Share your ways to make more of family days out during the summer hols with PizzaExpress - £300 Love2Shop voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

With the long school holidays stretching out ahead of us, the thought of filling every day with entertainment is enough to exhaust any parent. So how to take a few simple activities and extend the fun across the full six weeks?

This summer, PizzaExpress is teaming up with Ice Age: Collision Course to give families great days out. Here’s what PizzaExpress has to say: “Come and visit our family-friendly restaurants across the UK and try our delicious new summer menu. We even have lots of gluten-free dishes and kids can try our Piccolo menu which features mini plates of grown-up favourites – for even the fussiest eaters.

While you wait for your food, your children can enjoy completing our Ice Age: Collision Course activity pack and even enter a competition to win a 5-day holiday to Hollywood! Simply visit a restaurant and draw a picture of your favourite Ice Age character with a pizza to be in with a chance of winning the holiday to Hollywood, Ice Age toys, goody bags, Pizza Making Parties and much more...”

PizzaExpress would love to hear your tips for making family fun last a bit longer - without constantly dishing out cash.

Could you encourage your children to do some creative writing based on a film they've watched - or put on their own performance after a trip to the cinema? Perhaps you come up with crafty activities which tie in with places you've visited or things the kids have seen? Or even encourage your DCs to cook by recreating recipes from a meal out? If you've arranged a day trip, do you extend the adventure by using different forms of transport to get to your destination? Maybe you make the preparation for a day out- like making a picnic and packing bags for the day - all part of the fun?

Please share your tips for making the most of days out and finding ways to make holiday fun last all summer long. Comment below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard T&Cs Apply

[freefan]

we leave all mobiles at home and stay clear of amusement arcades etc, instead opting for the beach or a woodland walk where we collect small bits and pieces to make a scrapbook on a rainy day.

[princesssmitheee]

there are so many free or very cheap ideas you can find on the google , kids will enjoy smaller days outand activities then one big trip and then sitting in the house bored all summer because blew the budget on one thing

[ceridwyn]

If we visit a museum, beach, battlefield, woodland or see a film or play my children inevitably spend the next few days/weeks making up/re-enacting the storyline either as live action with their friends (This started after the Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe came out when the younger ones were 6, 5 and 4) or making puppet shows, plays, clay characters, costumes for dolls...More often than not I don't need to give them ideas, just provide materials, space and attempt to tidy with them afterwards! kind of helps when there are a number of children around (cousins/friends...) as it's more crowd control than actual parenting.

[Whyisitsodifficult]

Always take a picnic, which I must admit I dislike doing as makes me feel like I'm doing school packed lunches! Saves a fortune though so needs must. Library is a winner here, reading challenge, also they often have activities on like crafts. Then when we get home they disappear to read there books, win win!

[sarahb8708]

A picnic is a must on any day out, we have some nature books (birds, animals and flowers) that we take with us as well so that we can mark off when and where we see something new, these are good for the journey as well as you can look for things out of the bus/train windows. We also have a stock of children's photo albums at home so that on rainy days my daughter can pick her favourite photos and keep a record of all the fun she's had. Xxx

[krankers1982]

Do something everyday picnic at the park, swimming, play park keep an eye on groupon i got vouchers to take the kids strawberry picking, a trip to local bird sanctuary and ice skating at discounted prices plus we take one photo on our adventures so they can keep them in a photo book of the summer holidays x

[Ntinyn]

Plan it, make sure you have enough food for a picnic then get out of the house as early as possible (easier said than done), take loads of suncream or waterproofs or both!

[Cambam2010]

My DS(6) has to keep a diary to share with his new class when he returns to school. I was dreading this but so far it is working really well. It is a great opportunity for him to work on his letter formation and sentence structure. It is giving us the get up and go that we need each day so that we have something interesting to look forward to and he is loving finding tickets, stickers, leaves etc that are relevant to each day. He will be visiting his Scottish grandparents for a week and will take the diary with him - I think this is great as they will have a different input with him and he will have some great memories to look back on at the end of the summer and I can use it to remind him that we did go out and do stuff and that he wasn't bored all the time!

