The school summer holidays can require a good bit of amusement planning for parents. It can be tricky to come up with ideas that don’t cost anything too so we asked Mykidstime parents to recommend their best tip for amusing your kids during the summer holidays that doesn’t cost money, and they made some fabulous suggestions. We love these tips from parents for free things to do in the summer with kids – and we think you will too!
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Finding free things to do in the summer holidays is a dream for parents, and having a bank of ideas and recommendations from other parents is even better!
Take inspiration for your summer days with the list below, and don’t forget to leave your suggestions for other activities in the comments.
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Fun and Free Things To Do In the Summer
Check Out Your Local Library
Diane advises checking what’s on at your local library. Many libraries offer summer reading programmes, workshops and storytelling sessions for kids.
Water Painting
Give your child a bucket of water and big paintbrushes and get them to “paint” the garage, the shed or the fence. Or give them water in spray bottles. Or have them wash their toy cars to get them all shiny and clean.
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Fly a Kite
Ciara says her kids love flying a kite, “We had a neighbour’s cat join in the fun chasing and catching the ribbon at the end!” while Tricia says her children “love making paper kites and then flying them”.
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Parks and Forest Walks with a Picnic
Mum Lisa said her kids like nothing better than packing a picnic and heading out to the park or to a nearby forest for a fun walk followed by eating al fresco.
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Bicycle Ride
Mum Nikki says “A bike ride to the local park with a picnic is always a winner”.
You might also enjoy reading 9 Sure Fire Tips for Bike Safety For Kids
A Game of Uno
Lots of parents said Uno was a favourite free activity for their family. If you get fed up with Uno, check out these 15 fun card games to play with kids.
Build a Fort
Emily says “We build a pillow fort in the living room when it’s too hot outside and the kids have great fun. They can even have an indoor picnic. Then when it starts to cool down they love playing with water anything – hose, balloons, water guns! Anything to get them wet!”
Nature Hunt
Mums Jennifer and Fiona recommend nature walks. Jennifer says “We love long nature walks with a list of things they’ve to find, then they tick off their list as they find them.”
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Chalk Drawings
Mary says “Give your child some chalk for outside and they can do hopscotch, draw out a whole town. It shows their fantastic imagination”.
Head for the Beach
Tracy says her kids love walking to the local beach where they have fun surfing, rock jumping, or playing with a ball. Pack up a big bottle of water and some sandwiches and you’re all set.
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Camp in the Garden
Set up a tent in the garden or backyard and enjoy some free camping (with the comforts of home nearby).
Hold a Treasure Hunt
We love this suggestion from Anne Marie who says she puts “chocolate coins or wrapped sweets around the house or garden and they spend ages searching for them”.
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Cook With Your Child
Deborah suggests cooking with your child: “It’s great bonding and skill making all in one. Plus they need to eat!”
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Hold a Games Day or Movie Day
Joanne recommends holding a (board) games day. Or if the weather isn’t so great, have a TV/DVD afternoon with homemade popcorn.
(She also shared a top tip to “Have your kids go to a friend’s house one day and their friends come to yours then in return to give parents a child-free day each!!”)
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Back Garden Art
Audrey suggested “A big roll of paper and some crayons or paints in the back garden with a picnic or tea party afterwards”.
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Geocaching
Sally says her family loves geocaching. “Download the free app and you can see what’s in your area!”
Bubbles
Mum Jill says “My two always adore bubbles. We have even made our own bubble mix which was great fun mixing and stirring and then testing. There’s always big excitement when they manage to blow a double or even a triple bubble!”
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Just Spend Time
Antoinette says “No matter how much money you spend on children, it’s the little things they remember the most. One of my son’s favourite memories was the day we had a picnic under a tree when it was raining with hot chocolate in a flask – he still talks about it years later”.
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What other tips or ideas for fun free things to do in the summer with kids would you add to the list? Leave a comment below and let us know – we’d love to hear from you!
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