If you’re looking for fun and frugal activities for the children to enjoy during the summer holidays and at the weekend then you’ve come to the right place. In this post, I’ll be exploring 10 fun and frugal trips for the kids to enjoy this summer.
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Fun And Frugal Trips For The Kids To Enjoy This Summer
With the summer holidays very much in full swing, you’re probably looking for places to take the children to keep them entertained for the remainder of the break. Those words I’M BORED can quickly become a summer holiday anthem if the children do not have an outlet for their energy. Summer holidays could end up costing you a fortune trying to keep the kids active and entertained.
In my last post, I wrote about 10 fun and frugal activities for kids to do at home. In this post, I’ll be exploring 10 fun and frugal trips for the kids to enjoy this summer.
1) Plan A Beach Or Seaside Trip
Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside; oh I do like to be beside the sea! Hands up if you sang that line?! A trip to the beach or seaside, depending on where you live, can be inexpensive if you plan and prepare properly. I remember as a child we’d go on large family trips to the beach with our cousins, aunts, and uncles. The adults would bring coolers or jollof rice, chicken and salad for us to eat and cartons on Calypso drinks for us to wash the food down. We’d pack blankets and toys from home and head down for a fun day at the beach. I don’t recall our parents ever buying anything for us while at the beach but we didn’t care. We just enjoyed being together at the beach.
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2) Visit A Farm
In the UK a lot of farms are actually free to visit. My local farm is Crystal Palace Farm and my boys love going there to see all the animals. Hackney City Farm is one that I’ll be visiting this summer with the boys. Its free entry and has a farm shop selling eggs, organic vegetables and other locally produced food.
I found this great blog article that has a list of other free farms across the U.K. but you can easily Google ‘free farms near me’ and see what comes up.
3) Head To Your Local Library
Visit your local library and stock up on reading the material or even sit in on storytime. Most libraries have a whole program planned for the summer holidays, from summer reading challenges to workshops and days out. What’s’ more, most of the activities available are free! Simply go online or visit your local library to find out what’s on so that you can get your children involved.
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4) Browse Your Local Pet Shop
I’m not sure how ethical this actually is, but I think it’s a great frugal idea nonetheless! Take the little one(s) window shopping at your local pet store. They’ll love seeing all the different animals on display. Hopefully, you have a nice attendant that’ll be happy to let the children see the different animals. They may also be willing to share some of their animal knowledge with the kids which will make it an educational activity too – double win!
5) Take Your Little Ones Swimming
Swimming is a great way to have fun, exercise and wear the kids out. They’ll sleep well after spending time at the pool. I was delighted when I checked my local Croydon magazine and discovered that all children under the age of 16 can swim for free at Better Leisure Centres across the borough. Check out the Better website to see if the promotion extends to where you live. Even if it doesn’t, swimming is one of the more affordable activities you can do with children outside the home.
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6) Explore Your Local Forests’ Nature Trail
Take the kids on an adventure to explore your local forest. Climb trees, collect leaves, look for bugs and other creepy crawlies. If you’re brave enough, why not try collecting bugs in a jar? I remember doing this as a child in our school gardens and enjoyed it thoroughly. However, I don’t think I’d be quite as brave to do it these days as I’m scared of all animals. If you don’t have this problem, the kids will thoroughly enjoy it as most children are fearless!
7) Plan A Trip To A Museum
In the UK, particularly London there is are many different museums to visit. We have everything from history and art museums, to science and children’s museums. Most museums across London are actually free to visit and only request charitable donations. This article lists the top 23 free museums in London so have a browse and add one to your summer’s itinerary.
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8) Visit Your Local Park/ Children’s Adventure Playground
What kid doesn’t love going to the park? If you have a local park that you feel you’ve exhausted why not switch it up this summer and explore other parks not too far from home. On a morning run a few weeks back I discovered another children’s playground in my area. It’s much better than the one I’d been taking the boys to all these years. I now mix up the park trips so that they get a bit of variety.
9) Free Movie Night At The Park
Do a little bit of research online to find out where the nearest free outdoor movie day or night is taking place. Eventbrite is a great resource to use to discover free or cheap events in your local area.
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10) Local Church Groups / Free Community Events
A lot of local churches usually have summer events and programs for the kids. Have a look online to discover what activities they have running near you. You’ll be sure to find anything from storytimes and arts and crafts, to food and messy play.
Eventbrite, as mentioned previously, is a good resource for free events in your area. Kingdom Guide is another great resource for free Christian events taking place across the U.K. through the summer and all year round.
From this list above I hope you see that you really don’t need to spend a fortune in order for the children to enjoy a great summer holiday. This summer I’ve purposely avoided taking the kids to places like Kids Space and Gambados as their prices are extortionate and I think trips here should be limited to special occasions.
I restricted this list to just 10 fun and frugal trips for the kids to enjoy this summer; however, I’m sure there are plenty more. I’d love to hear any other great idea’s you have on this topic as I’m always looking for things to do with the boys that will not break the bank but simultaneously help create memories that’ll last a lifetime. Feel free to add your suggestions to the comments section below.
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10 fun and frugal activities for kids to do at home
This is great!
It got me thinking that we need more free activities for kids during summer at my local church. Great article!
Thanks Naomie, I’m glad you found it useful!
I definitely agree with the library suggestion, they have sooooo much more than just books. We got museum passes from our local branch!
Wow that’s so cool! Who doesn’t love a freebie!? Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.x
What fantastic ideas! My daughter and I live in a small country town so it can be challenging in finding things to do. We definitely visit surrounding libraries quite a bit.
That sounds lovely, I would love to move out to the country when the kids are a bit older! Thanks for stopping by my blog, I’m glad you enjoyed the post.x
Great ideas. We’ve done all of these activities this summer.
I’m glad to hear you had a great summer with the kids. Thank you for your lovely commment!x
Great blog as usual, I also enjoyed your recent blog regarding frugal activies, still meaning to make that fort ;)
Thanks for sharing, in North London there’s a woodland type area, Woodberry park which is beautiful and has a great park for kids nearby- two in one ;)
Also, some swimming centres offer free lessons for kids on certain days of the week or restricted times, as during these sessions they get student/training instructors to take the lessons X
Thanks for leaving a comment Rolo, I’ll definitely be exploring some of these parks you’ve recommended with the kids next summer! I’ll also look into the free swimming lessons as you know I love me a freebie. x
**Sorry Woodberry Wetlands**