Free things to do with children during the summer holidays

[Brieonabagel]

Okay, so we’re poor! We both have the first two weeks of the summer holidays off work so we can spend time as a family. But we have school uniform to pay for (ds15,ds5) and eyewatering nursery fees for our youngest(ds2) at the same time. We want to make the most of our family time and at the same time be able to budget sensibly. What can we do?

The National Trust have some excellent ideas on their website of things for kids to do in the great outdoors - take a look at their "50 Things to do before you're 11 and 3/4" initiative.

Also get your kids involved with a cool reading website like Toppsta where they can put on book reviews and stuff - there is some downloadable activities on there for the summer.

I usually get some 2nd hand books for my dd off amazon to keep her busy - cheap as chips and I give it to her in a gift bag at the start of the summer holidays, like a little activity pack.

There are lots of printable activity sheets and colouring on the internet.

For those in southeast england I highly recommend Lower Leas Coastal Park in folkstone - it's free (other than parking) and has a big adventure playground and beach.

Not free entirely but can you stretch to National Trust Membership? We pay about £12 a month but it’s well worth it. Lots of stuff on during the holidays and all you need is a picnic Also go to whatever events the library have on, the local museum and things like fun days that can be cheap and cheerful

If your children like animals pets at home often do little sessions with the animals for free over holiday, I dont know about where you are but in are area there are a few free parks with splash areas who often do free events over summer. Not free but not expensive the kids showings at cinima are good value, we do museums alot and we do lots of walks to beach, woods or general walk to look for sticks etc... to make some art work at home. My children love a bit of den building and they love a day at home where we bake, then make pop corn and watch a film

if you have the room, maybe occasionally let the teen bring a friend, this can help when you are trying to entertain the younger ones, as the they can go off with their friend for a bit.

Definitely come to Manchester. The Manchester Museum (Egyptian mummies and live tropical frogs) is always popular with kids, and Whitworth Gallery often has great drop-in workshops and stuff in the holidays - it’s in the middle of a park with a playground, and has gardens at the back, so it’s not a waste of a sunny day. Both are on Oxford Road. People’s History Museum in Spinningfields (a short walk from MOSI) is good too.

We went to Formby a couple of weeks ago in search of the red squirrels. I was very sceptical, but we’d seen three before we’d got out of the car park.

Someone shared this on FB a few weeks ago and I saved the photo.

Urbane lucky you. The red squirrels always hide from me! Great suggestions here. All the Liverpool museums are good and the Tate gallery has a children's section and backpack for kids to take round with activities.

Cooking! There'll be things all your kids can get involved in, and you can bake lots of treats to take out other days.

Don't feel the need to pack every single day with 'stuff' - out of two weeks leave at least four days as plan free.

Also - DIY is no bad thing for kids to get involved in either. I was just as happy weeding the lawn as a little kid as I was playing, because kids don't distinguish between chores and fun as much as adults do. Your eldest can learn some 'proper' DIY skill if there's something that needs sprucing.

@EnglishGirl My colleague has just joined up with Heritage New Zealand as an alternative to the National Trust. It’s about £45 a year and due to reciprocal arrangements it gives you free entry to National Trust and English Heretics properties (and National Trust Scotland). The only catch is it doesn’t give free parking at properties (so no good for us, because the places we go most often are Dunham and Alderley Edge). Info available on MSE if you’re interested.

www.msimanchester.org.uk/visit-us -free
The Manchester Museum - free that's very good

Didn't like the Witworth or find it child friendly on our visist - but it has a park next to it. manchesterartgallery.org/ was good though and free I think.

In our area there are cheap family tickets at council arts centers - last place had cinerma that did cheap children viewings - swimming is free for children in both places at certain times.

Library often have free or very small charge activties.

In our area there are free youth ceter groups that are putting on more and longer sessions in holidays.

Other than that -parks we spent a lot of time touring local parks when Dc were younger -bike rides at home films, craft and baking.

North west ideas:

1. Wakefield Sculpture Park is huge and free, but parking is £10. Just take a picnic.

1. National Trust - maybe cheaper to become a member

1. Ice cream farm, is free but some things are chargeable, especially the cold treats!

1. Heaton Park, cheap parking

1. Formby beach with a picnic

1. Manchester/Liverpool museums are usually free just pay for parking. Take a packed lunch.

1. Local trampoline places

1. Salford Quays - Imperial War museum, walk along the canal, Blue Peter Garden. Parking is cheap if you use the car park near Frankie and Bennie’s.

