To ask how are you filling the summer holidays with your dc?

[Scratch22]

We had a holiday in May and can't afford to do much this holiday. Need some inspiration! Everyone else seems to be off having interesting breaks and days out! Anyone else on a budget but keeping busy?

We have various summer camps/sports camps and a few play dates here and there.

We have bought a six week summer pass to a local farm with playgrounds, inflatables etc - was £50 for the family but paid for itself after two visits. A lot of places near us have done something similar, you could see if you have somewhere doing this kind of offer?
Other than that, trips to meet friends at local parks, visiting family, getting the children to set aside time to read books, walks in the woods, take bikes/scooters out.
Hope I can also find enough things for the children to do over the next five weeks without spending a fortune .

Plenty of cheap/free things to do that are simple and kids love, we usually do: picnic in the park, splash park if you have a local one, walk through the woods and nature trails, baking, craft days, paddling pool in the garden, feed the ducks at the local ponds, play dates, pets at home have free workshops for children some shopping centres/libraries will have their own versions, movie days with blanket and popcorn rather than expensive cinema trips, and if you can stretch to it a trip to London and the museums/parks (or your local city if you’re too far) for the price of a train ticket, visit to a seaside/aquarium/farm needn’t cost much if you bring your own food and remember it’s good for kids to be bored don’t feel you have to plan something every single day

I'm organising a week at a time. My DC are 10, 9 & 7 years old.

First wk is busy, DD is at a dance summer school all week so my DM is having one of my DS's & we're having the remaining DS's friend over to play. Then alternating that on another day. Taking both DS's to local lazer tag with my friend & her DS. Spending a day with my Niece & Great Niece at a park & having 1 day at home to do whatever.

After that:

My DM is having DD for a day.

DS's will get a return invite to friends at some point during the holidays.

DS1 wants to do a football training day at local leisure centre.

There's a drop in 'Circus Skills' workshop in the next town so may take all 3 to that - £3.50 each.

We've started the summer reading challenge at the library.

Got a season ticket to local theme park.

Museum is good & has free craft/activity sessions.

Cheap show at the cinema - £2.50 per ticket.

DH has week off so will take the kayak out to the beach, visit theme park & spend time with MIL.

Beach/park/woods with a picnic.

We have a couple of projects on the go that we are dippin in and out of

Scrap booking from their old school books- so saving their own highlights from the year.

Making some drawstring wash bags for camping. We are then embroidering them and decorating.

Visits to other parks, meeting friends we haven’t seen in a while. The weather has been kind so we have been to the beach lots and swam.

Summer Reading Challenge at the library.
Our local garden centre does some free treasure trails, probably aimed at under 7's. Also a small playground there, and lots of fish to look at.
Get them to write a letter to a granny, uncle etc - preferably someone who will write back!
Bike rides.
Paddling pool.
Treasure hunt in the garden/house.
Film day at home, with pop corn and ice creams.
Most cinemas have a cheap children's film showing at certain times of the week, although it won't be one of the new releases!

We will be doing all of the free museums in Manchester.

Not much tbh! DD is 5 and DS is 1, so a lot of things aren't suitable for both. Plus, DS is really clingy and it's hard fitting things in around naps.

We've got a special pass for a soft play 15 mins away - £15 for unlimited entry for the 6 weeks. Think we'll be using that one a lot!

Lots of park trips, duck pond, etc.

Summer reading challenge at the library.

Going to DM's for a week and a half. She won't be there for some of it (we're housesitting) but hopefully meeting up with a local friend. Unfortunately I'll be on my own with the DC for most of the time.

We live near a cheap farm so will go there a couple of times.

Maybe swimming, although we've never been so would prefer to wait for DH or DM to come with me and help!

I am going to teach my daughter (just turned 8) to sew during the summer holiday. We spent a leisurely morning at a local car boot picking up fabric bits as her chosen first project is a bag. (I am not much more than a beginner machinist so I am hoping it will all turn out ok!!)
Also have booked a couple of craft sessions at local library and a whole day at a summer club to break the weeks up a bit...

Lots of walks (hoping the weather over the next 5 weeks is more conducive to moving more than a foot an hour) lots of refereeing and hoping they stay apart in between. They're teens with ASD and not exactly best buds. DH has a day or two of leave booked each week so we can take them out individually on that day. Fun times.

Summer reading challenge at the library - our local libraries have loads of extra activities on for free/donation too

I signed mine up to an online distance challenge where they have to tot up miles over the holidays and we can then send off for a certificate and medal. This has meant they're keen to do slightly longer bike rides and walks.

Local parks - my dc like different ones for different reasons so we vary our visits. Some have sandpits or helter skelter slides or splash pads etc

Beach - we are lucky and have lots of lovely beaches nearby. We generally meet friends and take buckets and spades, body boards etc and spend a good few hours at a time

Woods -. my dc love building dens and pretend campfires and climbing trees or playing hide and seek. We also have a forestry commission place near us so can do the proper trails too/take bikes

Rivers - We've bought some cheap buckets, nets and wetsuit shoes and the kids spend a long time looking for little fish

Museums/galleries - loads of extra activities on over the holidays

We have National Trust membership so plan to do some trips to visit places a bit firth er afield that we've not been to before as well as our nearest 'go to'

I don't plan to spend much extra really except on food for picnics!

school holidays mean nothing to us as we home educate
and follow the learn through life approach so we carry on doing what we do all year around

We've got National Trust passes, costs £10 a month for the whole family, gets you into the properties and their grounds plus free parking on all their carparks.

