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?

Last year DS and I made a Nerf target, just a giant bit of card with different sized holes cut in it, and taped it up in a doorway. We wrote scores by each hole, the smaller the hole the bigger the score.

We did that on the first day of the holidays and it stayed there the entire seven weeks. DS loved it, his friends loved it, they especially loved it if I was passing the doorway from the other side and they shot me through the target.

Google free things to do with kids near me

Also if you are on facebook like every page for local things around you.

Just by following different places and organisations you can find out a lot about what's on in your area.

I've liked all the local council pages because they are good for advertising local events. Local leisure centre. Local shopping centres often have things going on in the holidays. All the local museums. Certain local shops have events and activities. The local park has a facebook page they put their events on. There's a visitors centre at a wood nearby and they run events in the holidays.

The more pages you like, the more facebook suggests others that are suitable as well.

And then there are those pages that suggest crafts and activities. A good one I follow is called What Do We Do All Day.

And some local attractions have the thing where you buy the ticket and can keep going back again and again for a year for free.

We've got a couple of places like that where we will be reusing the tickets regularly.

Do this

You have mostly free things
Then a few middle of the road activities like swimming ,pictures
Then one or two theam parks

Lots of house work and educational things as fillers and once it’s ticked off that’s it

Kids club cinema
Museums,
Bowling early birds
National trust parks
Picnics at lakes/reservoirs/rivers. A change from the park.
Making and Flying kites if you get a windy day!

Check eBay out for discounted vouchers/tickets and gift cards to events/outings/venues. I got fantastic deals for gift cards for restaurants, cinema and even tickets for the zoo. You will be amazed at what people sell as unwanted presents.

Also I always use this website during every school holidays!
www.kidsdaysout.co.uk/

Some glamping is relatively cheap and comes with the tent or pod etc of course you get the more expensive glamming as well but have a good search on the web and sometimes closer to home just for a couple of nights

Are there any woods near you or country parks . Good value to join national trust or English heritage as you can then have many cheap days out. NT you can spread payments over the year.

Try and get a copy of primary times they have some ideas .

Have you any Tesco club card points as they can be redeemed for an attraction for a family day out.

Not RTFT but hobby craft are doing free classes. A different class/session every week of the holidays :)

Thank you all so so much! That’s loads of brilliant ideas! I’m so grateful for all of your suggestions

For anyone that lives North West way, Beyond is running a load of free events this summer (it's that site next to the Trafford Centre where the ski dome is). We went to the circus few week back for free the kids loved it -not sure why they don't charge but not complaining!!. Search for Summer Beyond.

Also, came across this kids drawing competition last night to win garden furniture and a kids pass which looks like one of those cards where you get discounts at all different family places. Going to get my little one to it entering this wknd! www.facebook.com/BrandInteriors/photos/a.10150379784186657/10155551865301657/?type=3&theater