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Cheap or free activities with 4 year old this Autumn/Winter

6 replies

Winterr22 · 29/08/2022 17:26

Hi, just after any suggestions of free or cheap activities to do with a lively 4 year old this Autumn / Winter. She attends Nursery a few afternoons a week but struggling to think how to keep her occupied but keep costs down this Winter.

Thank you

OP posts:
morningstarz · 29/08/2022 20:07

check out (and join!) your local library. Ours has a (free) sing along and story time. Plus when DS was younger (and even now) he loves going in there, picking books, looking at books and just generally pottering. We could easily spend an hour or more in there, and it’s warm! It’s lovely having a new selection of books each week too.

If you have any local tourist attractions, they may offer an annual pass (and very often under 5’s are free). I did this with DS and you have the added bonus of going when it’s quiet (school/ term time).

Check out your local museums - many are free.

Bus rides! Children are free. DS loved a bus ride at that age. We’d catch the bus (dressed up warm) to a different town and go to the park (new and exciting). Then bus ride home. Easily takes up half a day.

Check out your local council swimming pool. Under 5’s are free at ours. Then it didn’t cost me much.

lorisparkle · 29/08/2022 20:13

We had waterproofs and wellies for days out - I often took a thermos of hot chocolate as well! We found different local parks, wooded areas, etc

At home we often made dens using the cushions off the sofa

Make an afternoon out of a 'movie night' with lights off and popcorn

A big bubble bath with different toys / kitchen containers etc

lorisparkle · 29/08/2022 20:14

We used to enjoy a trip to the local 'pets at home' to look at the animals!

MrsWombat · 29/08/2022 20:30

Bike and/or scooter ride. (Teach them if they can't yet)

Thermos of hot chocolate and biscuits for a snack.
Hot dogs or supernoodles in a thermos for a packed lunch/tea.

Orangesare · 29/08/2022 20:43

Watch the trains, walk past the bus station to look at the buses, walk past building sites to look at diggers etc

WeightoftheWorld · 29/08/2022 23:29

We have a regular local church-run playgroup that is a £5 a go for me, DD, and DS. 1.5hrs of play, + drinks and snacks for us all, + craft activity. We walk there and back so no travel costs either.

Parks - wrap up warm. Take some old bread etc to feed ducks/birds. Monkey nuts are cheap, we buy big packs from supermarket sometimes and go and feed the squirrels in the parks. Sometimes take bubbles, or balls, or frisbee. Playgrounds. Walk around walled gardens or lakes. Sometimes take DD's scooter or balance bike. Rotate parks, we are lucky that there are 3 within easy walking distance, one has a sandpit so we take bucket and spade etc. Plenty of others are short drives away so don't cost much in fuel. One has a skate park which DD loves to use on her balance bike.

At home - films for DD, we have Netflix (shared account with relatives who pay for it) and a friend lets us use their Disney+ account! Bubble baths - I put both kids in together and they love it (4 and nearly 1).

With eldest - baking, even the really cheap easy kits, or buying pizza bases and toppings and making pizzas for tea. She helps make lunch too if it's sandwiches and I get her to help with chores like laying and tidying away the table at meal times, putting her clean laundry away, she likes to help brush up the floors, weed the front and yard, mop the floors/clean it with wipes on a pole thing, dust etc.

Play dates at your house or the houses of kid's friends/visiting relatives or having them visit.

Local library.

Popping the local supermarket or post office - to do things you'd need to do anyway but save it for when they're with you to get them out and learning about the world around them.

Swimming at a local pool, kids under 8 are free here and adults are inexpensive.

Video calls with friends/relatives.

Arty/crafty stuff at home. Magic sand kills a lot of time for us - DD will play with it for quite awhile and then also helps tidy it up which also takes ages!

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