The school summer holidays are finally upon us, which means no more early school runs or stressful mornings trying to find your child’s left shoe. But with the summer holidays, comes six weeks of entertaining the family. The good news is that staying busy and having fun needn’t break the bank, and there are plenty of cheap and cheerful activities which will entertain the family all summer long.

Check out our top five tips below to see how you can make memories without straining your finances.

1. Host your own sports day in the garden or local park
   Bring out your competitive side and host your own sports day, complete with a BBQ to finish and medals for the winners. Sports day events can feature a wide range of activities and depending on what apparatus you have to hand, the sky’s the limit! You can stick to the classics such as the egg and spoon, three-legged races or bean bag throwing, or be a bit more adventurous and set up your own obstacle course complete with tunnels, hula hoops and skipping ropes.

2. Museum trips
   We’d all like to think it’s going to be 30⁰C all summer long, but realistically, it’s going to rain at some point. For those days, museums are a great way to entertain the family – and teach everyone something too. Luckily, there are loads of free ones across the UK; from the Science Museum in London, the National Football Museum in Manchester or the Tate in Liverpool. There is a museum for everybody!!

3. Check your vouchers and rewards
   Unfortunately, not everything in life is free, but pretty much everything can be discounted. Before you book a family excursion this summer holiday, check your supermarket reward cards, to see whether your points entitle you to any money off vouchers. Doing a quick Google search and checking out voucher websites such as VoucherCodes, will help you find a great deal on something which you were perhaps already going to do and pay full price for.

4. Seaside trip

   You don’t need to go abroad to enjoy the seaside.  The UK has some fantastic beaches, whether you live up north by the Northumberland Coast, or further down south by Bournemouth or Brighton, there’s a beautiful coastline waiting to be explored by you and your family. Pack a picnic, jump in the car and make a day of it. Don’t forget to pack a bucket a spade though… A family trip to the beach isn’t complete within a sandcastle competition!

5. Get gardening
   Gardening is fairly inexpensive and great for the whole family. It’s a good one to start at the beginning of the summer holidays, so your children can take care of their plants and watch them grow. If you don’t have a garden, a window box or small pots will do.