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The Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
The ultimate family guide to cutting the cost of the summer holidays – from free childcare to £1 meals
SUMMER holidays are expensive - but there are ways to give your children a magical summer they'll remember forever without spending loads of cash. From free clubs and exercises sessions to cheap cinema trips and even cash you can claim to fund your fun, we explain. The summer holidays cost families an average £175 a week per child, or more than £1,000 over a six-week break, according to childcare provider Coram Family and Childcare. Sun Savers editor Lana Clements explains how you can have fun on a budget. Free clubs and food Families who usually receive free school meals can tap into the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. Backed by England football star Marcus Rashford, this is offered by most councils in England to help provide childcare, activities and healthy meals to children from low-income families. It can be used to sign up children to sports, music and arts clubs, as well as enjoy a nutritious meal each day for free. The help on offer varies by council. For example, in some areas you could be offered holiday club places for the equivalent of at least four hours a day. Others may run a standard 8am-3pm day for free. Contact your local authority to see exactly what is available and how to apply. Tax-free childcare If you're a working parent, you can cut the cost of holiday clubs by paying through a tax-free childcare account. Many parents use it to pay for nursery or childcare but forget that it can also be used for some holiday clubs. The scheme gives parents an extra £2 from the government for every £8 paid in if your child is 11 or under and usually lives with you. You can get an extra £2,000 towards costs while parents of disabled children can get up to £4,000 more. You'll qualify if you and your partner (if you have one) each expect to earn at least £2,539 over the next three months. Or £2,080 if you're aged 18 to 20, and £1,570 if you're under 18. However, you could earn less and qualify if you're self-employed and started your business less than 12 months ago. Ask camps if they accept tax-free childcare before booking on. You can also find an approved list of childcare providers at You'll find that your local council, school or nursery will usually have a list of local camps and clubs happening. I'm always looking for free activites Mum-of-three Genevieve Roberts reveals how she manages to cut down costs over the summer holidays. The author lives in Hove, East Susses with Astrid, 8, Xavi, 6, and Juno, 2. She told The Sun: 'Entertaining the kids over the summer holidays can get expensive, so, living on the coast, I like to take advantage of the free activities on my doorstep. "Taking three children to do activities can add up to be quite an expense. I could easily spend £100 in a week during the holidays by taking them to paid play centres and things like that. "Instead the children and I love to spend the day at the beach, swimming, playing games and building sandcastles. "To save money, I make sure to avoid expensive beachfront food, always making sure to bring a packed lunch and plenty of snacks." During the summer holidays, Genevieve's savings add up to £600. 'I'm lucky to have work flexibility which enables me to balance the pressures of childcare with long-term financial planning, such as building my pension. "To maximise time with my kids over the holidays, I often opt to work in the evenings, freeing up my days to enjoy the sun and have quality family time. "I save at least £100 a week by working this way and saving on holiday clubs." "Over a six-week holiday period it really adds up." The money she saves goes towards securing her financial future including saving into her pension. Kids CAN eat for free There are loads of chains that run "kids eat free" or "kids eat for £1" offers over the school holidays. You can use these to enjoy a treat meal out for the family for less and you can take a break from cooking lunch or dinner. However, it's worth being aware that some are a better deal than others. Often an adult will need to buy a meal or spend a certain amount to qualify for each 'free' meal which can be a little pricey. But this isn't always the case. 4 One of the best offers is Asda where children can eat for just £1 in its cafes. You'll also get a free Ella's baby food pouch with any purchase for children under 18 months old. The kid's menu includes penne pasta with meatballs, fish fingers, chicken nuggets and all-day breakfast. The hot meal also comes with a piece of fruit. There's no minimum spend or requirement to purchase an adult meal to get the offer. This deal is not limited to the holidays so handy to remember for weekends too. I'd also pick out Dunelm's Pausa cafes where you can get a free mini meal for kids if you spend £4. The offer is available all day every day. Or Ikea offers good value where kids can tuck into Mac n Cheese, soft drink and piece of fruit for 