[Havingkittens04]

We recently had a lovely day out at an owl sanctuary but the weather turned and we had to hot foot it from the picnic area back to the car. Cold and still hungry, we laid out our picnic blanket in the (very spacious) boot of the (4WD) car and finished our picnic there - with flasks of tea to warm us up. The picnic in the boot turned out to be the best part of the day, and DD is always asking when can we have another picnic in the boot again the photos are lovely to look back on too, and you can see how much fun we had x

[Spices001]

Take a picnic, cheaper & more of an 'adventure '

[catgirl2]

For us cooking is a guarenteed winner. We rarely cook cakes / biscuits as I am lucky that my daughter (4) is a total foodie and loves to cook anything so we tend to cook what we need - family meals, stuff for picnics. Everything from deciding on recipie to gathering ingredients, cooking, eating and washing up (the latter only happens occasionally!).

[SuzCG]

It's too expensive to do things every day so we plan ours out with days out/home days. Even on home days we would go out for a walk every day at least, exploring the countryside and spotting animals etc. I bought a garden games set with old fashioned things like beanbags and sacks in it and we have 'sports days'. For days out keep your eye on leaflets, local publications for money off vouchers etc - and have annual memberships for places you visit on a regular basis. Use the train now and again - it's much more exciting to the kids than always going in the car.

[lottietiger]

We do a scrap book too. Anything from postcards if we are somewhere new to leaves from the nearby woods. We paint or draw about our adventures on the opposite page and add some photos printed from my phone onto the back of scrap paper. It can easily make a half day trip last til dinner time. Lunches tend to be picnics of some sort, either at the park, NT places as we are members, or if it's hot in the back garden with the paddling pool up.

[StampQueen12]

At the start of the summer holidays, I always look online to see what free things are happening locally. I don't drive so needs to be walkable or easy on the bus. In the past we have done painting at the community centre, storytelling at the library, museum trips, nature walks, picnics and trips to the beach. We have loads of equipment at home such as footballs and Frisbees so often play with them in the back garden. The kids also adore the paddling pool and water fights. Basically it's just spending time together rather than spending loads of money. We always love the summer.

[ha2el]

Have a good network of friends with children of your age. Then you have a wide choice of ideas and interests that you may not think of yourself.

[43percentburnt]

Pack a picnic and don't forget a flask of coffee (I make a cafetière and pour it in - this is often nicer then buying coffee when you are out).

Look for local things to do for free, carnivals, library events, museums.

Go on a park crawl (bit like a pub crawl).

Always pack a pot of bubbles - random bubbles make everyone happy!

[nemno]

If you are in a city pick a different park to visit each time, from big ones to local playgrounds. Get the kids to help make the picnic eg bake cakes and savouries, make sandwiches. Take a ball/frisbee/bat everywhere.

[kamaxtra]

We always book travel ahead of time for the summer months - this guarantees we all spend time together when away, whether it be exploring or just relaxing!

[FeelingSmurfy]

We buy edible treat for the walk home/back to car, it keeps us going until next meal time and turns the bad part of the day (leaving) in to something fun

Doesn't have to be sweets, we have had pastries, prepared fruit, Crisps, popcorn etc

[feeona123]

Mine aren't at school yet but it's still tempting to spend when the weather is nice.

Spread the trips out so they have something to look forward to. We have a local lake which doesn't cost anything to visit so look out for places like this.

[Anj123]

I am always looking for deals and special offers. So for example, yesterday we went to Edinburgh on the train for the day using a free family and friends railcard I got. We had a meal at Pizza Express and used a Nectar points voucher which reduced the bill by just over £20 (and cost only £5 worth of Nectar points) and we had refreshments using the Virgin Money lounge which was free (as I am a Virgin Money customer)! If you are using the train, it's always worth looking on the train websites as there are often 2 for 1 deals with your rail ticket. We didn't have enough time to use our all our deals!

[Elliepurpleflower]

Go to places with friends, everyone is entertained for longer! So national trust houses, parks, etc become way more fun for the children.

[cookie09]

Making the most of family days out during the summer doesn't have to cost a fortune, just a little preparation and it could be the most fun summer ever. We often pack a picnic and travel to a local park or heritage site, or a nice stroll down the river on a summer day is fun. Failing that we get our bikes out and go for a nice long bike ride and find somewhere we can just chill out for the day, somewhere with different scenery. A day out to the seaside is also a winner after you have got past the "are we there yet" stage. Theres nothing that beats fish and chips at the seaside, a donkey ride and a bucket and spade. If your kids are happy then so are you!

[Laurajp35]

For fun days out in the summer, my little girl loves to take her dollies to the park for a picnic and to have fun on the slides and swing. We also like to enjoy wet days by painting and drawing using our craft box.

[vcoxee]

We plan ahead and only change if weather is affecting our plans! Our "holidays" calendar is full of small local activities, days out & days in (baking time on rainy days!). Check local radios & local attractions for last-minute deals too!