this idea as there is a cafe near us that has games etc in house and we love to visit there!

Also printing quizzes off the internet.

If your ds likes visiting places what we've done before is go somewhere with great photo opportunities. Got photo paper and said each person has to take 5 great photos to print. You can start making albums and do this each holiday and build it up. We often spend ages taking Leo ads of photos, deleting some, then choosing the best 5.

Pumpkin carving ready for any trick or treaters!

Escape room and lunch out one day?

Make them cook a 3 course meal on a budget of £20?

Go on a train trip out somewhere for the day?

Haircuts

We're going away for 4 days, but I'm working the rest of the week.

So I've said to DD that she can chill to her heart's content (she's had a very stressful few months with family stuff going on) but she must also arrange at least 1 meet up with friends (shopping/cinema/costa or whatever) and she's got the job of tidying up our window boxes. She can wander into town to get some bedding plants etc.

She loves cooking, so will probably do dinner on the days I'm at work, and she has a music exam coming up so I hope she'll try to fit in a good amount of practice.

And I've no doubt there'll be loads of homework.

Im planning on walking, eating and lazing about with my 17 yr old. But i haven't seen DC for 8 weeks so we have some catching up to do. Lazing about on DC will be allowed as the last 8 weeks and been tough.

I think you're close to London, so I'm sharing my October half term guide in the hope it gives some free or cheap ideas.

museummum.com/2021/10/15/october-half-term-london/

For teens, a Mayfair gallery trip could be good. Ron Mueck has life like sculptures on life and death that play with scale. Expect nudity! They were giving away free signed Damian Hirst posters last week at Claridges Art Space, and you can collect an NFT for attendance. And the the Mound is terrible but the Antony James works inside are cool. All walkable, all free.

The Imperial War Museum's WW2 and Holocaust galleries have reopened after a major rehang, if they're interested in history.

God's Own Junkyard in Walthamstow and Leake Street Graffiti tunnel are both hits with my teen.