95p at the Swedish chain every day, except Friday, from 11am. You can also get cut-price food through apps that distribute perfectly good grub that would otherwise be binned by local restaurants and shops. Olio offers up items that can be taken on a first come first served basis. Or through Too Good To Go you can get 'surprise bags' of food at a discounted price. However, you won't know what you are getting beforehand so best for non-fussy eaters. Full list of kids eat free offers THERE are plenty of chains to choose from offering kids eat free programmes during school holidays. Choose from any of the following... Angus Steakhouse – Kids under 8 and under eat free from the children's menu when an adult orders a meal; available daily from 12pm–5pm. Ask Italian - During school holidays, kids eat for £1 when an adult buys a main. You'll need to get a code for the promotion by filling in a short form on the chain's website. Asda Cafés – Kids' meals for £1 all day, every day across 205 stores nationwide. There's no minimum spend needed. Bar + Block – Up to two children under 16 eat breakfast free with each adult buying one all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast for £10.99. Beefeater – Two kids under 16 can eat free with every adult breakfast bought for £10.99. Bellia Italia - Kids eat free every Thursday and for £1 until 6pm, from Sunday to Wednesday when an adult meal is bought. Bill's – Up to two kids eat free from Monday to Friday, when one adult orders any main dish breakfast, lunch or dinner. Brewdog - One free kids meal for under 13s, when purchasing an adults main meal over summer holidays. Brewers Fayre - Two kids under 16 eat free with every adult breakfast for £10.99. Dobbies Garden Centres – Kids eat for £1 with the purchase of an adult main course,available every day. Chiquito - One kid eats free with every adult main purchased overthe school holidays. Côte Brasserie - Children aged 12 and under can tuck into two complimentary courses when parents spend a minimum of £20 over the school holidays. Farmhouse Inns – Two kids eat free with one paying adult. Franco Manca - One kid 12 and under get a complimentary individual kids pizza for every full-priced adult main meal from Monday to Thursday during the holidays. Frankie & Benny's - Kids can eat for free every day when any adult meal is purchased. IKEA – Kids meals start at 95p for pasta and tomato sauce available daily from 11am in restaurants. Las Iguanas – Kids under 12 eat free with the My Las Iguanas App during the holidays. Morrisons Cafés – One free kids' meal with any adult meal over £4.50. The offer is available daily. Pausa Cafés at Dunelm – Kids eat free with every £4 spent in the café all day, everyday. Premier Inn – Up to two kids eat free breakfast with an adult breakfast, £10.99. PIzza Express - Kids get a free meal Monday to Friday when an adult meal is purchased during school holidays. Sizzling Pubs – Kids eat for £1 with the purchase of an adult main meal, Monday to Friday between 3–7pm. Tesco - Kids eat free, worth £4, when you purchase anything from the menu including fruit for 65p if you're a Clubcard holder TGI Fridays – Kids eat free with any adult main meal for Stripes loyalty members, available all day, every day. The Real Greek – Kids under 12 eat free with every £15 adult spend on Sundays only. Yo! Sushi - Kids eat free all day with a full-paying adult during local school holidays. Whitbread Inns - Two kids under 16 eat breakfast free with every adult full breakfast, £20.99. Cheap cinema tickets Heading to the flicks for a day is always a winner for kids - especially when the weather isn't cooperating and the heavens have opened. Check perks that you can already access through as banks, insurers and phone providers all offer deals. For example, Vodafone customers get four Odeon tickets for £16 through VeryMe Rewards on the MyVodafone app. Three customers can use the Three+ rewards app for £3 Cineworld tickets. And O2 users are offered two cinema tickets at Vue for £6 or 4 for £12 Vue tickets on the Priority app every Monday at 10am. Otherwise, try an experiences website offering discounted cinema tickets nationwide. And very importantly take your own refreshments to the cinema to avoid extortionately expensive costs for drinks and snacks. Free museums There are plenty of free museums to visit across the UK, which is a great resource to tap into, especially when the weather isn't great. In London some of the top museums can be accessed without paying a penny including The National History Museum and The Science Museum. Just beware that some exhibitions or selected areas can charged. However, there are more museums in the capital that are free to enter than charge. But it's not just London where there are freebies - you should have somewhere free to visit near you, no matter where in the country you live including the The Museum of Liverpool and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. There's a full list of free museums at Just remember to pack a few snacks and drinks to avoid buying pricey refreshments on the