Spending time with the family doesn’t need to break the bank!
With the summer holidays approaching, parents and caregivers across the UK are looking for ways to keep their children entertained.
And, as the cost of living goes up, it’s natural to want to keep family expenses down. This is why we offer our foster carers a competitive fostering allowance, but we recognise that every little helps.
Fortunately, if you’re looking for inspiration on free things to do with the family, look no further! We’ve put together a list of our top 10 free activities for kids that are great fun for the whole family. These family fun day activities will help to strengthen your bond with your children, costing you nothing but some quality time.
Please note – some of these free family activities might require some basic craft materials or items from the cupboard!
Create a Time Capsule Together
Take some time to create a time capsule with your family. Invite your children to collect some sentimental or meaningful items and place them in a container together.
Bury or hide the container somewhere, and revisit it again in the future to see how much has changed.
We suggest filling your time capsule with family photos, drawings, poetry, certificates, and other personal memorabilia.
Get Adventurous with some Geocaching
Make the most of a sunny day and take the family geocaching.
This outdoor activity is essentially a nationwide treasure hunt! Members of the public hide and seek various treasure containers, known as ‘geoaches’, at specific coordinates.
All it takes is a mobile phone coordinates and some navigational know-how! This is a perfect fun and free activity for young adventurers and treasure hunters.
Camp Out in the Living Room or Garden
Who said you had to leave the house to go camping?
Pitch a blanket fort in your living room or a tent in your garden and gather some supplies for a fun-filled night of camping.
Bring torches, plenty of snacks and your cosiest pyjamas and settle in for some spooky stories, movies, or board games. You could even try a spot of stargazing!
Visit the Seaside for Some Rockpooling
Rockpooling is a fabulous outdoors activity that’s inclusive and exciting for the whole family.
The UK has a large span of coastline, brimming with various water pools and rocky shorelines. Living in these pools of water is a variety of sea wildlife, including crabs, prawns and even starfish.
Dig out your bucket and get ready to get stuck in!
Host a Household Scavenger Hunt
Turn everyday household items into treasure with a DIY at-home scavenger hunt.
Compile a list of random objects, like toilet roll, spatulas, cotton buds, pasta, and socks, and challenge your children to find them as quick as they can.
You can send them off to find one object at a time, or you can send them all at once!
Art and Craft a New Outfit
Gather your old t-shirts or tattered jeans and get ready for a fashion show.
Using paints, pens, and whatever craft items you have to hand, get ready to design yourself a brand-new outfit. Children will love using their creativity to stick, cut and colour a brand-new outfit.
Once you’re all finished, why not dim the lights, break out a spotlight, and show off your new outfits on the runway?
Make Your Own Kites
One of the simplest joys in life comes from flying a kite on a breezy day. It’s also one of the best free summer activities for kids!
If you’ve not got a kite of your own, building your own bright coloured paper kite is an excellent way to spend time with the family. All you need is some large sheets of paper, some sticks – like bamboo, or some dowels – and some twine.
Check out this guide from Countryfile on how to make a DIY kite!
Design Your Own Board Game
Board games are a great way to spend some quality time with the family. But why not play by your own rules?
For this easy, family friendly activity, all you’ll need some large paper or card and a few markers. Decide on a theme – zombies, mermaids, anything you like – and get designing!
This YouTube video from Art with Mrs F provides a great step-by-step walkthrough for making your own board game with your family.
Pick And Press Some Flowers
Pressed flowers make a beautiful piece of art or gift for a neighbour, friend or family member. It’s also an activity that dates all the way back to Ancient Egypt!
Roses and daisies are easiest when it comes to flower pressing, so we recommend keeping an eye out for these. If you’ve got an old bouquet of flowers, you can press that too!
Flower pressing is also worth the wait! Your children will love seeing the results of their hard work in a few weeks’ time.
Help Out in the Community
There’s nothing quite like using your free time to give back to your community.
Lending support to people in need is as good for you and your family, as it is for the people you’re helping!
Taking time to volunteer, help out a neighbour, or tidy up a local space is free, fun and wonderful for your children’s development.
Check out our suggestions on how to give back to your community here.
Times are difficult right now. If you’re wondering how to survive the cost of living crisis, you’re not alone. For more inspiration for children’s activities, why not take at some of our other suggestions:
