It only seems like last week that the kids were packed off back to school, but half term is just around the corner. Trying to think of fun things to do with them is difficult, especially when you are on a budget. So we thought we would put together some of our favourite things to do, all of them for free!

Trip to the park

Weather permitting, a trip to your local park is not only free but it gets you and the kids out of the house for a few hours into the fresh air and should tire you all out.

Trip to a museum

Lots of museums across England and Wales are completely free, such as: Attenborough Nature Centre in Nottinghamshire, Baltic in Newcastle, National Media Centre in Bradford and the National Library in Aberystwyth.

In-door picnic

Picnics are often great days out, but in February you don’t really want to spend too much time out in the cold eating. So why not get out the picnic blanket and create an indoor picnic involving the kids in the preparation process.

Home cinema

A trip to the cinema can be extremely costly for a family, but you can bring the cinema experience into the home. Get the kids to design some tickets and signs, get some popcorn and settle into your very own cinema.

Design a pizza

Most kids love pizza so why not buy some ingredients and get them to create their very own pizza. You can choose lots of healthy toppings for them to use too.

Room tidying competition

This is an idea that I found on Netmums.net. The idea is to create a competition for your kids to win a prize for cleaning their bedroom. This will not only keep them busy for a few hours but it will also be one less job for you to do. We’re not convinced it will work, but it’s worth a try!