As I write this it’s absolutely tipping it down outside, I’m really beginning to wonder about that St Swithin’s day proverb i.e if it rains on St Swithin’s day it will rain for 40 days thereafter, so far so true!. How depressing. And writing about Alton Towers etc etc in my previous post has reminded me just how much everything costs, even after 2-4-1 vouchers! So to cheer myself up a bit I set myself another task – to find things to do that are actually FREEEEEE (excluding transport and food, of course, I’m not magic).

potato-printing

First, there’s the arts and crafts side of things. Most families already have all the paints/crayons/felt tips lying around, so it’s just a case of kitting your kids out with some newspaper to rest their creations on and some kind of plastic apron to save their clothes and they’re off! Making potato printers or decorating eggs are two good ideas, although they will need some parental input! Setting your child a task rather than just handing them the paints is also a good idea – for example to paint a self portrait or draw their pet. Ask them to paint you at your own peril, you never know what they might come up with!

When I was younger, one of my favourite rainy day activities was to ‘make a mix’. This involved my mum giving me a large bowl, a wooden spoon and a few dishes with small quantities of flour, sugar, etc etc, basically anything that could be found in the cupboards. I’d mix it all together, thinking I was fantastic, and we’d put it in a couple of cake cases (it usually made about 3 small cupcakes) and then with my mum’s help we’d cook them. It would taste vile, but it was still one of my favourite activities. As I got older, my mum let me help her more and more until eventually I was able to make a few cakes on my own. Once again, newspaper and aprons are necessary for this activity. If your kids are old enough, you might end up with some nice treats!

If the weather clears up, get the kids outside and teach them some of your favourite childhood games. Anyone remember polo? Sardines? Kirby? Block? Or plain old tig? Or is it tic? Or tag? Most kids can while away hours with the simplest of games – just get them started. Disney has a good resource for newer games too, if you’re wondering what on earth I’m on about.

Stepping away from the house now, and the Guardian has a great article about free things to do with kids – including flying kites and visiting religious establishments. The Times also has its own list, tipped as ‘new places to hang out’ across the country, definitely worth a look, especially if you want to completely escape for the day.

Money Saving Expert is always a great source for, well, everything money related, and after a quick look on there I found information about free days out. Beware, this is a slightly old topic but it’s just so full of information I had to post it!

Some of my favourite free things to do include going to the local park (there are so many to choose from – just Google it), going on a bike ride, going to watch a friend or family member playing in sports match and walking along the local canal.

Like I’ve said in my last blog post, your local council’s website is a fantastic source of information, just looking at mine I can see that we have a dance and arts course for kids on Monday, bat walks at Dunham Massey on Tuesday and weekly rounders games.

Some other great resources are:
Visit Britain
Day out with the kids
I’m also quite liking this blog, Enjoy Britain

Right, that should be enough to get on with! If anyone’s got some great tips for places to go or great articles you’ve read, please let me know and I’ll add them to this post.

Now we just have to hope that the weather will cheer up!