go. Rainy day activities Fine and sunny weather typically makes it easier to keep kids entertained for cheap. Buy when the weather takes a turn you can try one of these activities instead... Library Join your local library for free and you can easily while away a few hours picking out books and reading with children. You'll also usually find a summer reading challenge from your local library where kids can try to complete a list of suitable books - helping to keep them off screens. Many larger libraries will also put on free events such as story time or sing along sessions. Get Baking Hit two birds with one stone and create some tasty and nutritious grub while keeping the kids entertained. Tesco Real Food is a gold mine for family friendly recipes. Try this fresh pasta recipe and serve with their favourite sauce: Add 200g of 00 grade flour (1kg bag £1.60 at Tesco) into a large bowl, then create a well in the centre. Mix two beaten eggs in until you have a dough. Tip on to a clean surface and knead for ten minutes until it becomes a smooth ball. Put it back in a bowl and leave to rest for 20 minutes. Using children's scissors, get the kids to cut off small chunks of pasta and you can place directly into a pan of boiling water. Then Cook for around seven or eight minutes. Cheap crafts Crafts are always a winner for kids. Save dry and clean recycling items, such as cardboard boxes, and ask kids to junk model their creations. You can help younger ones with sticking or cutting pieces. You can also download free colouring sheets from the Hobbycraft website. The retailer also has stacks of easy craft ideas that you can try your hand at with children. Or you can make ceramic style hand prints or decoarations from an easy salt dough recipe. Simply mix 250g of plain flour with 125g of table salt and 125ml of water. Then roll out and use cookie cutters or a child-friendly knife to create shapes. When finished bake on a lined baking sheet for three hours at 50 degrees. Movie afternoon Creating a cosy den for watching films is a great way to make an everyday activity a bit more fun and exciting. Use cushions, duvets and blankets in the lounge and maybe some fairy lights if you have some. You could then cook up a big bowl of popcorn together and mix in favourite sweets as a special treat. Loyalty pays If you collect Clubcard points at Tesco, the summer holidays are the perfect opportunity to cash in. Points are swapped to vouchers which can be spent at Tesco for face value, but if you choose to spend with a reward partner, the value doubles turning £2.50 into £5 to spend. You can use the vouchers on a load of family fun days out including big attraction venues including Thorpe Park, Cadbury World and Colchester Zoo. Taking a family of four (over 1.2m tall) costs well over £100 to go to Thorpe Park during peak periods so the savings are substantial. Meanwhile, Nectar points can be exchanged for tickets to attractions such as Longleat Safari Park and other family-friendly destinations. One Nectar point is worth 0.5p, meaning 100 points are worth 50p and 200 points are worth £1 at Sainsbury's. Unfortunately, you don't get the option to double up but it can still be a good way to spend those hard saved points. Free attraction tickets You can get 2-for-1 entry at 350 attractions across the UK, making one ticket completely free. This is all through National Rail's Days Out Guide with The London Dungeon, The Blackpool Tower Eye, The ArcelorMittal Orbit, and Warwick Castle among the places you can visit through the initiative. To bag 2-for-1 tickets you will need to travel via train to the destination. 4 First, head to the Days Out Guide website and click on "UK Days Out". Then pick the attraction you'd like to visit and download or print, the 2-for-1 voucher. Vouchers and train tickets will then need to be presented to staff at the venue for the promotion to be accepted. Many local farms or animal sanctuaries offer free open hours where kids can see animals and get up close to tractors and more. For example, The Woodland Farm Trust in London or Goodall's of Tong in Yorkshire. You can find one near you by searching on google or look at Find a freebie There are often loads of small free events happening right under your nose but without a big budget for advertising these can be harder to find. Try searching through for local gems going under the radar. You can filter by activity type, as well as search for only the activities that are free. Facebook also has plenty of suggested events you can scroll through where you can search 'near me' or choose a location, as well as date. And check the notice boards of local supermarkets, gyms, libraries and doctor surgeries. Website also has a tool where you can search for activities by postcode and signup to its newsletter to see whats happening in your area. Turn your outdoor area to a play haven SUN Savers Editor LANA CLEMENTS explains how she has turned her garden into a play area to save money. LAST year I invested in making my garden more entertaining for my four-year-old daughter CAN WE NAME THEM? and