It doesn’t really matter what you do or where you go, the whole idea is about spending as little money as possible either and (more importantly) it’s more about being together as a family.  There are so many activities that go on in and around the home which can and are done as individuals i.e. watching TV, playing computer games, listening to music, outside playing, reading etc.  All too soon the children grow up and leave. 

For a couple of years now when the school summer holidays start we get the tent out in the back garden and sleep out there as many nights as we can (only got rained out one night last year at 3am!).  Recently a friend of mine came to visit and saw the tent and when I explained it to her she said “You’re making memories”.  That was a nice idea – making memories.  I’m sure we all have memories of our childhood and what we did during our summer holidays – I have many.  One of the best ones was my Dad announcing we were going on a mystery tour, which is always an exciting prospect.  We turned up at the local garden centre, which was holding a camping exhibition with 100’s of tents set up.  I remember feeling quite disappointed until we started looking around, my Dad made it fun and we were soon all having a great time running in and out of tents.  As a bonus to the day we took a drive to the nearby Priory, where by chance there was a Jamaican Steel Band playing.  This turned out to be one of the best days ever – not because it cost anything (it was all free) but because it was fun.  My parents made the day fun and I’ve never forgotten it.

I would like to point out now that if as parents we make it a fun day and look for all the positives the children will join in – go out with faces and attitudes that are miserable and you’ll bring everyone down.

We have taken our own children to camping exhibitions, which they have enjoyed because we made it fun.

A good place to visit is your local tourist information centre (TIC).  Ask if they have a list of upcoming events in your local area.  Even though you live there it doesn’t mean you know everything about your locality.  We are on our TIC mailing list and its surprising what you can miss.  I was very disappointed to note that we missed a Viking Experience last weekend just because we didn’t know about it.  We seem to miss a fair few events local to where we live!  I don’t know where they advertise but I ususally find out about it when its over. 

So please use this blog to let others know of different events.

One of the best ‘local’ events we attended was when we visited Maidstone, Kent.  We were driving along the Ashford Road when we spotted a small sign advertising a village event – can’t quite remember the title but it had to do with scarecrows – it was for a couple of days time, so we made a note and went along.  It was all set out in (I think) someone’s back garden, quite a large garden.  Scarecrows everywhere all dressed in as many different ways as possible.  There was a variety of simple games being held, such as ‘whack a rat’, mini golf and all for not much money.  At first we were a bit unsure but then entered into the spirit of it all and had a fantastic day.  There was tea and cakes, raffles and guess the weight of the cake, even an art display.  I won one of the raffles – yay.  Everyone at the scarecrow event was friendly – I hope it’s turned into an annual event.

Filed under: Things to do