5 Fun, cheap things to do in the summer holidays!

Summer holidays are almost here for us, and I am really excited! No more school run for 6 weeks..hooray! But many of my friends despair, mostly due to the costs involved in entertaining the children all summer. So, here are my 5 favourite low cost ways to entertain the kids!

Ice Cream Factory

I’m not even going to pretend this isn’t my favourite activity of all! There’s a glut of posh ice cream parlours which have sprung up. They offer a variety of flavours and exotic looking desserts! But in honesty a trip there with my three, and I would spend more than a weeks shopping! So we make our own parlour! A large tub of vanilla ice cream, a variety of sauces and sprinkles and some chopped fruit. Let them make their own sundaes! It’s messy, and younger children need supervision, but it’s great fun!

Explore..

Venture out to a new park that you don’t usually visit. If you’re lucky enough to live near a country park or in the countryside, why not go on a bug hunt?

Movie Afternoon

I try to save this one for a wet afternoon, but it works well when the weather is hot and everyone is tired too. Pull the curtains, and watch a rental on TV. Ok so there’s a cost, but it’s so much cheaper than a standard visit to the cinema. We usually have a bag of popcorn and a milkshake to make it feel super special! If you are keen to have a trip to the cinema look out for special offers. Vouchers and offers e.g. Tesco clubcard vouchers or offers on sweet packets reduce the cost of a visit! Also some cinemas offer kids cinema which costs around £2 a ticket.

Experiment..

Simple science experiments provide lots of entertainment! Our favourite is to make a ‘volcano’.   Actually we have a long list of experiments we want to try this summer! Most are easy to do with household items.

Create..

Whether you have a go at making bath bombs, or simply get the paint out. Craft activities can be as in-depth or quick as you fancy. I am not great at crafts, so I try to have a plan before we begin of what I think we will be making. I do admit though, that more often than not the boys take over and create their own version! In the Christmas holidays my eldest son made slippers from an outgrown pair of pyjamas. This summer I think our projects will involve painting some of the terracotta plant pots and upcycling to create seats for the boys garden  den!