six-year-old son. They love heading to the local trampoline park, but it costs more than £20 every time we go. Instead, I bought an 8ft trampoline for £90. Yes, it's a hefty upfront cost and you could probably buy cheaper second hand if you can find one and it takes up a huge space in our garden - but it's hands down the best thing I've bought them. Last summer, they spent hours jumping, burning energy and playing in there. I've made back the £90 easily in saved cash from the trampoline park and soft play sessions. But you don't need to spend that much to transform your outside space. Facebook Marketplace and Car boot sales are great places to start to buy furniture and second-hand toys. My kids also love making 'obstacle courses' out of toys and furniture - or we'll play the 'floor is lava' with a few cushions and mats to jump between. Try handing them a pack of chalk and they'll soon be drawing pictures on a patio. Or challenge them to create a 'bug hotel' out of leaves and sticks. On hot days, you can freeze small toys such as dinosaurs in ice and they'll be entertained and keep cool trying to 'set them free'. You can even turn them into mini gardeners, asking them to help water flowers or planting fruit and veg which they'll love to watch grow. Of course, we are lucky enough to have outside space. You can find shared garden spaces nearby or even try and get an allotment to help entertain your kids this summer. Hit the shops Dragging kids round the shops doesn't instantly sounds like a good idea, but if you know where to head it can be fun for free. Pets at Home runs free workshops during school holidays where little ones can learn and meet small animals. See Garden centre chain Dobbies also runs its Little Seedlings Clubs with free workshops on a range of gardening topics suitable for children aged 4-10 years. See Ikea loyalty members can also book on to free workshops for children but these do tend to be popular so you'll need to move quick. Dates and events vary by store look up your neatest at Local pet or aquarium shops are also an easy way to burn a morning or afternoon without spending a penny. If you can find a place selling snakes, spiders or lizards - they'll be enthralled. Friendly retailers are usually more than happy for kids to have a hold and give facts about the And the child-sized trolleys at Lidl are a great way to get your weekly shop done while your mini-me follows and helps pick out items for dinner. Free sports and lessons It's great to get kids up and moving over the holidays. Sports clubs are often fairly pricey but there are plenty of sporting freebies you can take advantage of. Families can play tennis for free at one of the LTA's Big Tennis weekends. These nationwide events are a great way to get inspired with coaching, games and competitions throughout the summer. Find your nearest at McDonald's also offers free Fun Football sessions over the summer. McDonald's Fun Football sessions offer coaching at 1,600 locations to 1 million kids across the UK. Parents can register for free with sessions running until July 27. Sign up at Parkplay is a nationwide scheme offering two hours of free community ball play Saturday mornings in a park or public space. Games are adapted and inclusive, with all generations playing together. Find your nearest at It's worth looking up local big clubs which often give back to the community with cheap or free sessions. For example, Manchester United Foundation's Street Reds offers free sessions to selected kids. Contact your local team to see what is on offer. Or for a bit of running, Junior Park Run is a free weekly 2km event for children aged four–14.. Register at and they can practice each week. Free breaks for kids The cost of a getaway during the school holidays is staggeringly expensive as providers hike prices. However, there are charities who will offer subsidised or even free breaks for low income families, especially those who have never been able to afford the cost of going away. Check out the Family Holiday Charity to see if you could qualify, as well as the Family Fund if you have a disabled child. Benefit information site Turn2us also provides tools for finding grants and charitable support for holidays. Household Support Fund Low income families can get help with essential bills such as energy and food through the Household Support Fund. Every council in England has cash from the government to give out to households battling with the cost of living over the coming financial year. Each local authority distributes the funding slightly different so what you can get and whether you qualify depends on where you live. You may be offered vouchers or cash payments straight in to your bank account. However, the value of support is nothing to be sniffed at and is often worth hundreds of pounds to those who qualify. You'll typically find you could unlock the help if you're on benefits such as Universal Credit. But the cash is not guaranteed - once your council has dished out the funding it's gone so contact authorities as soon as possible to see if you could apply.
