Things to do with the kids- on a TIGHT budget?

cleggie

Hi All, not sure if i am posting this in the right place??

Anyway, its half term now, and i am on a very tight budget. I am have 2 chidlren who are 11 and nearly 7. What can i do to keep them entertained?

We have been to the Museum and art gallery before (both were free), we often go to the library etc, but with the kids being older they are not satisfied with a day out in the library (11 yr old would rather sit in his bed and read!).

Local to us, there is ice skating, swimming, cinema, loads of things really, but no doable on a budget!

Any ideas?

adelight

are there any free swim schemes near you? or the schwepps free swim in the week with a bottle top?

CH27

Have you got an amount in mind as the maximum you want to spend on activities?

squeakysue

Kids club at the cinema, our local ones had kids club all last week cheap to get in and take your own snacks ( our half term was last week). Having a friend round for the afternoon or a sleepover keeps them occupied usually. We went the park a few times, free and good fresh air. If you have a wii or something similar you could have a family game night or even with board games, who needs technology

cleggie

Thanks for the replies

No free swim schemes unfortunately, they got rid last year.

CH27- well, free would be great (lol), but if i really have to spend anything, i have worked out that i cannot afford more than £20 for the whole week activities.

Squeakysue- kids am at the cinema is a good idea, thanks! We already have wii family nights planned, and are having a few people over to play.

ERICS_MUM

What about baking - some fairy cakes, biscuits, jam tarts etc. Either boxes of cake mix or from scratch, would be OK.

Make a family photo album / scrapbook between the 3 of you - sorting out photos, designing pages, sticking them in etc.

budgetboo

Even in London there are always new ideas to pull off this site http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/ . Pack your fave hot picnic & drinks (hot dogs in a food flask is our fave lazy option) for a day out with a difference at a local park or similar. The followng day (or when it rains) do a connected craft to the day out you've had, again the site gives lots of seasonal ideas. I'm in love with this site as there's always something on it to try when I'm flat out of ideas. There's a free £20 half term activities kit on it right now too, that'll help stretch your budget!

Plan a puppet show for Dad when he gets home from work one day. get the older child to read a story to the younger and then get them to enact it to you and theur Dad after tea that night.

Set the 11 year old the challenge of cooking dinner for the family one night - it'll take an afternoon for them to choose the menu, shop for it etc if you plan it right

If the 11 year old is a girl - get them to make a sock puppet - lots of instructions in celebration, or try crochet or knitting using the vids on youtube.

Or build a simple radio with bits sourced from Maplins.

A night in the garden camping if the weather allows?

Pizza & popcorn night on the Friday, invite some some friends and ask them to bring a DVD to avoid watching your own repeats.

If the 11 year old likes reading direct them to some older style authors like John Wyndham or Edgar Rice Burroughs or Aldous Huxley for a bit of sci-fi they may not be familiar with (schools no longer cover this type of stuff). Do you remember books from your own childhood that you loved?

Or get them to read something from an author of a different culture - get them to pick a country, search for a novel and then tell you all about it in a couple of days when they've read it. Chilling with a good book is something to be cherished and you should be proud you have a kid that likes reading.

http://www.amblesideonline.org/BooklistTitle.shtml has a wonderful list of book titles your kids may enjoy reading. They add the appropriate year group to each listing to help you select ones that are appropriate and some titles are available on the same site for free.


In line with the countries theme get the younger one to choose a country and then help you cook a themed dinner from it. (Choose a menu with cheap ingredients!).

T-shirt or mug painting?

Make cushions for their rooms?

Make sock puppets?

Sow some seeds? Or do some sprouted seeds in a jar on the window sill?

The 11 year old could make a new bag out of old jeans.


If all else fails, have a clear out afternoon where they hunt out the broken toys & chuck em out! This time of year is the worst as it rains so much.

Dig over the garden.

Decorate cupcakes and biscuits - loads of recipes on this forum.

The BBC website has lots of online games to download.

Make a Simnel cake for easter and start feeding it booze.

This site also has some good holiday ideas, though not all are free/cheap http://www.summeractivitiesforkids.co.uk/

CH27

cleggie wrote: »

Thanks for the replies

No free swim schemes unfortunately, they got rid last year.

CH27- well, free would be great (lol), but if i really have to spend anything, i have worked out that i cannot afford more than £20 for the whole week activities.

Squeakysue- kids am at the cinema is a good idea, thanks! We already have wii family nights planned, and are having a few people over to play.

Are you near to the beach? Could you take them to play football on the beach or in the park?
Does you local park organise activities like kite flying or bug hunts?
Do you have bikes? Could you go biking & take a hot picnic with you. Put hotdogs in a flask & just take bread rolls.

edit budgetboo beat me to the hotdog suggestion

naughtyjo

A bottle of Calpol works wonders in the right quantity. Peace quite and chill time!! lol

Alternantively my kids have their mates round to play one day and then another mum has them the next and so on. They get a change of scenery every day and we all do different things with them.
Could be xbox games, board games,quiz and popcorn days, baking, painting, clay stuff, going to the park etc

esmf73

If you're in Devon how about going to Trago Mills? They often have a great play park around their stores.

Get the children to help you with the housework? Get them to sort through their toys? Decorate their rooms? Have just done my childrens - space and the big hungry caterpillar. All with tester paints and using their pictures done in school.

Get them to read to you / do some school work / walk neighbours dogs / take them up to the moors and explore for a day?

RAS

Cleggie

My guess is the weather is warmer where you are than here (snow at the mo) but likely to be wet at least sometime this week?

Can you get the OS map out an plan a long walk for one day? maybe get them to research on-line or at the library what they will see. The older one can read up on the route? Or get a ray mears book with stuff on tracking or wild crafts?

If you have a garden, how about a camp-fire one day? Collect the wood from the local woods and burn sausages on sticks? Baked potatoes in the embers?

I bought a sock-doll book for our teen and was surprised to find that it inspired a lot of bad weather fun. Some of the authors are male and make teens with attitide.

if you have bannisters, fishing for metal fish (made out of cans) with HM rods with magnets attached. See who gets most?

Fill metal cans with water, freeze and make tealight holders by hammering nails to make a pattern. Add a loop of wire from a metal coat hanger and light up the garden, or use them inside (but not in bedrooms).