101 Summer Activities for Kids that won’t cost the Earth!

Summer is a time for kicking back and relaxing. We parents have it so easy. The children entertain themselves and your days go according to plan… Yeah right! It’s more like a scene from the movie Parenthood in our house quite chaotic indeed! The kids get bored and we get stressed attempting to come up with Summer Activities for kids through these, oh-so-long summer months!

I could paint a picture of how perfect we are as a family, but that is simply just not the case. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have to think on my feet wishing I had planned our summer activities a little better for my kids. I am sure it wasn’t this hard when we were younger… I mean do kids even play out anymore, as we used to? I know my two kids struggle to pull themselves away from the computer with all the latest technology available that seems to take a hold of them during their Summer break!

That’s why I am going to recommend what I have done this year and come up with a list of activities and things to do with the kids in summer that won’t cost the earth and will get them out and about whilst keeping them fit and active too.

You can either use these ideas or they may well provoke a few thoughts of your own. Whatever you think I hope this bucket list of 101 activities for kids Ideas will help you keep your little darlings entertained through the summer months.

101 Free or Cost-Effective Activities for Kids during the Summer Months.

1. Visit the local park. Simple and super effective! Kids simply love to be outdoors and the local park is a great way to spend the day! You will often find activities pre-planned by the park organisers themselves.
2. Bake with your kids.
3. Search online for free characters in a printable like these Disney ones to colour in or you could start with these 8 totally free inside out printables on our site. All it will cost is a bit of little ink and paper!
4. Go for a walk with the kids. It’s an easy-breezy activity that you can effortlessly turn into something entertaining and at the same time educational. Make a simple map of a park or a playground and challenge the kids to find a list of items they can see while walking along the way — including flowers, stones, or even small insects. Once you get home, help them observe all items collected and discover what these are made of using an easy-to-use kids microscope. Taking a walk can offer not only great exercise but can also be turned into a fun learning process, not just for kids but for the whole family.
5. Create a back yard obstacle course, splash water on the kids and create small safe obstacles for them to get around whilst having fun great idea by Hand on as we go.
6. build a kite weather permitting of course.
7. Go to your nearest seaside for the day.
8. Go crabbing or shell picking at the beach.
9. Go for a Donkey ride.
10. Build sand castles. Get your bucket and spades at the ready! Don’t forget your Summer survival kit.
11. Have a family barbecue.
12. Visit a local museum.
13. Build a tree house. (Tree permitting of course.)
14. Create a fun wildlife sanctuary in your garden. It’s not too difficult and the kids learn lots about various creatures.
15. Visit a local farm.
16. Pick your own fruit.
17. Take the kids swimming at your local leisure center.
18. Play dress-up.
19. Go outdoors and start skipping.
20. Pay the kids to clean your car. “Just make sure you don’t give them a brillo pad!”
21. Get the kids to draw a picture. Let their imaginations run free.
22. Go for a picnic in your local park. You will find plenty of activities to keep your kids entertained.
23. Get the kids to write their own stories and illustrate the images.
24. Make a scrapbook or journal from family photographs.
25. Visit your nearest aquarium.
26. Take a trip to a relative’s home.
27. Build Lego and make your own creations. Grab some bricks and “GO”.
28. Chalk on the pavement. Get the kids to use their imagination.
29. Learn to ride a bike.
30. Go for a bike ride as a family.
31. Have a sleepover. I have always found this one quite good as the kids entertain themselves whilst having fun with their friends for a short time.
32. Go to your local junior gym. Use the holidays especially the rainy days to keep the kids active.
33. Create a peg bracelet. “It’s fun fast and costs next to nothing to make.”
34. Create a mini home festival. Seriously fun times to be had and your kids will love a festival feel in the safe environment of their own garden.
35. Go for a Run. Make it fun and give medals to the winners.
36. Go for a family cinema trip… Don’t forget to save a little money with 2 for 1 Meerkat movie offer.
37. Have a money-saving family feast at home with the kids.
38. Go to your local charity shop. You will find lots of fun discounted items and you give back to a good cause.
39. Go Skylander Hunting. Kids love the game but looking for rare Skylanders can be fun.
40. Take the kids paint-balling. It’s brutal but it’s so much fun. (I would suggest older kids will prefer this!)
41. Play Hide and Seek. It’s a simple game and kids genuinely never seem to tire of it! Best of all it’s free.
42. Have a party in your living room. Extend it to the garden providing your kids with pop and sweets.
43. Join your local Football Club.
44. The summer months don’t always hold the best weather. Go splashing in the summer puddles.
45. Visit another city. Whether it be by car or train just pick a destination on the map and go.
