Budget Kids Activities – Free or Cheap Ideas!

Budget Kids Activities – for entertaining your little ones come rain or shine!

Now as a mumma, I know that it can sometimes be difficult to keep the children entertained whilst not spending an absolute fortune.

It’s so tempting to pick something really expensive because it’s easy, but there are so many free or very cheap activities that they can do, and love.

I’m always brainstorming ideas of things that I can do with my four year daughter who is like a tornado full of energy! Summer holidays can seem to drag on forever and as parents, we are determined to fill the time with the most fun activities for the kids.

The list below should help with ideas, and feel free to add any of your own in the comments below!

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Geocaching

If you haven’t heard of geocaching before, it’s the worlds largest treasure hunt!

You sign up for an account and then using the app on your phone, just choose the geocache that you want to find, and then navigate to its location. It is usually a small container which has a logbook in it.

Sign the logbook and pop it back exactly where you found it for the next person. There can also be larger caches which have items in that you can trade. This is the link to the Geocaching site. It’s free!

Picnic

What child doesn’t love a picnic?! Or adult for that matter. Put together a cheap picnic and set out to find a great spot. The great thing about picnics is that you can have them anywhere – including indoors if it’s a rainy day.

My daughter genuinely asks to have a picnic every day – we usually have sandwiches, a LOT of fruit (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries), cheese, yoghurts – but you can choose whatever you like.

This doesn’t just need to be done in the summer months either – during winter just wrap up really warm and take some soup, crusty bread and hot chocolates in flasks.

Family Walk

Go for a nice family walk together – you could borrow someone’s dog to walk if you don’t have your own if you wanted! Even if you just go to your local area, I bet you find some cool places that you haven’t seen before.

When we’ve been on walks we’ve found some great parks which are hidden away so we wouldn’t have spotted them otherwise.

Wash the Car

Fill up some buckets with soapy water, get the sponges out and dress the kids in appropriate clothes and let them loose on the car.

Plus side for you is to get a free car wash! You could also give them some pocket money for doing this – if you wanted!

Football

Play a game of football with the kids. Get all of the neighbours out and have a massive game. I have fond memories of doing this as a child, and we also used to play a huge game of rounders with all of the kids and their parents in the summer.

Library Trip

Take a trip down to your local library to stock up on some books to read together. During the holidays (and in general) they can run some fun free activities for children.

Baking

Let them be little chefs for the day and get some yummy treats out of it too. There’s no end to what they could bake – some great ideas are pizza because it’s simple and they can decorate it however they want, and sweet treats like jam tarts, cake.

Cinema Trip

A lot of cinemas offer very cheap kids tickets if you go at certain times. Check out my cinema post for more details on various cinema deals.

Cinema at Home

Who said you have to go out to have a cinema experience?! Get a DVD (doesn’t have to be a brand new one – check charity shops and places like Home Bargains have great ones), some popcorn and drinks, all of the cushions and pillows that you have, draw the curtains and have your own mini cinema day.

You could also get the kids to make cinema tickets too.

Museum Trip

Did you know that a lot of museums are free entry? Have a look online at your local museums and check. This can be a great educational experience for the little ones, and good for you too. They are very accommodating of children too.

When we went on a trip to see family in Belfast, their local museum does a ‘Night in the Museum’ like the film – where they have a giant sleepover in the museum! Best idea ever.

Family Bike Ride

Get your bikes out of the garage, helmets on, and set off for a nice family bike ride. You could take a picnic with you too and pick a nice place to ride to.

Blackberry Picking

Such a fun activity. Kids love finding blackberries – take a container with you to keep all of the blackberries in and bring home to make something like apple and blackberry crumble!

Farm Trip

Not just reserved for those that live in the countryside, there are a lot of city farms around, and most of them are free admission.

My daughter loves going to our local farm to see all of the animals, and they have a great play area too. We went there at Easter for a free Easter egg hunt which she adored – always worth checking the free events that they put in too throughout the year.

Treasure Hunts

Something you can do in your back garden, or indoors if it’s not great weather. Hide some cheap little treats around the place, and write down some clues that they will be able to guess.

Get them to dress up as pirates, and you could put the clues onto paper and stain with a cold teabag to look like an old treasure map.

