Summer Holiday Activities

The Summer School Holiday can be the most exciting but also the most stressful time for parents. It is not an easy task to be able to keep your kids entertained for 6 whole weeks with the unpredictable British weather. However, when done right these are some of the most cherished and memorable moments to child will never forget. With so much to choose from, it can be quite overwhelming choosing what activity will best suit your individual child’s taste, so I have broken it down for you to cut down your time spent on researching. Hope this helps.

Theme Parks/Adventures

Theme/Adventure Parks are ideal for families and children of any age as they usual have various rides and activities catering to all ages. Most of these adventure parks are open throughout the summer season. Moreover, these adventure parks are quite affordable and most of them provide free entrance to kids under 3 years. You can also save money when you purchase tickets in advance.

Some of the most popular adventure parks within South-east England are:

Lego Land, Kidzania, Chessington, Alton Towers, Butlins, Drayton Manor, Southend-on-sea, Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Most of these adventure parks offer good deal on stay and play packages that include hotel stay and entrance tickets. Some may even include free fast track ticket upgrade to save you from the long queues.

Watch my Youtube Vlog of our trip to Kidzania London recently to give you an idea.

Museums, Galleries/ Practical Learning

Museums visits are the perfect way for kids to have fun but also learn at the same time.  Most museums provide special exhibitions during the summer school holidays specially catered for kids and families. Entrance to the museums are usually free for both children and adults. However, certain exhibitions at the museums may require a charge.

London has some of the most popular museums in the world like the Natural History museum which has been featured in countless movies and TV programmes. For some of us based in London, we truly take for granted how fortunate we are to be surrounded by some of the best attractions in the world that people from all around the world travel thousands of miles to see. There are numerous museums across the capital with exclusive exhibitions from around the world like the Science Museum, British Museums, Imperial War Museum, National Maritime Museum, Horniman Museum and many more. Some of the best galleries within the capital include National Gallery, Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery and much more. These activities are also ideal for any weather changes.

Outdoor Activities

There are numerous outdoor activities to suit all ages and interests throughout the summer holidays within London and beyond. These include visit to the London Zoo, Sea Life Adventure Aquarium, Local Farms such as the Surrey Docks Farm and even Horse Riding for animal lovers.

Local Activities

Funfairs are very popular during the holidays as they take place within local parks. Check online or around your local park to find out when the funfair will be taking place in your area. Other fun outdoor activities within your local area may include swimming, visit to the park, picnics/BBQ, Playgrounds and Adventure Playgrounds. It doesn’t always have to cost you a fortune to keep kids entertained. Sometimes you just have to make use of your local resources and get creative whenever the weather permits.

Indoor Activities In-house Entertainment

Indoor activities are perfect for when the weather isn’t all sunny and glorious as we experience most of the time with the British weather. These activities are ideal for advance planning or on the spur-of-the-moment. Such indoor fun activities include bowling, restaurants, arcade/game centres, dessert/ice cream parlours, shopping centres and even cinemas. Going to the movies is still a fun activity enjoyed by kids of all ages especially with so many fantastic 2D and 3D movies to choose from. Some great current/up-coming movies are Ant-Man And The Wasp, The Incredibles 2, Mama Mia! Here We Go Again, Hotel Transylvania 3, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, Mission Impossible – Fallout, Luis And The Aliens and more. There are also selections of outdoor cinema experience within the summer months such as the Rooftop Film Club available in Peckham, Shoreditch and Stratford.

In-house Entertainment

It is just as important to be able to keep children entertained at home because it can take time to organise an outdoor activity especially if you are a working parent or if your kids are still too young to fully grasp or enjoy some of these activities. Luckily, there are many options available for keeping kids of all age entertained within the house.  Smart TVs are fantastic wholesome entertainment unit that lets your child enjoy a wide range of programmes live on TV or from the internet like Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime and much more in one place with child lock/ safety settings to prevent your child from accessing any unsuitable adult content.  Electronic Tablets are also a great form of entertainment and learning combined.  Example of these are the Amazon Fire Tablet, Ipads, Leapads etc.