Keeping children busy for six weeks isn’t easy and it’s rarely cheap. If you’re going away, there’s the price of that to factor in – an average family holiday now costs £2,400, which a lot of us simply don’t have – and even if you, your partner, or friends and family can take time off to reduce the childcare bill, there are still weeks at home to fill with something that isn’t eight hours a day of screen time (as much as your kids might think that sounds totally great).
But a cheap six weeks away from school doesn’t have to mean a crap six weeks. It can do, obviously, but it doesn’t have to. Here are some ways to make yours fun without breaking the bank.
Go On Holiday For Peanuts With A House Swap
Going abroad costs a lot, especially as airlines increase the prices during school holidays. If you’ve got friends in a similar situation but in another town or city, can you swap houses for a week?
You might need to do a bit of tidying beforehand – the odds are that one side will end up feeling like they got the raw end of the deal – and you might have to do some weird key-swapping rendezvous at a service station, but other than that, it’s all gravy.
If you don’t have friends who’d like to exchange their homes, there are web services that can help. Love Home Swap can put you in touch with other people who fancy a change of scenery, generally for a token nightly fee. Staying in a stranger’s house in Tavistock isn’t a trip to Honolulu, but hopefully it won’t financially ruin you either.
Find Free Alternatives To Big Ticket Attractions
If money is no object and you want to show your kids the best time ever, sure, take them to fancy places. But young kids will often get just as much out of something basic as hell, closer to home.
Have you seen Toy Story 4? Proof that a fork with a couple of pipe cleaners can be more fun than “proper” toys. And think of the cliché about Christmas, where kids end up having more fun with wrapping paper than the presents.
For every expensive zoo, there’s a city farm you can visit for free or a small donation, and – depending on the age and size of your child – meeting a cow in the flesh can be almost as exciting as the best that London Zoo has to offer. Yes, lions are scary, but have you ever really looked at a turkey? They look like the devil. That’s exciting!
A family of four visiting London Zoo without a discount could cost close to a hundred quid, while 30 of you could go and look at the turkeys in Mudchute City Farm for nothing (though you might want to make a donation). Have a Google to see what city farms are near you.
Take Advantage Of Fun Organised By Someone Else
“There are a lot of low-effort, free or cheap things to do with children over the summer,” says Gill Crawshaw, who runs parenting blog A Baby On Board. “One of our favourites is the summer reading challenge that takes place at local libraries across the UK where children are challenged to read a set amount of books, and there’s a prize at the end.”
Check your library for free events – Crawshaw says theirs holds craft and reading sessions, as well as a Lego-building club. “Even places like shopping centres often hold free holiday sessions and our local council puts films on a big screen in the park,” she says. “Swimming is practically a whole day out, as is taking a picnic to the park.”
There are countless family-friendly free festivals across the country all summer long, including the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, Rochdale’s Feel Good Festival, and Coventry’s Godiva festival. You can also find promotions like Kids’ Week at London theatres (children go free with an adult ticket), Stratford Summer Screen and loads more. Take a packed lunch to avoid extra costs.
Make The Most Of Our Brilliant Museums
National museums are free. That’s an amazing thing, but it’s very easy to take it for granted. They’re big, in-depth and fancy-looking, and (if you’re a real rotter and walk straight past the donation box) they cost sod-all except the price of getting there. Plus, you look like the most conscientious parent in the world, even if you’re actually just trying to save a few quid and are headed straight for the basement of the Science Museum to prat about with the oversized rubber Lego bricks.
“Museums up and down the country will now be gearing up for one of the busiest periods in terms of activities for families and young people,” says Maxwell Blowfield, a museum expert and PR. “It’s not just the big museums either – museums of all sizes and subjects usually have exciting events planned, and many will be free or very cheap.”
Parents really are spoilt for choice – there’s everything from den-making for little architects at Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, to a tech takeover day for budding video game designers at V&A Dundee. Blowfield advises planning in advance, as even free events can book up. “Subscribe to a few museum newsletters as many will send out a dedicated summer holiday email in the next few weeks,” he recommends.
Other museums worth checking out include the National Football Museum in Manchester (particularly for budding Lionesses inspired by the World Cup) and Lapworth Museum in Birmingham, full of dinosaurs and fossils. The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester is having a Summer of Fun, while the Liverpool Museum has a whole programme of free events around archaeology.
Gamify Tasks To Make Them More Fun
I’m not suggesting you should put your kids to work around the house for the whole summer. Buuuut... what about little jobs that are fun? If you can come up with a game for your child to play on their own that also results in a tidier place to live, everyone wins.
You know what’s fun? Sweeping the path! You know what else is great? Weeding the lawn! Will you feel a little bit mean as you sit there with your laptop and a cocktail while your child toils away increasing the value of your property? Sure, but as long as they’re having fun trying to get 50 weeds in the bucket or whatever, you’ve gamed the system, and a small reward seems a cheap price to pay.
[Read More: How To Get Your Kids To Grow Their Own Fruit And Veg]
Head Outdoors If The Weather Is Fine (And Take A Picnic)
Lots of activities that don’t cost any money just involve being outside. “If your kids start driving you up the walls, get rid of the walls and head into nature,” says Bea Marshall, parenting expert and founder of Yes Parenting. “Instead of paying to visit places and activities, explore woodlands and local walks.”
There are over three million hectares of woodland in the UK, full of plants, insects and animals to gawp at. And while you might have to pay to travel there, you can make the transport part of it. “You can turn any outing into an adventure by using a different form of transport,” says Marshall. It’s not just a trip to Tesco, it’s a trip to Tesco on the big red bus!
[Read More: 6 Things To Do In The Great Outdoors This Weekend]
Transform Household Items Into Unexpected Treasure
Scottish stand-up comedian Joe Heenan is a genius at creating his own fun for him and his son.
While fashioning a Spirograph out of some Swiss cheese might not actually make for an amazing afternoon, the “well, what do we have knocking about?” approach forces you to be a bit creative.
We can’t afford to go out today, and Daddy has some work to do, so, why not play with these saucepans, this roll of old wrapping paper, empty washing-up liquid bottles, and a ‘dressing up box’ of clothes otherwise destined for the charity shop?
For the slightly more conscientious parent, the Facebook group TheDadLab is a treasure-trove of vaguely educational, kid-friendly activities – some of which require a lot of time, space and effort, but many of which provide hours of entertainment for very little.
For every one that assumes you have a house full of funnels, Bunsen burners and borax, there’s one that requires nothing more than a plate, some water and a bag of Skittles, or a few toilet roll tubes, some steps and gravity.
And the really lovely thing about gravity? It doesn’t cost a thing.