10 Top Ideas For The Summer Holidays

With the summer holidays upon us and the screaming, fighting and perpetual moaning sounds of ‘I’m bored’, ‘can I have…’ pushing us parents to breaking point, here at Buy As you View, we thought we would have a bit of brainstorming session and come up with 10 of the best ideas for keeping the kids entertained this summer on a budget. We also thought it would be a good way you (our fans, followers and customers) to give us your best ideas and let us know what you’ve been doing to survive, what has to be the longest month of the year!

1. Get a pile of old clothes, bits of old fabric and any old bits of material you have spare around the house. Visit the local market for a bargain on feathers, sequins, buttons, glitter, ribbon etc. and encourage them to make and decorate their own clothes.
2. Write a list of interesting challenges at the start of the week/holidays for them to complete. Challenges should include a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities and could be things like writing a story, feeding some ducks, riding a bike to a certain location and back, making a model from plastic bottles and bits and bobs from around the house etc. Each completed challenge receives a gold star and once all challenges have been completed, there could be a prize of going out for the day to the swimming pool or cinema etc.
3. Search the internet for local summer holiday activities. For example, for younger children, for each week throughout the summer, there is a morning screening at Vue Cinemas for £1.25. There are also lots of free festivals and events taking place across the UK so stay one step ahead and plan these into your summer holiday activities.
4. Aim to tire them out in the morning with an energetic activity (like bike riding in the park) which should (hopefully) enable you to give them a calmer activity in the afternoon (like watching a film) on days that you need to get other things done.
5. Go camping in the garden! Or if it’s raining, go camping indoors! Let them set up or build a tent, have picnics and explore! You can even let them sleep in their tent to make the whole experience more authentic!
6. Why not speak to other parents who are in the same situation and arrange an afternoon in the park each week where all the children can meet and burn off some of that energy. It also gives parents the opportunity to chat and socialise.
7. Most national museums are now free so why not plan a day out visiting as many free attractions as possible!
8. Car boot sales are a morning or day out and it also enables your little ones to pick up toys, puzzles etc. for a fraction of the normal price. With lots of new toys and games to keep them entertained, you should have chance to get a few things done around the house.
9. Go walking! Wherever you live, there are usually places to walk nearby. Whether it’s the beach, the forest, the mountains or the park, you can set interesting challenges for your little ones along the way. Give them a list of things to find on their travels, items could include 5 unbroken shells, a bird’s nest, a butterfly etc.
10. Try something new with them. Ideas could include baking a cake, modelling clay, roller-skating, dancing, bike riding – after all it, it is the summer holidays!

We hope we’ve given you some inspiration to come up with your own summer holiday activity ideas, why not respond to this post with your suggestions?