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!

Don’t miss our best content straight to your inbox! Sign up now and get our FREE newsletters packed with fun ideas and things to do with the kids, family-friendly recipes, expert advice, parenting tips and great competitions.

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.

You May Also Enjoy Over 1400 of The Best Summer Fun Ideas for Kids

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.

You May Also Enjoy 10 Wicked Water Games for Kids

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”.

---

Don’t Miss Out!

Looking for ideas to amuse the kids? Need some inspiration for new things to do? Get 101 Ideas for a Screen-Free Summer with our FREE printable!

DOWNLOAD

---

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.

You May Also Enjoy Great Picnic Ideas and Your Perfect Picnic Checklist

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.”

You May Also Enjoy Our Free Nature Scavenger Hunt Download

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.

You May Also Enjoy 50 Interesting Things to Do at The Beach with Kids

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”.

You May Also Enjoy Indoor Treasure Hunt and 10 Mega Scavenger Hunt Ideas For Kids

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!”

You May Also Enjoy 25 Tasty Ideas for Cooking With Kids

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!!”)

You May Also Enjoy 101 Terrific Tween Movies The Whole Family Will Enjoy

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”.

You May Also Enjoy 12 of the Most Awesome Garden Activities for Preschoolers

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!”

You May Also Enjoy Survive The Summer With These Easy Messy Play Ideas

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”.

You May Also Enjoy 50 Things to Do For Your Children That Cost Nothing But Time

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!