My children, like most, are constantly needing some kind of entertaining. You may have thought, like me, that having two kids would mean they always had company and someone to play with. Nope, not at all! mostly for me that has meant always having constant bickering going on when there is nothing else to do.
Half term can be an expensive time when you have two kids. All the day trips, entrance fees, travel expenses and lunches add up.
Here's some of my favourite things to do with the kids without breaking the bank.
Firstly a pack lunch will become your best friend. No need for anything fancy. A bag and a frozen bottle of water to keep it cool (no need for an icepack) and of course a huge selection of food. Buy some sandwich bags and fill them with homemade sandwiches, fruit, veg, crackers and a few sweeter treats with a bag of crisps. Think out the box a little too (try little pots of tuna pasta or potato salad and chicken) so you don't get bored of the typical lunch box food. Your already saving money.
If your local to London The science museum is great for kids. Not only is it free, but it has something for all kids of all ages. The toddler area is AMAZING and my daughter can spend hours there. its called the garden and is aimed for kids 3-6yrs though we've been taking my daughter since she was two. There's lots of fun hands on lights and sounds activities a climbing frame and a really fun water area where the kids can play with boats and watch them drop down the current. aprons are provided! they also lave large over sized Lego bricks too. my daughter enjoys building towers big enough to sit on. check it out here
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| The Garden. My partner is a big kid |
For the older kids there is so much to get involved in hands on too. For ages 5-8 they have the pattern pod. It encourages learning through play without them really realising! Again so much hands on interactive fun. They encouraged to make pattern prediction while playing. You really cant not
love to learn in that place. Check it out here.
for the 8-14year olds they have the launch pad. Its full of 50 interactive exhibits and even live shows and demos. You can again find out more here
Its so fun that the kids always ask to come back, and lets not forget FREE.
On sunny days my favourite place to take the kids is dukes meadow in Chiswick. Its a fun paddling pool with a fountain in the middle. Its gated up so you can let the kids run free. It also has a large sand pit and a massive park with so much to do. For the football loving kids there is a huge field, so let them bring a ball. Make sure you take your costumes, towels and a blanket to lounge on. There is a slightly pricey food hut here, though its all free to use so bring your own lunch and your golden. Buy yourself a snack or an icecream to help continue keeping this place open to the public as i believe they are not government funded. It would be a real shame to loose this attraction.
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| Oldie But A Goodie |
Saturday mornings (and even sundays with some branches) local cinemas show films for around £1 a person any age. These are usually films that have just been released on DVD or left the cinemas a couple months ago. That has never been a problem for my kids though. They love re watching their favs. Avoid the cinema food and pop into your local supermarket for some low cost sneaky snacks and drinks.
Me and the kids love a day out to bushy park. The play area is massive and has a huge sand pit. The play equipment is designed for all age groups.
There is plenty of field space too. The best bit for us is getting up close and personal to the deer that run free. But if your find them too intimidating, like my daughter, feeding the ducks entertains the little ones for ages. So bring a picnic, a blanket and a load of bread and find your self a nice sunny spot to spend the day.
Lammas park in staines is also great. It has a dry play park and a wet play park. Theres a river to feed the ducks and a large field to picnic on, fly kites or play football. Me and my partner like to set up a badminton net so we can keep ourselves fit too! The wet play park is great fun with lots of water squirting everywhere. Though this is only on certain times of the year so you'd need to check that if you plan on taking costumes and towels.
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| The Wet Play Park |
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| I Love These Pics |
Lets not forget all our own, more local, parks. Pack all the balls and bats you own, let them take their bikes or scooters and take yourself a flask of tea and a good book perhaps. It gets the kids out the house for a couple hours and gives yourself a break too.
If you want a day in during the week insure there is enough at hand to keep them occupied and of your case. Event fun games that will make them work together, leave you alone for a bit but also make them feel that your more involved then you may be. Tell them to hide an object around the house and draw you a detailed colourful map that you can follow to try find the item. Hopefully that will occupy them long enough to get some of your own chores done. Then you'll be more willing to play along later, to find the item. They will feel so clever too! make some homemade play dough with them and then leave them to play with it. Heres a very simple recipe. You can also decorate cakes together or get them to help with the cooking :)
With all the money you've saved you can maybe splurge out on a trip to the farm or your local pool. These usually tend to be reasonably priced and with your packed lunch, you wont be breaking the bank!
Sorry if you found this blog very photo heavy but hey, I love my babies! hehe :)
Please share with me some of your cheap day out ideas or link me to similar blog posts. I'd love to hear them!
Thanks for reading, I hope this gives you some inspiration xx
