School Holiday Saving Ideas Please

A question about : School Holiday Saving Ideas Please

Hi,

Well, it is 2 weeks left until my children (boy 10, girl 6) break up from school and I have started a list of 'things to do' that don't cost a lot or are free.
I am off 2 weeks but I only work 3 days the other weeks. DH is only off for 5 days during the 2 weeks I have off and we are going to Edinburgh for a few nights. Between myself, DH and the child-minder we will, hopefully, get through the holidays of 6 weeks and 3 days this year. My eldest is very hard to entertain! We took him to Disney (Paris) a couple of years ago and he was bored!
We get free train travel on the Grand Central line and 75% off all other train travel (helps, DH is a rail worker) so I try to plan days out when I have them around being able to use the train. We do have 2 cars but it is a saving to use the train plus it is an adventure for the kids.
I have free entry to National Trust and English Heritage and we have annual membership to a lot of museums/gardens. Beach trips will include ice cream.
So...how are you planning days out for summer? Please share any money saving tips (like buying a box of ice creams for Ј1 from Aldi or Iceland instead of paying loads more at ice cream shops).

Best answers:

• If you have tesco vouchers get cineworld, pizza express vouchers etc
  Set up an obstacle course in back garden
  You can buy local treasure hunts, I realise not free but it can fill an afternoon
  Meet up with other families for picnics
  Make your own ice lollies
  Do,baking with kids on wet days
• What will you do when you come to Edinburgh, I live there!
• I think we are all guilty of trying to make our children's days happy and fun filled, but it's probably not good for them to be entertained all the time .it does them no harm to have to learn to entertain their selves , and if they are bored , so what ,that's real life
• Complete the National Trust 50 things... booklet.
  Tent in the garden.
  Always take sandwiches instead of buying in cafes etc. Once you enter an attraction you have paid for, refuse to spend any more inside.
• Oh, have dvd's with homemade popcorn. Something like Harry Potter, Narnia or Pirates of the Caribbean should cover both sexes and ages.
• I used to spend entire days of my holiday reading. Always got annoyed with my mother when she arranged other things for me to do!
• We're spoilt round here for parks and play areas which are fab - planning on doing a lot of very early morning trips out to them (before they get heaving with the bigger kids).
  Don't know if you've got any locally but we have a few of these splash pad water parks popping up and they're fab on a nice day (basically the high tech version of running through the lawn sprinkler in the garden).
  City farms? I know we have one local to us that's free entry. Haven't been yet though.
  I'm sitting on some competition tickets I won to Alton Towers and going to take the kiddos to the Cbeebies bit in a few weeks for the big thing we're doing in the summer when their uncle comes down to visit.
• My six yr olds will be .......
  feeding ducks
  making teepees in the garden for picnic lunches
  tiddlering with jam jar and nets
  forraging for anything edible (and cooking it)
  bootsaling for new to them dvd's and toys
  cycling with me in a new park
  crafting and baking (aldi do scone mix for 49p which they made yesterday. I know it's cheaper to do your own but more 'grown up' to open the pack, measure milk etc. I only supervised the 'oven' bit.
  Can you use the National trust car park for free and walk/train to another adventure?
  We always buy a box of lollies when out rather than from ice cream van/shop. Last week I stood outside Sainsbos giving out the last 2 lollies as the Ј1.20 box had 5 in and I only needed 3. Cheapest single was 65p. My boys love a car picnic too with a french stick, taramasalata and crisps. We dont normally allow them to eat in the car so they see it as a naughty treat.
  Now is the time to look out for reduced stuff that can be upcycled. Rolls of wallpaper are good to cover boxes to make tresure chests or draw on the back of.
  Could you have a plant things day. Bootsales do tom plants about now, and by the end of summer hols they could be fruiting.
  I have limited experience of 10 yr olds (god help me when my twins reach that age), but my cub scouts love getting dirty and or wet.
  But most of all I will be letting my boys get filthy in the garden with the hose pipe and paddling pool. Muck worms!