The Sun
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Ultimate UK guide to everything you can do for FREE in the school summer holidays… from tennis lessons to cinema tickets
THE summer school holidays are nearly here but keeping the kids entertained can be a challenge - and expensive. A new study found parents spend as much as £1,000 a week on their children during the six-week break but there is a wealth of free family activities across the country that promise a brilliant summer without breaking the bank. From sport classes to screenings and festivals, there are hundreds of free opportunities to try. Here's our pick of the best... 1. Free government-funded clubs The Government's Holiday Activities Fund (HAF) provides for completely free holiday clubs across the UK, run by local authorities. The clubs are targeted at children who have ever been eligible for free school meals in their schools, but there is discretion for 15% of the places to go to other children who would benefit. Councils are expected to provide a minimum of 16 days of provision, and you may need a code or letter from your child's school to get a place. Check online or ask your child's teacher if you think you may be eligible. 2. Tennis lessons for beginners Get the kids healthy and into a new sport with free tennis sessions. Barclays is sponsoring free group tennis sessions that can be booked on the Lawn Tennis Association website while you'll find more free sessions at Tennis For Free. 3. Art and sculpture trails Track down painted rabbits in Ipswich or colourful guitars in Manchester with a Wild in Art trail. These public displays of large-scale sculptures come with apps and maps so you can spend the day finding them all. Check out the Wild in Art website to find one near you. 4. Outdoor cinema pop-ups Go to the cinema for free with pop-up screenings of popular movies. Everyman is hosting outdoor screens in Kings Cross and Watford while Screen on the Green runs a similar outdoor experience in the middle of Newcastle. There is no one website that details all free screenings so the best place to look is local Facebook and council sites. 5. F un in the forest Forestry England runs free trails (some with paid-for activity packs), as well as summer activities in forests up and down the country. Download a Wallace & Gromit themed walking trail or find one of their free 'disc golf' courses at six forest sites including Hamsterley in County Durham or Salcey in the East Midlands. You can pay to hire special discs, buy your own set to play for free, or get started using a frisbee you've got at home and buy a proper set if you get hooked. Get a Blue Peter badge & meet Bluey... one mum's top tips for a great value summer Lavania Oluban has recently published a journal for families to record their days out, called The Amazing Adventures of Me. Here, the Birmingham-based mum and teacher shares her top tips for making the summer holidays great fun and, importantly, great value. Plan ahead Start with your diary, Lavania says. Ask the children what big days out they want to do. Put those in first, and then fit cheaper events around them. 'You know six weeks is coming up. It's a lot of time to fill, so plan ahead.' Look for deals and vouchers Whether its Merlin tickets with Sun Club, or 2 for 1 days out if you travel by National Rail, there are plenty of deals available to take down the cost of days out, Lavania says, so always search for a discount. One top tip she has is to get your children applying for a Blue Peter badge. There are lots of ways to get one of these by meeting specific criteria and each one gives free child entry at lots of different attractions. 'The badge arrives in the post and you've got time for summer if you apply now,' she says. 'I keep my son's in the glovebox in the car so we can use it at any time.' Scrutinise every noticeboard Local days out are often advertised on physical noticeboards, so make a habit of reading them whenever you walk past, Lavania says. Whether it's an animal sanctuary with an open day, or a local county show where your children can enter a baking competition, all these days out are free or very cheap. 'Take photos of interesting possibilities on your phone when you see them,' she suggests. Hit up the shopping centre The summer months are quieter for shopping malls, so they often increase footfall by offering free children's activities. 'They will have days when a mascot like Bluey is there,' she says. 'Or a free outdoor trail'. You can check the website of your local centre to see what is going on. Pick your own A trip to the strawberry picking farm can be fun and provide you with food for the week. 'Lots of them have fun activities like Maize Mazes too and they aren't expensive,' Lavania says. If you don't know of farms near you try the for a list, and always check first whether there is fruit ready to pick before visiting. 