The summer holidays can be expensive. I have six weeks looming ahead with three boys who need constant distraction and amusement. Holiday clubs, days out, extra food and the moanings of ‘I’m bored’, all have financial consequences. Put very simply, we cannot afford to shell out the estimated £133 per week to keep the children amused.
Here’s a list of the best ideas to get you through the school holidays without spending a penny.
1. A countryside walk
We all live close to nature, even if you live in the middle of a city. Go to the woods and create houses from trees and branches or find some green space and explore. My family lives near fields of wheat and corn and I love to walk around the edges of the fields spotting wildlife and flowers, and looking for grass snakes.
I like to write a list of 20 flowers, trees, animals and birds that the children need to search for whilst we’re out for the walk. The winner with the most things ticked gets to choose dinner or a film to watch when they get home.
Before you set off to explore, put a big bottle of water in your rucksack and fruit and energy snacks for when the kids start moaning that they’ve walked too far.
2. Geocaching
An extension to the country walk is the treasure hunting excitement of Geocaching. Check out this website for a great explanation of what you have to do. I’ve just done a quick search and there are 10 treasure spots within one mile of my house alone! I can see how recently they’ve been visited and how easy they are to find.
You’ll need to take some treasure with you to replace the treasure that you find. I am sure your kids can find a toy or gift that you no longer need to put in the treasure chest.
3. Visit a free museum
So many museums are free, from the huge Science Museum or Natural History Museum in London to the smaller places more local to you. We love RAF Hendon. Money Saving Expert has a fab list of free museums where you search by location. In Eastern England, particularly Cambridge, we have the choice of around 10 free museums to visit and then another 20 in London. Top of our list to visit this year is the Bank of England museum where you get to learn about money and hold a gold bar.
4. Go to a splash park
We love a splash park in this household. Luckily, we’re surrounded by them in lots of parks, so I’m guessing it’s the same for you as well, wherever you’re reading this post. We have them in St. Albans, Stevenage, Letchworth and Royston. All very near to where we live. Just take a couple of towels and your packed lunch, and you’re good to go.
5. Do a park assault course
Check out your local park’s assault course or exercise course. Our most local big park is Fairlands Park in Stevenage, which has a course of apparatus running through the fields and trees. The boys can do pole climbs, monkey bars and chin-ups. They like to compete and have me take videos of their chin-up records!
6. Free community activities
Check out the free classes at your local church, library or children’s centre. All these organisations offer freebie activities. There will be play in the park, messy play and rhyme time. Ask around in local Facebook groups or Google your local children’s centre.
7. Plan your summer with Clubcard vouchers
The boys are very keen to go to Legoland this summer. We’ve been before, and it’s amazing, especially for three boys who all adore Lego. Alas, I’m not paying full or even half price for tickets as it’s so expensive. For one adult and three boys it’s £188 for us to go with advanced booking. Yikes!
I tend to save them up, so I have a bigger chunk of vouchers to use each summer
Instead I will use my Clubcard vouchers and get four tickets from there. The tickets will cost just £63 in Clubcard vouchers. I tend to save them up, so I have a bigger chunk of vouchers to use each summer. I’m going to ensure I bring plenty of drinks, a packed lunch and snacks as we’ll be avoiding the shops! Look at your Clubcard account for lots more days out ideas.
8. Fruit picking
July-August is a great time to hit the berry farms and go fruit picking. Near me I have them all; strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, even the blackberries are starting to ripen. And, of course, you don’t have to pay for what you eat! I have a few places I know where we can go proper freebie blackberry picking or foraging so we’re going to do that. Make sure you know what a blackberry is and don’t go picking them near a road or below a metre in height (where animals might have had a call of nature).
9. Recycling box creativity
There are loads of things to do in the summer holidays at home too… you don’t have to go out all the time! I always have a craft box suitable for any given moment of inspiration. Whenever I get stuff from goodie bags or packaging it all goes into the craft box. I just let the boys go wild with creativity. There are tons of amazing printables and card models online that you could find. Only today I’ve been printing out Incredibles colouring-in pictures for some amusement whilst mummy gets a bit of work done.
Lynn Beattie is a PensionBee customer and CEO/Founder of Mrs Mummypenny, a personal finance website. She is also an ACMA management Accountant, previously working in commercial finance for Tesco, EE & HSBC. Lynn is a single mum to three boys, living in Hertfordshire, and is the author of ‘The Money Guide to Transform Your Life‘ published in September 2020.
