Stripey Stork’s ideas for entertaining the children this half term

Half term is almost here and we thought we’d share some budget-friendly ideas with you to fill the days. Here’s hoping for some sunshine!

We love Gatton Park and over half term the grounds are open to view the snowdrops. The Wild Things play trail is open and there are some workshops you can book too. ‘Fantastic Foxes’ and ‘Forest Fun’ are aimed at children aged 4-7 years and you can book them on this link.

The Surprise Souvenir trail at Polesden Lacey sounds like fun, as does the Frames of Fun trail at Nymans. It’s always good at any of the National Trust venues to warm up with a hot chocolate and a piece of cake after you’ve stomped around in the cold. A great day out. Click the link to find more Half term activities on the National Trust website.

Peter Rabbit’s Post office over on Limpsfield Common is always a good place to take little ones. It’s lovely seeing the different little houses capturing their imaginations as they pose for photos at Fox Villa and at Peter Rabbit’s house complete with post box.

If you’re heading out, consider packing a hearty picnic with a flask of hotdogs or beans to keep everyone warm. It’s great fun for the kids to picnic in winter, and it’s a good way of keeping costs down too. Win-win!

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council have some great fun activities planned for children aged 7-15, with den building, glow in the dark sports and trampolining catching our eye. More info here.

Our friends at The Belfry in Redhill in conjunction with Rotary Club Redhill are holding a pancake flipping challenge on 10^th and 13^th February, with the winner receiving a £50 hamper full of pancake goodies from the Belfry and getting the chance to choose their favourite charity to receive £100. We hope one of our supporters wins it, naturally! More info here.

On the Sunday of half term (18^th February) there’s a model railway exhibition at Reigate School. Perfect for enthusiasts big and small, with an entry fee (family tickets available) you can view several different set ups, including the Volks railway from Brighton.

If you want to stay at home we’ve put this Pinterest board together with some ideas for crafts and activities to keep little and not so little ones entertained.

We hope this gives you some ideas, and if you have any more, please do share with us. We’re always looking for budget-friendly things to do.

With any savings you manage to make over half term, why not donate some cash to our Mum2Mum campaign? Set up to provide gifts for 300 local Mums who wouldn’t otherwise receive a gift on 11th March. So many of them go without to provide for their children and we want to let them know that we’re thinking of them – local families helping local families. Thank you for your support. x