6. Library r eading challenges and games Get the children reading with the free challenge run by the Reading Agency and available at most UK libraries. Librarians will issue your children with a collector folder, and they can earn stickers and rewards for reading books, while they may also run other free activities. More details available here. 7. Local museum craft days London and other national museums are often free to enter and run free or extremely cheap craft days for children in the summer holidays, many of which you can book in advance online. My dream pool was £40,000 so I DIYd my own 18ft version in February all for this summer heatwave - it's saved me £37,000 As well as the big free museums, check out smaller local galleries and follow them on Instagram to see what they're offering, for example the National Archives in Kew, which runs a Time Travellers club with bookable sessions is free to visit with a small charge for its craft activities, while the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester offers bookable exhibitions. Which Museum is the best source for free galleries, shows and exhibitions near you. 4 8. Geocaching Make a walk more exciting with the free geocaching app, which encourages you to find small 'caches' containing plastic toys and other tokens and leave some for others. Just download the app from and find caches near you. 9. Festivals and open days Expensive festivals can take a huge bite out of your budget, but there are free local events in many areas of the country. Check out the Eventbrite website for free options near you. Setting the filters for free family events will let you see what's going on in your area and allow you to apply for free tickets. 10. In-store workshops Many companies offer free workshops for kids to tempt you in during the holidays. Try your local Pets at Home for free pet owner classes with a certificate or sign up for Apple Camp on the tech company's website for free movie-making classes. Other companies to check for free kids' workshops include Hobbycraft, the Lego Store and Hamleys. 11. Farm visits Many city farms are free to visit year-round while others hold bookable open days where children can feed and pet animals and learn about their care. Check your local websites for details or for free farms near you or try animal sanctuaries such as the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary, which is also free. 12. Get girls moving Nuffield Health offers free girls fitness classes run by expert instructors. You can book at if you have a Nuffield gym near you. 'My son wants to go to Harry Potter World... apart from that it's all about free days out' Natalie Ormond, 43, plans the summer holidays carefully to ensure she can get through the six weeks with her sons with her finances intact. 'I definitely do look for a lot of freebie things because obviously it's a long time and all of the paid-for things, like bowling and days out and stuff, add up if you're doing that every day,' says the Leeds-based mum-of-two. Natalie, who runs a children's gift business called Smallkind, says most deals and discounts dry up in the summer holidays, so she searches hard for free activities for sons Jesse, 11, and Noah, 8. 'We've got into geocaching which is free and lots of fun as it takes you very random places, or we'll have a day with a theme and a trail,' she says. 'So, once it was spotting owls on buildings, and that definitely gives the boys something to concentrate on while we're out and about. 'We do things like library tours - four libraries in a day with a picnic and walk in between them, and then we rate the libraries! Or we do the same with bookshops if the kids have any book tokens to spend.' Ormond, who is married to lawyer Owen, says that she's got pickier over the days out she will spend on, because she is so often disappointed. 'I think when the boys were younger, sometimes I was so desperate for somewhere to go that I ended up spending quite a lot of money. Now, if I'm going to spend a lot of money on a day out, I want to know that it's a good place. 'So, I've got a lot more selective. We've sort said to the boys for this year, they can give us a couple of ideas each of places that they'd like to go, and we'll try and do that. So, my oldest really wants to go to Harry Potter World and the younger one to a theme park – but mostly it will be free days out.' 13. Get up high Visiting London? Taking a trip up the Shard or on the London Eye will cost you dear but there are several viewing platforms that allow you to see the city for nothing at all. Horizon 22 is the highest viewing platform you can visit for free, and you can book in advance at Horizon 22 or get walk up tickets on the day. Other options include the Sky Garden and the Lookout at 8 Bishopsgate, all of which are bookable in advance. 14. Play football with McDonald's McDonald's is offering free football coaching for 5 to 11-year-olds this summer. Look online to find a session near you and to sign up for sessions and find out about free football festivals at here. 4 15. Join a walking tour Visiting a new city? Check out free walking tours to make the most of it with older children. A lot of cities offer these tours with an expert guide in exchange for a donation. For example, check out this free Harry Potter tour in Edinburgh. Make sure you book in advance and – in this case – make sure your children bring a wand, or something similar to 'swish and flick'. 16. Visit a s plash parks or a lido If the weather warms up, a trip to a free splashpark or lido could be just the ticket. Free lidos include Swansea's Blackpill Park, while Shoalstone in Devon has a free seawater pool. Free splashpads include Splashlands in Welwyn Garden City, while many city council website have details of local offerings.