46. Learn how to build paper craft creations. It’s simple, all you need is a printer, ink, glue, and a little time.
47. Make a Garbage bag kite…. It’s cheap, easy, and almost free.
48. Make home-made glow in the dark slime.
49. Go camping as a family. Here are 5 Hidden Camping Gems in the UK to take the kids to.
50. A day out at a National Trust find some great things to do with kids whilst you are there.
51. Watch a great summer family movie at home.
52. Go Fishing. I have never done this but the boys have with their dad. They didn’t catch anything but they had fun trying.
53. Go to your local library. You will find lots to do and plenty of activities already planned by staff to entertain your kids… Failing that simply read a book.
54. Go to your local supply craft store. You often find they have competitions for the kids to participate in. Not only that but they also have creative days and hours specifically designed to entertain the children.
55. Make your own no-bake play dough. Great idea and so cheap. I remember making the dough myself as a child.
56. Create your own superhero. All you need is colouring pens and a little imagination.
57. Create a Home-made Bogey/Go-Cart. Get your kids in the garden and build a cart that they can use. (You may need a little adult supervision with this one!)
58. Make a Homemade bubbles to play with indoors and outdoors.
59. Create your own board game with the kids. This can take hours and really get them thinking.
60. Get the kids to sell homemade lemonade with their own lemonade stand.
61. Hold your own Olympic games. This is especially fun when your kids have their friends or family around at the house.
62. Visit the local steam railway. Kids love to learn and travel on trains. (Especially the old steam trains)
63. Go to your favourite family-friendly restaurant. To save money find places with deals and eat all-you-can menus. Our personal favourite for this is Pizza Hut..
64. Make home-made puppets simply using an old sock. Get the kids to do a little show for you.
65. Make homemade Pizza and get the kids to choose their own toppings.
66. Create your own finger puppets. Get an old glove. Cut the fingers off and glue eyes, mouth, and noses on your characters.
67. Have a garden sale. You could get your kids to declutter their bedrooms (This could be entertaining in itself) and sell their unwanted items in your garden. They would make a little spending money too.
68. Make your own Pop Cakes here is the recipe.
69. Shower your kids with a hose pipe. Sprinkle them, blast them or simply drench them. Either way, they will have so much fun… Just prepare and keep towels handy before letting them back in your house ha!
70. Play I Spy… Simple but effective.
71. Learn a language. They could learn a new word of a chosen language every single day of the summer. You could then teach them sentences.
72. Have a Scavenger hunt in your home. Here are 10 great Hunt ideas by My Kids Adventures.
73. Create a new recipe together or make a homemade cocktail.
74. Play activities in the garden like skipping, tug-of-war, or den building.
75. Plant Seeds in your garden or in plant pots indoors. Kids love to see things develop. This will also teach them to care for what they create.
76. Go taking pictures of birds, wildlife, and scenery.
77. Write a letter to your favourite friend and await a reply using a good old-fashioned pen and paper.
78. Visit a local pet store. These generally have activities for your children. The kids will also get to touch new animals.
79. Water balloon fight. This is fun and costs next to nothing. If your kids are like mine they will adore doing this because they love being a little mischievous. Especially when they get me.
80. Have a teddy bear picnic. They will love this idea if they are into their teddy bears.
81. Make a fort out of blankets. This can be done indoors and outdoors.
82. Make paper airplanes. See who can fly it the furthest.
83. Create a paper-mache head and paint it.
84. Get the kids to paint something from their imagination.
85. Sour eating competition. Buy some sour sweets and see who can handle the taste… I often lose.
86. Create a food monster. Ok, maybe I shouldn’t let the kids play with food, but this is a fun idea.
87. Go to a local lazer zone.
88. Play mini-golf. You could do this in your garden using cups for the ball to go into.
89. Oh, how could I forget? Finger Painting! Love this messy but it gets those little minds creative.
90. Make homemade ice creams.
91. Make Jelly. Kids love this because they get to eat it afterward.
92. Create a Rainbow coloured Pasta bracelet by Makes and Takes.
93. Learn to finger knit and make mini blankets.
94. Have a fun magic show. Get the kids to treat you to some magic and funny tricks with a box of shocks.
95. Play throwing games. This is great for teaching kids motor coordination skills.
96. Feed Ducks at the Local Park. Remember the kids and ducks will appreciate this.
97. Go rock climbing at your local climbing center. I am not suggesting you do this without supervision.
98. Learn to use roller blades. This keeps them feeling physically active.
99. If your kids like Skylanders maybe they could create their own character including stats.
100. Learn how to make Smore’s in 9 easy steps for some sticky, yummy fun.
101. Make your own pet rock. Sound strange? Get your kids to draw faces on rocks and colour them in. Encourage them to look after their new pet rock for the day!

That’s it! Hopefully, these 101 activities for kids will keep your parents topped up with ideas to use throughout the summer months with your children.