Summer Fun With The Family
With the school holidays well underway, the challenge for parents is to keep their children entertained over the summer. Don’t despair, with developments located all across the UK, we know there are a lot of activities that you can do, around your home, in your local area or further afield if you choose.
Activities
The summer is a great time to explore theme parks and attractions across the UK. Keep a look out for theme park deals as buying tickets at the gates can be costly especially if you are buying for a family.
An example of the deals of offer is with Tesco’s Clubcard, you can exchange points for vouchers which can be used at the following parks across the UK.
Home and garden
There are lots of activities you can have fun with in your home and garden.
Create your own tent or den
Children love making their own tents and dens – they can be made from old, unused curtains, clothes and sheets. The Eden Project provides lots of great ideas on how to help your children make a den.
Camp out and star gaze
Enjoy the long summer evenings by having a camp out in your garden. Start the evening with an alfresco dinner, as the BBQ is cooling off toast marshmallows and when the sun sets enjoy an evening of star gazing. Read our BBQ top tips blog.
Mini crazy golf circuit
On the back of the Open Championship create your own mini crazy golf circuit in your garden. All you’ll need is to find pipes, trays, wood and anything else that would work to make your course. Pick up a couple of clubs and golf balls at a sports shop such as Decathlon and let the championships commence!
Craft box
Arts and crafts are a great way to keep the kids entertained, especially on days where the weather isn’t great. Sign up for a craft box from Toucan Box, which is a subscription service that delivers arts and crafts kits to children, they are suitable for 3-8 year olds. The boxes include activities and craft materials such as stencils, stickers, pens and paper. The Toucan boxes prices start from £3.95 for their Petite Box.
Get gardening
If you have a little gardening work to do give the kids their own little section of the garden to look after. You can teach them the basics of gardening and how to care for their own plants or vegetables. Read our gardening blog for more tips on how to get the family involved.
Explore your local area
If you are new to your area or just feel as if you should explore what’s on your own doorstep check out libraries, local tourist information centres and council websites for information about what they have going on. Your local council's website or magazine should have lists with lots of free or inexpensive activities for children to do over the school holidays. It’s also worth looking into what activities local libraries are putting on.
Across the UK there are lots of free museums and galleries to explore, click here to find one near you.
Geocaching
If you've got a GPS device, try geocaching, a cheap way to put a smile on kids' faces. Geocaching is a great way to teach the whole family about the local area and maybe even further afield. Geocaching is a real world outdoor treasure hunt at specific locations, which usually lead you to goodies!
If you would like to find geocaching near you sign up for a free membership then enter your postcode. Enter the co-ordinates of your chosen site on your GPS and off you go!
Playday National Day
Playday is the national day for play in the UK, traditionally held on the first Wednesday in August. Playday 2015 is on 5 August. On Playday thousands of children and their families get out to play at hundreds of community events across the UK. From small-scale events to thousands of children taking over Trafalgar Square – Playday is celebrated by each community in a way that suits them.
Click here to find events near across the country.
Check out this great printable summer holiday planner and visit our Pinterest boards for ideas for food, DIY, your home and garden that will keep you and the family busy this summer.
We’d love to hear what you have planned for this summer?
Visit our website to find out more about our developments across the UK.
Image by Ryan Hyde licenced via Creative Commons