Summer holidays = summer fun which doesn't hurt the wallet!

My 42 Days of Summer #Sweeet Linky Challenge

For some reason I was dreading the school summer holidays this year. We weren't going away on holiday so I was a little unprepared for the long, drawn out 6 weeks of mayhem!

When I say dreading, I mean a little concerned about how I would keep the boys entertained over this period.

We have planned various day trips within the UK and, of course, the obligatory theme parks too! But, these were trips where all the family (hubby, two kids and myself) would attend, plus any other friends too. There were also play dates, when the friends weren't away on their holidays.

But, what about the days where my husband was working and friends/family were busy? What could I do with the boys on those days?....and there were plenty of those days to fill!



I didn't want to do those big days trips without my hubby (he is my unofficial taxi driver when I can't be bothered to drive!). We all know how hard and tiring it is to cope with your children on normal days but when it's day trips away on your own, it can be even harder and more exhausting....which kind of takes the fun out of it!

Then, bingo! I devised something's which ticked all the boxes.  Eureka!



I set my boys a little challenge (well, and myself).  I sat them down and said, we are going to visit as many local parks as possible. Now, I know that doesn't sound so exciting, but here's the fun-ish part:

The rules:
Simple!

The children were so excited. Hmm, I thought, How could I get them even more excited? That's it, a McVitie's BN Biscuit treat at the end of their play! Perfect.


I was sent two delicious flavours, raspberry and chocolate, this is going to be a doddle!

The great thing about our park challenge was that it meant that we planned something together, as a team.  We would sit at the computer looking at nearby parks, debating which one we would try first, even ones we knew. It was a really exciting process.

It also meant that we got to know the area a little better, and there are loads of 'hidden' parks which are not so obvious to everyone, which are totally amazing!  The 'secret' parks are great fun, less people and great equipment.

The children, totally got in the marking system.  They would really think hard about the reason for giving the mark and they negotiated between themselves to come up with the final answer. It was lovely seeing them work together.  Even with the small age gap, they both understood the concept and, of course, enjoyed the playing!

I've included a few pictures of the boys playing at various parks in our area.  A mixture of ones we were familiar with and new ones.  When the summer is over and we have finished visiting the parks, we are going to make a collage out of all the pictures we have taken, as a memento to our momentous "summer of 2014"

 




 


 





Kew Gardens



There are a few more weeks left of summer (ok, maybe just the holidays!), so we still have loads more exciting fun to be had.  Shame we have run out of biscuits already....they were too yummy!

This has truly been a great project. One which has kept all of us thoroughly entertained. AND, best of all, it has cost us absolutely nothing!  Of course, the icing on the cake were the BN biscuits.  Or should I say, we ALL 'took the biscuit'!

Have you got any great money saving holiday fun ideas you can share too?


“This post is an entry for 42 Days of Summer Linky Challenge sponsored by McVitie’s BN. Learn more at http://bit.ly/1mRpMCL.”

#sweeet