School summer holidays incoming! Here’s how to save money

Ah those long heady days of summer. With the kids off school, it can really feel like a holiday atmosphere, especially if the sun is shining. Warm weather, sunny days and light evenings can put everyone in a great mood and enable families to have lots of summer fun together.

Except sometimes it’s not that easy. School summer holidays can be a nightmare, especially for working parents. Not only do you have to feed and entertain the kids all weekend, but you now have the whole week to sort out as well. And as well as being a logistical nightmare, it can all get really expensive too.

So here are a few tips from us on how to save money during the long school holidays.

Find your village

There’s that saying “it takes a village to raise a child”, and this can be particularly true during school holidays. Everything will be much easier if you can team up with one or two other families and help each other out over the next few weeks. If you are working, or need time to catch up with other things, your village can look after your child(ren) for you. And vice versa. You’ll also find that many summer activities can be cheaper if there is a group of you rather than just one family.

So the first thing to do before the holidays hit, is to have your village up and running. You will not only save money but also build strong friendships and happy memories which will last for years to come.

Look for local events

A useful next step is to find out what’s on locally. Look on notice boards and your local library or tourist information office. You are likely to find many different activities and events: anything from exhibitions, mini music festivals, summer clubs, competitions and much more. This is a great way to have fun, support your local community and save money in the process.

Also make full use of your local library. As well as being able to borrow books, audio books and DVDs, there may be in house activities such as stories, arts and crafts, or summer reading challenges to join.

Adventure walks and treasure hunts

Summer is a great opportunity to get everyone out of the house. One fun way to do this is to organise a nature treasure hunt. All you need to do is head out for a walk and create a simple list of things to find. If you need some inspiration there are free downloadable lists of things to look out for at Learning Resources.

If you’d prefer something a bit more interactive, there are various free audio trails and podcasts made for children. Look for apps such as GeoTourist or Storytrails which offer immersive storytelling experiences for different locations, including local legends, history trails, and hunts for mythical creatures – all free to download.

Get into the water

Most children love to play in water. If you are anywhere near a beach, this is always a great day out. Combine it with a picnic both to add to the fun and to save money on food. If you are not near a beach, either see if there is a lake with a natural or man-made beach or a wood with an easily accessible river or stream.

Also check with your local leisure centre what they have on offer. You may well find that there is either free swimming for children or good-value play sessions, such as floating obstacle courses and inflatables, so you may get more for your money than usual.

If none of the above is an option, why not fill a paddling pool with water and some pool toys for hours of fun in the garden. 

Use offers and passes for kids activities

If you want to take the kids for a day out to a theme park or other attraction, take time to find the best offer in advance. You can save money by doing this rather than just turning up on the day. Check voucher sites, supermarket loyalty card points, and newspaper offers. Or if you plan to do this on a regular basis it could be worth exploring something like a Merlin annual pass, which gives discounts to a wide range of UK attractions such as Thorpe Park, Legoland, Sea Life, and Madame Tussauds.

Another pass to investigate is Kids Pass. This gives members access to hundreds of offers including discounts at theme parks, zoos and safaris, cinema tickets and kids-eat-free deals. You can get a 30-day trial for just £1, with monthly membership then £3.99.

Save money on visiting country attractions

If you enjoy a day out, it could be worth signing up to either The National Trust or English Heritage. Both organisations offer grounds that anyone can visit for free, but if you become a member, there is free access to hundreds of historic places plus free parking.

The National Trust offers family membership from £103.80 a year for one adult and their children – and kids under five go free. English Heritage membership starts at £72 a year for over 25s and up to six children get free access. 

You can save money on a day out by heading to a local park or forest to get some fresh air and exercise. If you are near any forests run by The Forestry Commission, there are lots of free or low cost activities such as Gruffalo trails. Visitor centres also offer free printable activity sheets to take into the woods. You can find your nearest Forestry Commission forest here.

A day at the museum

A great activity for any kind of weather is visiting a museum. There are hundreds of great free museums across the UK to cater for every kind of interest.

Most towns and cities have at least one museum, and most are free. For example, if you live within easy reach of London there are over 20 free museums and galleries that you can visit, including The Science Museum, Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and The British Museum.

Many museums have interactive exhibits and activities aimed at younger visitors, and many also put on special exhibitions during school holidays. So a day at a museum could be a great way to save money on giving the kids a fabulous day out.

Kids eat free

Food can often be the most expensive part of any day out, but a growing number of food venues have special deals such as Kids Eat Free or for £1. These include brands like Pizza Hut, Yo! Sushi, TGI Fridays and ASDA .

You can find out details of Kids Eat Free offers on the MoneyMagpie website. It’s always worth checking whether you can just walk in, or if you need to book or register in advance or get a voucher.

Get the kids earning money

As well as looking for ways to save money over summer, why not get your kids earning money too? Particularly if they want to visit a theme park or other more expensive attraction, they could be motivated to save money to put towards the cost of this. 

A good place to start is by encouraging them to take on a few extra chores around the house in return for some extra pocket money. Better still, are there jobs that they could do for friends and neighbours, so that they are earning money from outside the household?

Another option is to encourage them to have a major sort out of their bedrooms and then organise a family car boot sale to sell unwanted goods. There are often extra car boot sales over the holiday season, for example over the Bank Holiday weekend. Doing a car boot sale can be a fun experience for the whole family, and will also help you get rid of a load of stuff and raise a bit of cash in the process. For more hints and tips on how to do a successful car boot sale, check out our article How to have the best car boot sale.

We hope that the ideas in this article help you to find ways to save money on entertaining the kids this summer holiday.

During the rest of 2025, we will be covering lots more ways to save money on everyday family living, so remember to check back here soon with us at Loans 2 Go.