Days Out With The Kids That Don’t Cost The Earth

March 16, 2018 Karen 31 comments
Posted by Karen on

Another suggestion from Sarah Knight. This time for day trips on a budget where everyone can still have fun still have fun. Thanks again, Sarah. When I was child minding I was always on the look out for budget outings, as I didn’t like to keep asking parents for money. on top of their child minding fees. ( I did usually did one reasonably priced trip in the summer, which we all enjoyed and living in North Devon, we were spoiled for choice). My biggest tip for saving money is to take your own picnic, as paying for food in theme parks, etc. can be very expensive. Young children are relatively  easy to entertain, just a trip to feed the ducks

, in the park, will keep them amused Why not arrange for some friends with their children to join you and if they bring along a teddy bear, you could have a teddy bear’s picnic to make it more exciting? My local park, at the time, had play equipment that needed updating. I spent 3 years convincing the council to do this,

by getting together a petition and holding a demonstration outside their office. I was often on the television, radio and in local newspapers The next town, Bideford, has a wonderful park, complete with a paddling pool

I often took the children I was looking after there on warm summer days, as for the price of the car park.and an ice cream. we could spend the whole day there. After our picnic lunch, we would sit on the quay side watching boats go by.Another cheap day out is the beach, as well as the obvious things like building sand castles,

try rock pooling, as this can also be educational. always supervise children near any water. I recall  a friend of mine telling me that when she took her children to do this, they both fell into a rock pool trying to reach a crab and had to wear her outer clothes to keep warm. I once took a group of children to the woods, with the intention of them collecting things like acorns, conkers, pine cones and sycamore keys.  I gave each child a carrier bag each to put their ‘treasures’ in. One 3 year old boy filled his full of stones. His bag was too heavy for him to carry so he dragged it back to the car. By the time we got there he had worn a whole in his bag, all the stones had slipped out and all he had left was an empty bag! Another idea for a half day outing is to visit a garden centre. They often have a play area for children and looking at plants can be quite interesting. I some times went to my local garden centre ( St. Johns) we would walk via a foot path, so the children could run a little in front of me.

We would visit jungleland, which has free admission, go for a drink and biscuit in the cafe, The children enjoyed looking at the pet department as many had pets at home we would then look in the aquarium next door by the time we walked home an afternoon was gone. You could fill the rest of the day with an arranged visit to the fire station. I accompanied a group of children on such a visit, the children thought it was great when they volunteered me to go up the turn table ladder with a fire man. Although I would normally try to hide my fears from children. This was one activity I was not prepared to take on! Countryside walks are another option. If you come across a stream or river. you could play pooh sticks or try skimming stones across the water. When I was a child, we went to Heddon’s mouth most weekends for walks. My sisters and  i would get sticks from a hedge, pretend we were riding horses and trot and canter along. Perhaps Megan could do this if you took along a horsey friend. I have also visited an organic farm (near Ilfracombe) with the children. They learned about milking, had some milk shake to tdrink and collected eggs from the chickens. This only cost a few pounds each. Well worth it, I think. Local papers often print discount vouchers for visitor attractions during the school holidays, so look out for them. Hopefully this has given you some ideas, to go along with Sarah As always questions/comments are welcome, Karen x.

31 Comments on “Days Out With The Kids That Don’t Cost The Earth”

  1. Brilliant ideas Karen as usual, everyone loves plcnics from a young age. My husband and I still have pleasure going out with a flask and enjoying our picnic. We just can’t wait to get some warmer weather but children can adapt to the cold so much better as they are so active. I can remember having lovely country walks with our girls and always enjoying ourselves

    Reply

  3. Ooh, we do love a cheap day out too. The kids, aged 4 and 6, are very keen on Famous Five stories, so we each play a character, and find ‘clues’, then collect sticks and make a (pretend) campfire to have with our picnic. #DreamTeam

    Reply

  10. Lots of good ideas for budget days out. I definitely agree with taking a picnic. We live miles from the nearest beach but countryside walks always work well – the girls enjoy doing nature hunts and finding geocaches which doesn’t cost us anything 🙂 #bloggerclubuk

    Reply

  11. There’s so many free ideas, that people often forget about them. But my son’s favourite activity is to go anywhere with a path he can ride his bike (we have tonnes of space at home, but it’s a huge gravel drive on the farm!) #bloggerclubuk

    Reply

  12. Such great reminders and ideas to enjoy the outdoors, the simple things that are available for free, and that would also create spectacular memories for the entire family.

    Reply

  14. Fun! I love adding more free ideas for things to do with my little ones. Packing a picnic has saved us so much money in the past, and it’s always better food anyway.

    Thanks for joining #WanderingWednesday with Confessions of Parenting!

    Reply

  20. Most of our days out are free other than the cost of petrol. We love just getting out into nature, whether its walks up into the hills, through the forest or at local park with ducks etc.
    Thank you for joining the #FamilyFunLinky x

    Reply

  21. Some great ideas! we love a budget day out and often head to our local forest for a scavenger hunt.Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time.

    Reply

  23. Great ideas because you’re right, it can be pricey! Nothing makes a child (and parent/childminder) happier than the simple things in life like feeding the ducks! That poor boy with his holey bag… #kcacols

    Reply

  24. Thank you for all these ideas! Always great to be reminded of some of these, like the garden centre for example, which I tend to forget. And I love the anecdote about the little boy with his bag of stones! ♥️ #FamilyFunLinky

    Reply

Leave a Comment