6 weeks, 3 kids and no valium

[Double Trouble]

I've looked in to days out for the kids. I can forget Thorpe Park, Lego Land or Chessington World of Adventure...it's £200 minimum for me and 3 kids.

Does anyone know of any free days out or something a bit cheaper?

[Aleks]

Things I remember doing in the summer holidays....

- lots of picnics in either the local park or within a 10/15 mile radius of home
- strawberry/raspberry picking (eating more than went in the basket)
- playing in the paddling pool/sprinklers in the garden for hours with friends
- a massive colouring poster and a new set of pens for rainy afternoons
- lots and lots of craft projects; making masks/cards/puppets etc (there are tons of books in the library full of projects)#
- making up plays/silly songs and inviting all the mums to watch us put on shows.

None of which cost much money....

But that was also when we were allowed out to play all day, share bottles of pop etc etc.

[Barry Shnikov]

Things I remember doing in the summer holidays....
- playing in the paddling pool/sprinklers in the garden for hours with friends

NEW!! Special offer for 2007 only!! Possible throughout the UK wihout pool or sprinklers!!

[Barry Shnikov]

I've looked in to days out for the kids. I can forget Thorpe Park, Lego Land or Chessington World of Adventure...it's £200 minimum for me and 3 kids.

Does anyone know of any free days out or something a bit cheaper?

Get the ex to take them...cheaper for you and you get time to yourself.

Next!

[Aleks]

Most local authorities are running sport/activity courses during the holidays - have you considered any of these?

[SnowWhite]

Baking, cakes in particular, is always a firm favourite - cos they get to eat the evidence!

Indoor paddling pools is always fun, for very small ones. (2 at a time usually works...) Put them in a nice warm bath with lots of empty milk bottles, plastic containers, funnels, sieves etc - they'll want to stay in for hours!

If you can cope with the mess (or on a dry day????!) a cheap roll of wallpaper makes a fantastic grafitti wall (or perfect for foot painting if they're young)

Making a den is fun. Cushions, sheets, blankets etc in the bedroom or corner of the lounge, then let them have a picnic in there.

For the kind of weather we're having (and for the older ones) a Play Station (or whatever) tournament is always good. Get them to choose the games, design a tournament sheet and promise to watch the final!!!

Pet shops and tropical fish shops are always worth an hours visit to see the animals and fish for free... Which would you have? What would you call them? Choose your favourite out of each tank etc...

High School Musical... Watch it, learn the songs, put on the show, invite and audience...

Good luck.

[Aleks]

Making a den is fun. Cushions, sheets, blankets etc in the bedroom or corner of the lounge, then let them have a picnic in there.

I remember many fab dens with the clothes horse and ironing board!

[Sparkles]

Teach them to dance?

[Icey]

DT, I'm not sure how old your kids are but my Dad used to link the climibing frame with the slide in the garden with "beams" so that we could do gymnastics (of a sort) and practice balancing.

After we got bored of that or fell off to many times we used to throw blankets over them and create dens.

[Icey]

Most local authorities are running sport/activity courses during the holidays - have you considered any of these?

My mum used to pack us off to YMCA camps for a week each summer so that she could get some peace and quiet.

8-6pm of den building, crafts, chase games and other activities at the local farm They were great once you got used to the farmyard smell and the cowpats

[Beowulf]

As a kid (and not having any friends) I used to pack up my bike with sandwiches and cans of fizzy drink and head off into the local forest park and make cunningly camouflaged dens where I would spend the day reading comics , eating crisps and sweets and generally pretending I was Robinson Crusoe (except in the woods not on a desert island and with crisps, Sweets and fizzy drink.. and not sea weed and water)

obviously that's for older kids. but Camping out in the back garden under a blanket is fun for little 'uns. Give them sandwiches and drinks and they'll be as happy as larry.

Swing parks are fun for younger kids. Take them on a walk though the nearest woods if you have transport. Show them all the hidden bugs and creepy crawlies , point out all the animals and their tracks.

On a wet day, baking (mum did it with me when I was a kid.. and I still love baking) or crafts.. get a pile of craft paper, scissors and glue , sit them at the table (covered with newspaper or a wipeable surface) and ask them to make mummy something. Marvel at their creativity

Or it you can't be bothered and want time to yourself. Stick on a DVD and sit them down in front of it.

[Aleks]

Instead of the zoo....go to a park where you can feed the ducks, armed with bread and a book on birds - see how many they can identify. You don't need to be able to read to look at a picture and match it with bird in front of you.

A woman near me has a massive garden open to the public. She organises free nature hunts for the children of visitors.

A trip to the library with your children to pick the reference books is another rainy afternoon passed too...

[Sparkles]

This site "London for free" and those like them are invaluable (I think this one is aimed more at adults than kids, but there must be kids versions around).

I personally would recommend the Launch Pad at the Science Museum (if you can stretch to a travel card to take you up town for the day) - so many fun things to see and do, like bubbles big enough to stand in, communications by radar, puzzles, optical illusions and all sorts.
The natural history museum is also a big winner with kids, but I'm not sure how much it is to get in there now.

[whitetiger1518]

how about looking at some of these sites that yahoo has access to:
Crafts for kids yahoo search

Cheers
Whitetiger

[Miguel]

Does anyone know of any free days out or something a bit cheaper?

Pay Less for Going Out: Tickets, bookings, restaurants and days out...

[Aleks]

Can you tell I have no interest in work today?


Lettuce and radishes all grow within 3-6 weeks so you could plant some now and get your kids eating healthy stuff they grew themselves before the holiday is over!

Cress only takes a week on some wet kitchen paper.

Grass grows quickly too - get some old tights, put some seeds in and stuff with cloth/sponge/paper. Draw/stick on faces and label them for each child. Stand on a wet saucer. See which 'hair' grows quickest......

It's a pity I don't have children yet, cos I could 'play' for hours!

[Twirly]

The natural history museum is also a big winner with kids, but I'm not sure how much it is to get in there now.

I loved the big London museum's as a kid. And the Natural History Museum is free, as is the Sciene Museum and the V&A. I used to absolutely love the dress collection there as a child, and I know from visiting with friends with children that they do special packs to help explore the museum free of charge - I think we did a treasure hunt type thing where you had find certain things in the museum.

Also, the transport shouldn't be too expensive- TFL say that kids under 11 travel free when accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket. So it's just buying sarnies to have a picnic in the park which is a short walk away (if the weather is halfway decent anyway).

Good luck!

[Beowulf]

I loved the big London museum's as a kid. And the Natural History Museum is free, as is the Sciene Museum and the V&A.

, and I'm a big kid and I loved them.. wandered round there for hours by myself (I'm a big boy now ) and could easily spend a whole afternoon in each one !!

and a picnic in the park afterwards/ beforehand (or in my case.. a Krispy Creme donut from Harrods and a sandwich and bottle of water from M&S in the grass area opposite the Natural History Museum ) would never go amiss !!

[Sparkles]

It's a pity I don't have children yet, cos I could 'play' for hours!

Send your kids to visit Aleks for 6weeks and let her look after them

[Aleks]

Send your kids to visit Aleks for 6weeks and let her look after them

As long as their stay doesn't cost me anything they can come and visit!
They might have to camp out in the tent though cos I shall soon be in the middle of having tons of building work done!