There's loads within an hour of us so we go at least once a week, sometimes to look in the house or a picnic, bike ride, walks etc.
A lot of them have play areas too and host events throughout the summer.

I'm at work all the summer holiday so not much!

Wet suit shoes, inspired thanks for that!

As above op, days out, different towns maybe 20 miles away we wouldn't normally go too. National t membership, again will do places we don't normally visit.

Yha has sale on for some places, maybe worth look at them?

Usual play areas, museums... Relaxing..

Free events put on by the council e.g. when the seaside comes to town or an historic vehicle show or tomorrow there's a beach day at the water park etc.

NT/EH days out to places not too far away.

Mostly though I'll just be letting them play in the house and garden with each other or the kids from next door/down the road and finding their own entertainment.

We came away on the Sat just as we had finished school on the Fri - another 5 days here then home so that's the first two weeks sorted (I do realise we are very lucky to be able to do this!).

After that, DS is doing some extra swimming lessons next week which he loves plus we are going to the dentist and he has a party to go to on the 10th. So, week 3 is pretty busy.

Then, play date with a friend from school and another with my sister and her boys.

Our local town gallery has free craft activities on so will go to that.

Library/park including a walk on the bridle way and canal.

Hoping to go to cinema to see something.

Baking

Garden at home or just chilling at home.

Hopefully, got enough to keep him amused.

Mine are in Turkey for the whole of the summer.

They have numerous activities planned (water sports, boat trips, visiting some wonders of the wonders of the world, wet n wild safari (basically a huge water fight) and ds1 will be paragliding at some point.

They will also be going to Turkish schools to attend their summer camps. (Craft, sport, adventure days)etc...

In Turkey, family and friendship is everything and the heart of their culture, so on a evening they will be going to family BBQ with the whole of the village, (everyone brings a dish) meals out, BBQ on the beach etc..

I like to break up the day with a morning activity, park, library, supermarket, splash pad something like that. Come home for lunch and a bit of telly then an afternoon activity, normally walking the dog. Then home for dinner, bath and telly or whatever. I also take lots of time over doing things to stretch out the day.

We had our main holiday in May too.
National Trust places often have some great activities. Local tourist spots too, always worth checking if they are running activites. Hobbycraft run fantastic crafting classes in the holidays, all free but you have to book and they tend fill up quickly. Pets at Home to free workshops too.
Check your local council website for local area play projects and other activities. Libraries do reading challenges and other groups.
I also scour Pinterest for things to do at home - particularly things to make. We also do a big bedroom clear out challenge for local charity shops. Whoever clears out the most gets to choose somewhere to go for lunch as a big treat.
Picnics at local beauty spots, film nights at home and lots and lots of chilling in-between time!!

We have had to pay £250 for holidays clubs when we are at work, so the rest of the time is on a budget.
Today we are using our annual pass to go to the zoo. Take a picnic - costing us nothing.
Tomorrow - baking snacks, making lunch (homemade pizza), swimming at our gym (no extra expense), play with toys.
Wednesday - Cinema and Bowling for me and DS. Tenpin have bowling and a burger for £5 each. Cinema is £5 each.
Thursday - use summer pas for trampoline park
Friday - weather dependant bikes or home cinema with coloured pop corn in a homemade den.

National Trust membership

Local museum / amusement park membership

Local zoo membership

Days at local parks

X2 art workshops

Blackberry picking

Drama workshop

Day out at Fort

Reading challenger

Homework (similar to NT 50 things)

Camping trips x2

Fishing

Garden / paddling pool days

Brownies / Rainbows trip

Bike rides

Indoor trampoline work

Cinema

Reading challenge

Trampoline park

UK beach holiday for 2 weeks
DS has swimming lessons (intensive course)
Both DC are going to grandparents for 3 days to stay
We have some free activities booked at our local craft shop
Friends coming round for tea

I've made it clear that I can't entertain them endlessly this year. I have a chronic health problem so whilst I'll happily do a craft set with them for half an hour, they then have to go and find something to do for a while.

I sit on a camping chair outside the house and watch them whizz around on their bikes.
We have made jelly and smoothies, attempting a bath bomb kit today. Flapjacks tomorrow.
Had cheap breakfast at a cafe and went to the splash park.
DD went to a party in her friend's garden.
Planning to clear out toys, drop off at a charity shop and let them choose a new toy each.
Sweet Sundays got us free cinema tickets.
I'm quite limited by not being able to walk any distance but can drive them to a park or to feed the ducks.

Every day they have to do an easy housework job each to earn their sweets on Friday. Eg strip beds for washing.

Every 2 days I make a batch of sandwiches, wrap them and pop in the fridge. So they are ready to munch in the garden or take to the fields near us for a picnic.

English heritage pass £5 pm, loads of places round where I live to explore.
Beach.
Out door pools/splash parks
Lakes/walks
Playgrounds
Baking
Arts crafts
Playing/chilling in the garden
Swimming
Cinema
Tv