Make Playdough

Shop bought playdoh can really add up in price, but the kids do love it. A great cheap alternative to this is making your own. They do this in my daughter’s nursery all the time, and they scent it as well. You can do it any colour, and add glitter, scents, anything you wish! I love this one that I found.

You could also make homemade moon sand – just plain flour and baby oil.

Chalk Drawings

Super cheap but fun idea for the kids, and can be easily washed away too. Chalks are available in most supermarkets and shops, at cheap prices. They can draw hopscotch, pictures, and just make a mess.

Bird Watching

Doesn’t need to be expensive with buying books, binoculars etc. Get a book out of the library, print out a bird watching tally or bird book and just go looking with your child. You could look in your garden, near some fields, anywhere!

Party Games

Who said you can only play party games when it’s your birthday? Have an impromptu party with the kids and play a load of party games, just for fun! There’s pass the parcel, musical statues, musical bumps, Duck Duck Goose, Pin the tail on the donkey and so many more.

Potato Prints

Slice the potato in half and you could use a small cookie cutter, push it into the potato and cut around it to make the shape. You could also just cut it out if you don’t have a cookie cutter. Hours of fun for the little ones! Make handprints, footprints paintings too.

Park

Although not much fun for parents (there, I said it! I hate going to the park, ha!) the park is somewhere that kids LOVE. They can play with their friends or make new ones, which is great for their social skills and physical development also. You want them to be active, and happy – the park is the best free place that you can take them that’s so close to your home.

Fly a Kite

You can get some very cheap kites out there (check eBay if you can’t find one) or if you are feeling brave you could make your own kite. The UK is generally pretty windy, especially if you go to the beach, so this can be done pretty much any time.

And you can embarrass your kids by skipping along singing “Let’s go fly a kite!” at the top of your voice à la Mary Poppins.

Paint Pebbles

Another painting activity, gather up some large pebbles (fun to do at the beach) and let them paint them however they wish.

Create a Water Park

Fill up the paddling pool, and if you’re feeling brave, make a water slide! I loved doing this when I was younger. Use plastic sheeting and a hosepipe and you’re good to go. The kids will love it. Stick the hose pipe into a plastic bottle with holes in it for a homemade sprinkler.

Make a Den

Making a den or a fort is another free activity that the kids can do, and have so much fun doing it. I guarantee they will be squealing with excitement!

There are so many different ways that you can do it. Use chairs, the sofa, a load of blankets, pillows, cushions and you will have a great little blanket fort. So cute and you could use it to have your cinema at home day.

Make a Shoebox House

This is something that my daughter LOVES to do. Simply decorate a shoe box to make it into a house. You can cut out the sides so it’s easier to do. Use card, paint, print some little doors, windows off, use stickers – let their imagination run wild. One of my favourite toys ever that I remember as a child was a shoebox house. I remember it so well, and we made little cardboard mice to go in there.

Write Letters

If your children can write – or even if they can’t, they can read out to you what they want to say – get them to put pen to paper and write their family members and friends a lovely letter.

We live in an age now where handwritten letters are so rare, so they are always a lovely way to put a smile on your loved ones face when they see their letter. You can post them in person if they are nearby, or take a little trip to the postbox.

Nature Pictures

Whichever season you are in, you can collect things from nature to make pictures with. For example, leaves! Stick them onto a large piece of paper and make a lovely leaf collage.

Beach Trip

Grab your buckets and spades and head down to the beach to have fun making sandcastles, splashing in the sea and so many other games like rounders, football.

Make Instruments

Also a great way to re-use your recycling – use bottles and fill with rice for shakers, make a banjo out of a paper plate and some elastic bands – get creative! Once you’ve made all of your instruments, time to have a production!

Homemade Bubbles

You generally just need warm water, washing up liquid, and sugar. You can add to the fun by making bubble wands or even a bubble blower like I found, how amazing does it look?!

Papier Mache

There are lots of papier mache ideas out there, we tried out a couple ourselves, we made a rocket and a dinosaur. All that we needed was a balloon, toilet rolls, toilet paper, glue and paint.

There are lots of free events that are always going on, so check your local council information, libraries, local websites, and if you are planning on a bigger trip check voucher sites such as http://www.daysoutwithkids.co.uk.

Does anyone else have any great kids activities that they can share in the comments below?

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