1. Gisburn Forest for the Highway Rat trail. Parking is cheap. Take a picnic.

Don’t forget that not all days need to be action packed, it’s nice to stay home for cinema days or baking. You could get them to choose a recipe, go and get cake decorating stuff together.

Does your local council not advertise free holiday activities for children?
I’m sorry I’m in London so don’t know, but I found this website?

www.familiesonline.co.uk/local/tees-valley

The World Museum in Liverpool is fantastic!
The RNLI are doing free swimming sessions on lake Windermere for over 7s.
Obviously we have an amazing coastline.
In our part of Lancashire there aren’t few swimming sessions but there are £1 ones.
The library put on events for younger children.
There is an outdoor swimming pool and bike track in Ingleton although it’s a bit of a trak even for us.
Happy Mount Park in Morecambe have a splash park that’s £1 to enter (get there early) and Fleetwood has a good splash park too.

I have a spreadsheet

Search your own county and neighbouring ones for what's on. Also look at every museum, library, art gallery, castle, country park etc to see if they have stuff on.

Cinemas usually run cheap showings in the morning. I buy cheap craft sets from wilko. Home bargain have some cheap garden games too.

If you're anywhere near Liverpool most of those museums are free.
If you're near Cheshire the ice cream farm is really cheap.

Thanks urbane, I’m an EH member too already, got a great deal for 12 months half price last winter

Make your own treasure hunts for younger children
Geo something for older children
Baking at home to take on picnic

Library visits
Farm zoo
Beaches
Circular walks or circular bike rides if you have bikes

Cinema is cheap on a Monday afternoon round here
But getting a dvd from library for a family film night might be a cheaper option

Worth checking your local authority website. Especially If you are in a deprived area there may be lots of free stuff on each day at local parks and leisure centres. Some churches do very cheap holiday activities too for anyone not just members.

Regarding the Nursery fees, if you are 'full time' (as opposed to term time) some nurseries give you 'holidays' whereby you don't pay any fees for up to a certain number of weeks you don't attend - may be worth looking into.

Not free but...

National trust membership is £10 a month and there’s loads of different places to take a picnic, look around a house and have a run around the gardens.

Treasure trails are about £8 and take a few hours. Good way to look around a local town/place but see it differently

Collect cardboard boxes and make a fort/castle/ship/den, kids can decorate it etc and as long as it doesn’t rain lasts for a few weeks of th holidays (or inside if you have the room)

Lots of mueseums are free

Geocaching

Look out for cheap deals, eg we did an escape room for £50 instead of £120 as we booked the 9am slot, often the early slots of things are cheaper.

Wacky warehouse do a summer pass , normally £20 for 3 kids and I think £10 for 1, you then have 6 weeks of unlimited use of the softplay.

Cheap morning cinema of kids films normally about £2 each and take your own snacks

Local wildlife places normally do activities during the summer. Things like pondskimming, big hunting, kite making etc
Sometime free or sometimes just a couple of pounds .

Local fetes, or country shows can be good to wonder and spend a pound or two quite cheaply.

@ErictheGuineaPig
I do a spread sheet too!! It has whonis looking after the kids when, what date specific activities are on what days and then a list of other activities that can be done anytime, I then fill it all in spreading out the more expensive stuff among the cheap/ free stuff!!

I haven't read the full thread so sorry if these suggestions repeat previous posts.

1. Picnics
2. Hikes and bike rides
3. Library - probably doing a reading challenge and maybe other free activities or events
4. Any free local museums - look on their websites to see if they are having and special events for kids
5. Get the DC involved in cooking
6. Have a board game championship running through the whole holiday - let the DCs organise and keep scores
7. Learn a new card game as a family (or teach it to DCs if you are a card whiz!)
8. Watch a series of films together

We also do a silly thing with our DC in the first week of the holiday where they can each pick a day for ice-cream for breakfast and breakfast for dinner (everyone has to change into pyjamas). Bit silly but if your DC are little (ours are 7 and 10 but still show no signs of growing out of it) then it can stop them - briefly - from complaining of boredom.

Have a look at EventBrite website, I've found all sorts of random and interesting free and paid events for families and kids advertised on there.

Nobody so far has mentioned Stockport: so good they named it once.

Staircase House (Tudorbethan town house) and the municipal Air Raid Shelters are great visits - they’re Council-run and cost a fiver for adults, with accompanied U16s free.