How to have the best summer holidays without breaking the bank
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Filling the school holidays full of fun activities for kids can be a pressure for all parents. The summer holidays are already underway in Scotland and will soon be upon us in England and Wales, too, prompting many a parent to scratch their head in angst at the looming expanse of time stretching before them.
However, we're firm believers that fun and making memories that will last a lifetime shouldn't break the bank and, as part of our charity partnership with Family Action, we're sharing ideas for having the best summer ever without having to take out a second mortgage. Read on for inspiration...
What to do during summer holidays?
Be a local tourist. Take roads and paths you’ve never ventured down before. Who knows what you might discover on your doorstep?
Visit a museum. Many museums and attractions are free to enter. Some of the best-rated for families include St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff and Manchester Art Gallery.
Go for a walk. England and Wales have more than 140,000 miles of public footpaths, bridleways and byways. Make walks more appealing to little ones by taking a dog (if you don’t have your own, borrow a friend’s, or sign up to borrowmydoggy.com). Alternatively, make a walk bingo card to bring out with you to see who can find a perfect oak leaf, spot a squirrel or hear the tap-tap-tap of a woodpecker.
Start a reading challenge. If you have an avid reader in the house, make use of your local library and log how many books they get through.
See a show. Every summer, children can go free to a participating London theatre show when accompanied by a full-paying adult. Find out more at Official London Theatre website.
Hold a mini Olympics
The Paris 2024 Games start on 26 July. If your children are intrigued by the events they see on TV, they’ll love holding their own Olympics, whether in the living room, garden or park. Have fun coming up with inventive ways to recreate events. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Running race. A finishing line made of string, ribbon or loo roll adds a sense of occasion. Larger groups could set up a relay race, while younger kids might enjoy light-hearted three-legged, egg-and-spoon or sack races.
Hurdles. Set up a fun course around the garden or at the park, using household items as obstacles to hurdle. Brooms, mops and cardboard boxes will all work well.
Gymnastics. Older children might like to prepare a whole elaborate routine to perform, while younger ones might prefer competing for best handstand, cartwheel or roly-poly.
Discus. Use paper plates indoors or frisbees outside to simulate the exciting Olympic action.
TIP: Get older kids involved by letting them time the races or act as adjudicator.
Host an at-home summer festival
Whether you’re entertaining one child or a whole group, create all the fun of a festival without leaving the house.
Use YouTube or Spotify to create a playlist of their favourite artists, or search BBC iPlayer for past Glastonbury sets - with the festival having just taken place there's lots to choose from right now.
Hand-draw tickets together to deliver to their friends. Give your event a name and list who’s ‘headlining’!
Set the scene with fairy lights, bright bunting, blankets and cushions.
Do some face painting. Don’t worry if you’re not an artist; there are plenty of tutorials online that you can follow for simple designs, but hearts, stars and butterflies will go down equally well. You could add face gems and glitter for older children and teens.
Make flower crowns: get children to cut flower shapes out of coloured felt, then punch a hole in the middle and thread them all on to ribbon.
Finish the day with a dance party while your headline act is playing!
Rainy day ideas
At-home cinema. Turn watching a movie into an event by building a den out of blankets and cushions on the living-room floor. Create a ‘pick ’n’ mix’ station using bowls of popcorn and chopped fruit. Younger children could make ‘tickets’ and invite their teddies to the screening.
Scrapbooking. Encourage kids to keep mementos – train tickets, leaflets, maps, receipts, a pretty leaf they found on a walk – and take an afternoon sticking these into a scrapbook together. Get them to write captions detailing what they enjoyed about the day. TIP: Keep hold of wrapping paper, ribbons and other decorative bits and use them to decorate the pages.
Get cooking. Why not have a bake-off competition to see who can make the best treat? Visit Good Housekeeping Food for a variety of recipes and inspiration.
How do I keep my kids busy this summer?
Childhood recollections can last a lifetime, and research shows they help to shape us as we grow, which is why Family Action runs its Make Happy Memories campaign every summer, supporting families they work with to spend quality time together and encouraging us all to create moments of time with loved ones of every generation.
Tips for a happy summer
It can be helpful to develop a weekly plan with your family. Plot out one or two activities for each day, then maybe have a ‘reserve’ list of things to do for those ‘I’m bored’ moments.
Get the children to help with things like preparing lunches or dinners to make your life easier and entertain them. Older children could take responsibility for one family meal a week – researching a recipe, writing the shopping list, buying the goods and preparing the meal. TIP: Crafty kids might enjoy drawing up a menu for their ‘restaurant’.
How about a weekly family competition? Whether it’s who took the most steps over the week, who made their bed every day or who produced the most creative card for a friend, the options are endless.
Electronic devices are OK if they’re managed appropriately – agree an amount of time and what is allowed/not allowed, and maybe seek out educational content.
Consider differentiating between weekdays, which could have a more structured timetable – often helpful for working parents – and the weekend, which might have a more relaxed pace.
Remember, you don’t have to plan every minute of every day – kids are often good at making their own entertainment, and the holidays are also an opportunity for them to rest and recover.
How to have an 'imperfectly perfect picnic'
There can be so much pressure on families to create a picture-perfect summer but, for most, that just isn’t achievable each and every day. That’s why Family Action is encouraging families to embrace the messy moments. Sign up to receive your Imperfectly Perfect Picnic Pack, featuring an array of delicious, straightforward recipes to help you create precious memories with loved ones.
For more information, go to family-action.org.uk/GHpicnic.
Share your Imperfectly Perfect Picnic memories by tagging @family_action on Instagram.
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