It’s the summer holidays! This means two things – endless shouts of “mummy, I’m bored!” and constant demands for snacks.
It’s a challenging time for us parents. We not only have to make sure that the snack cupboard is constantly fully stocked (ours is usually empty within two days of doing a full shop) we also have to find interesting things for the kids to do.
For SIX whole weeks.
This is kind of difficult when you live in Britain, where one minute it’s sunny and the next it’s pouring with rain.
In addition to the questionable weather, the cost of things can also be an issue. Entry prices to some attractions, along with the cost of food and drinks, can be extortionate.
It’s even worse if you get there, pay the entry costs and your kid hates it and wants to go home after about 15 minutes!
Luckily, there are many affordable summer holiday activities that will hopefully keep them entertained for a few hours!
Here’s a few free and low-cost things we’ve done so far this summer:
Play parks
Play parks come in all different sizes, are great for young kids and are, most importantly, free! They do get extremely busy in the summer holidays and it can be hectic (and noisy!), but it keeps the kids entertained!
The only downside of taking the kids to our local one is that it’s covered in graffiti. Naturally, I decided against taking a photo of my 4-year-old next to the climbing frame with the words “f**k Amber” scrawled on it. Not a good one for his summer scrapbook!
Luckily there are much nicer ones a little bit further afield!
Museums
Local museums often offer lots of affordable summer holiday activities, including child-friendly displays for families to explore. Our local one opens up a huge sandpit to create a beach-themed area every summer and we’ve also attended fun child-friendly science demonstrations! All for free.
Some country parks have stately homes with museums that you can explore for a small or no cost. It’s a great educational experience that keeps the kids busy for a couple of hours.
Despite exploring historic houses being a bit difficult in the past when the kids were younger, they’ve now reached an age where we can wander around attractions for a bit longer without the fear of any epic tantrums! Hurrah, it does get easier!
Garden centre
This is a surprisingly fun activity! We’ve had lots of great experiences at our local one, from unexpected play dates in the outdoor area to feeding the fish for a small cost.
Some garden centres also have wonderful toy sections too. Admittedly it can be hard to tear the children away from them sometimes, but they’re still worth exploring!
Prices can be a bit high, but there are no entry fees to pay and you can browse the aquariums for free.
One of our local garden centres is close to a reptile house, which the kids love! I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said “no, we are NOT getting a bearded dragon” though.
Country parks
I’ve mentioned this one a few times in previous blogs, but it’s such a great activity that I needed to include it on this list! Country parks offer SO much to see and do!
Some country parks hold activities for children during the summer, such as nature trails and other free events. You can also do some bird watching and bug spotting. We’ve found so many interesting bugs on our walks and we love to stop and watch the ducks splashing around too.
It’s a great family-friendly day out that costs hardly anything! The prices can sometimes be a bit high in the cafés (£4 for a piece of toast at one place we went to – you can get a whole loaf of bread for less than that!), so we usually take a picnic!
Den building
This is a great outdoor activity that costs nothing! Den-building in the woods can keep children busy for hours and we’ve stumbled across some amazing pre-made dens, which the children loved exploring!
My four-year-old loves to brandish a stick on walks, so even the smallest of dens will keep him entertained for a while!
It’s also a great indoor activity too if you have plenty of blankets and pillows! Ideal for a cosy place for the kids to read or watch a movie on rainy days.
However, if your kids are anything like mine they probably won’t get much den building done and will be fighting over the pillows instead. Sigh.
Rock painting
Rock painting has become a popular activity in recent years, with people creating some beautiful designs and then hiding their creations in the woods for others to find.
Rocks can easily be foraged from anywhere, such as local parks, woods or even your garden. There are also lots of rock-painting sets available for under £10 from retailers such as Amazon and The Works.
It’s an affordable way of encouraging the kids to get creative and get some fresh air if you do decide to hide them for someone else to find!
Community centre events
Community centres offer a wide range of affordable summer holiday activities, many of which are free. Our local one holds a stay and play each week of the holidays, with children being offered free lunches.
If you have a local community centre then it’s worth checking what events are being held during the holidays. Schools sometimes arrange a variety of fun and affordable summer holiday activities for families too. These are often free or only have a small entry fee, so be sure to check out their website or Facebook page to see what’s on!
Look out for signs advertising activities in your local area too. We’ve had a great selection of events locally, from football sessions for a small charge of £0.50p per child to free archery sessions.
Play dates
Play dates are a fun, free way of keeping the kids entertained during the holidays! You can meet up with friends and enjoy local walks or just arrange to meet up at home. Not only do the children get the opportunity to see their friends, you can also enjoy some adult conversation!
Admittedly it can be hard to have a decent conversation when you’ve got your kids and another set of kids running riot but at least it doesn’t cost anything!
Crafts
Arts and crafts are one of the best affordable summer holiday activities and can also be a great educational activity. Many museums, art galleries and community centres have crafting stations for children.
On rainy days, you can also stay indoors and do some crafting activities at home. I find it a much more enjoyable experience doing crafts with the children at home rather than visiting soft play centres, which can be expensive.
We’ve used many household items for crafts in the past, from cardboard boxes to kitchen roll tubes!
Gardening
Gardening activities are a great way of getting children out of the house. You don’t have to worry about any entry fees or travelling costs and there are so many things to do.
Our 4-year-old loves doing some weeding. He even likes mowing the lawn (a task which, with his help, in all honesty, takes twice as long as it should do).
We’ve also taken photos of bugs and plants to create drawings and paintings from. It’s a great way of keeping the kids entertained for a bit longer if it suddenly starts raining later in the day.
Which it definitely will because this is the UK.
Right, that’s at least a good few weeks worth of activities sorted.
Only three weeks of the holidays left to go!
*sob*
