Schools out for Summer!!!

But how are we going to keep the children happy – and how can we do it for the lowest cost possible???

Apart from the obvious problems of child care during the holidays (paying for play schemes, getting time off work, and generally juggling everything & everybody!), here are a few ideas to keep the children amused.

Check out any “Free“ local attractions, such as museums, art galleries, public gardens, not every ones idea of fun but you could always take a picnic from home (cheaper than on site cafes) and include a game of football or cricket to use up loads of energy.

Find out what’s on offer and ask the children if they would like to go –they might surprise you – your local council website may well have a list of summer events and opening times. You might not be interested in steam trains or gory scenes from the past – but they might be!

Get back to nature - walking is free! For many of us, the countryside or seaside may be reasonably close or within distance of a bus ride. Children of all ages love to paddle or climb (smaller ones under supervision-of course).

If you save shopping loyalty points, they often have offers on theme parks and zoos. You can check the latest offers on their websites.

For younger children, just doing something different is often fun – like taking a train or bus if you usually travel by car. Let them try their hand at cooking or gardening. Some simple baking ingredients or a pack of seeds are relatively cheap to buy.

Use your local library to borrow books or DVD’s, or arrange a toy swap with your friends who have children with similar ages to your own.

Older children may prefer doing something competitive – try to get friends and/or neighbours together to have your own sports day in a local park. Involve the children in planning the day – egg (hard boiled of course!) and spoon races, relay races, three-legged races, and sack races (using old pillow cases) are old favourites. And which children don’t enjoy the sight of their mum/dad/big sister/brother etc racing against each other?

Or if it’s raining (which it probably will be at some point!) use computer games to have tournaments.

Let them do a bedroom makeover. Decide on a budget and stick to it – a new coat of paint would do. Follow what the TV programmes do – take everything out of the bedroom, have a good clean and throw out any rubbish, sell anything unwanted and then “dress” the new room. Lots of supermarkets & discount stores sell low cost cushions and picture frames, etc. Just a simple change could make a lot of difference at very low cost.

Leave a message and let everyone know what’s happening in your area, or pass on any good websites that detail free attractions.

Or if you have had some successes with your family entertainment, pass on your good ideas…..