8 Ways To Survive The Summer Holidays Without Spending A Fortune

Yes, it’s about that time again. The kids are on holiday and it’s your job to keep them entertained. However, there really is no need to break the bank. This guide should help you find both free and cost-effective activities to keep your little ones occupied.

We’re gonna list things like free museums, great value tickets and kids eat free type deals and also some 2 for 1 deal.

Ok, let’s go for the easy choices first.

Go On A Picnic

A lot of parents think that they have to spend a fortune on their kids to have an amazing time. However, if done correctly, a small family picnic at the end of the garden with their favourite tunes blaring is so effective. If you wanted to venture even further out,

'One of the biggest thrills for children is having a picnic at the end of the garden or at the park,' says Alison Rice, independent travel expert, who points out that we are lucky to have so much free open space in the UK.

Kids love to help prepare the picnic and don't forget to pack a ball or Frisbee. Or just sit and make daisy chains.

Related: Should Parents Use Annual Leave or Take Unpaid Leave to Care for Sick Children?

2 for 1 Across The UK With A Train Ticket

Did you know that you can get a rail ticket 2 for 1 entry across 300+ regional attractions from Warwick Castle, Kew Gardens and even Manchester United Museum. You would need to navigate to their websites and print out a voucher.

10% off entry to the Eden Project, Cornwall

Depending on where you live in the country, you may want to consider visiting the Eden Project. The adult ticket is fairly pricey, but kids (aged 5–16) are just £15 and even better, kids  (aged 0–4) get free admission. This is such a great day out for the family. They even have a selection of cafes and bars there too.

Blenheim Palace year's entry for the price of a one-day ticket

World Heritage Site (and birthplace of Winston Churchill) Blenheim Palace has just got to be on the list. Not only is a really interesting place to visit, but they have a really great offer at the moment.

Buy One Day, Get 12 Months Free*

*Choose to donate the cost of your entry to the Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation Charity to benefit from converting to a FREE Annual Pass. Find out more about their charity here.

By donating your Palace, Park & Gardens admission to their Charity, you are basically helping to preserve such a beautiful Estate and in return, you'll receive an Annual Pass to access everything we have to offer all year round.

What a fantastic deal!!

Get a Kids Pass

Some of you probably haven’t heard of Kids Pass before. If you haven’t, Kids Pass is a members-only club which gives you access to over 3,700 offers. 

There are plenty of “kids eat free” deals, percentage off cinema tickets and thousands of discounts on family days out.

At the time of writing Monthly membership is £7.50 and annual membership is £75 for Kids Pass.

Go Camping

Still one of the most popular past times for us Brits. Camping is one of the cheapest activities we can do as a family these days. 

No matter what age your kids are. Getting out into the great outdoors and being at one with nature. 

The wonderful thing about the great outdoors is you generally don’t have too many electric devices, TV’s, games consoles, etc. This means that it’s not just a cheap holiday, but a time to really bond as a family again.

Make A Movie

Why a Movie?

Getting your kids to use their imagination for a change will be liberating. The good thing is, you can start to film anywhere you like, in the house, in the garden, in the park. You name it?

The title may sound a little crazy at first. However, if you think about it. We all have high-quality high definition video recorders in our pockets. Our mobiles. Get them to sit down and write the story.

I know most parents wouldn’t even consider doing this, but I think they should. It would be so much fun. Not only is it extremely cheap to do, but, your kids will have so much fun, possibly over a period of many days too! It all depends on how involved they get.

Animal Spotting

Tracking the different types of animals they see with a pair of binoculars as the season's change and watching the squirrels get ready for the winter by collecting and organising the acorns they collect would be great for their journal.

Depending on where you are in the county, you could also observe the many different types of birds that are migrating south and explaining to your child why this happens.

On the other side of this education, you could also keep track and observe birds building nests in the spring.

You could explain to your child why this happens and even explain that some nests stay within the same family for years.

There are so many different ways to identify the many different animals outside. In fact, it would be a good idea to check out this Wikipedia page for more information.