Half term activities and places to go, October 2017

It’s half term! We’re taking a well earned break with the children for the next week, and we know they are thrilled to be off school but if you’re anything like we were earlier, you may just be scratching your head, wondering what you’re going to do to keep them entertained in Surrey over the next week! We figured out a bit of a plan, so do read on if you’re in need of any inspiration!

One thing we are definitely doing is Pillage the Village run by the fabulous Root and Prosper. We’ve loved this event since it started in 2014 so are absolutely thrilled to be running a book tombola where every ticket wins a prize and we’ll have some very special books! Come and see us on Saturday 28th October between 11am and 4pm. There are over 40 businesses taking part this year so it’s set to be the best pillaging yet!

There are some really well priced activities run by Reigate and Banstead Council this half term for children age 7+, we think the den building in Priory Park sounds especially brilliant.

Gatton Park have an event on 29th October called Spooky Spiders, Wizards and Witches which is a drop in session for Halloween activities and a trail around the grounds.

Box Hill have their school holiday bat trail from the shepherd’s hut in the car park to explore the hill and learn about nocturnal creatures. There are two trails available – one for children aged 3-5 years, and the second for children aged 5+.

Denbies have the Henfold Birds of Prey popping in on Monday 23rd October from 11am – 3pm, with a main display at 12:30, for free. Speaking from experience, this is great fun for the children, especially when the owls swoop right over their heads!

Plenty of free activities happening this half term at The Belfry, Redhill. Find the bats hidden around the Centre and take your completed form to Toy Barnhaus for a tasty treat. All correct entries will be entered into a draw to win a family ticket to the London Dungeon. Get dressed up and take a selfie in the Halloween Hollow, upload to The Belfry’s Facebook page and if your picture gets the most likes you will win H&M vouchers! There will also be face painters on 21st, 26th and 28th October, perfect for being even more spooky in your selfie! While you’re there, consider buying a gift for the Santa Stork campaign; there are lots of suitable ideas in centre! See our list of ideas here: Santa Stork 2017

Hopefully these are some good ideas for you to have a low cost half term, as we know how expensive it can be! You may have read about campaigns geared around changing your daily habit of buying a takeaway coffee so you can donate that money to charity. Well this is a suggestion that perhaps you could spend a day doing free activities in half term and consider donating some of what you might have otherwise spent to us at Stripey Stork. For relatively little you can really help us provide essential items to those in need in Surrey. To give you an idea, £5 provides the items we have to buy for new baby pack (toiletries for mum and baby), £10 buys a safe new mattress to go with a donated Moses basket and £20 goes towards a new cot or cot bed mattress. We’d be so grateful for any donations you can offer. Donate here.