100 sensational summer holiday activities for kids of all ages

Whether it’s strawberries, blackberries or apples, there are plenty of places around the UK to visit and pick fruit.

A fun, low-cost day out, it's a great way to keep kids entertained and help them learn where food comes from.

Find your nearest Pick Your Own farm here.

Once you’ve picked your fruit, why not take it home and make some smoothies? We’ve got plenty of recipes for you to choose from.

Perfect for older kids and tweens, tie dying is a fun and easy way to get creative. Kids can craft a unique item of clothing, make a tie-dyed bag, or design a cool wall hanging for their bedroom.

Follow our step-by-step instructions to create some amazing tie-dyed creations.

If it's a windy day, buy a kite and head to the park, beach or an open area.

Kite flying is a fun activity and a great way to bond with your kids. If you're feeling crafty, you could even make your own kites – there are loads of tutorials online.

You probably visit your local park at least once a week but why not mix it up to make things more interesting?

Pick a park you've never been to and go exploring. If you're feeling really adventurous, you could try and visit a new park every week of the holidays.

Find the best parks near you with our handy local listings.

Outdoor cinemas are all the rage for adults in the summertime, so why not create your own outdoor cinema in your back garden?

The kids can spend the day getting the garden ready with bean bags and comfy seating, prepare snacks like popcorn and even make tickets.

Then pick your favourite family film, grab your tablet (or use a projector if you have one) and get comfy.

Need some movie inspiration? These are the 100 best kids' films of all time.

Roll out a huge piece of paper, think of a theme – such as dinosaurs – and get the whole family to create a piece of art together.

It's the perfect excuse to get messy with paint, biodegradable glitter, glue, pens and whatever else you can get your hands on, to create an epic piece of family art.

Fun for adults, not just kids!

Swimming is the perfect summer holiday activity for kids. You could even travel a bit further afield to visit a pool with slides or find a lido or outdoor pool for sunny days.

These are some of the best family-friendly swimming pools in the UK.

Have your own wacky races by creating an obstacle course in the garden. Use blocks to weave in and out of, cushions to leap over, blankets to crawl under, whatever you can think of …

Each member of the family takes it in turns to complete the course, fastest competitor wins.

You might want to make things even trickier by having opponents spray water pistols at the person taking part to try and put them off.

Good fun for all ages, from toddlers to teens, find some nice smooth stones – this is a good one if you've been to the beach recently.

Now paint them with colourful designs – acrylic paints work best.

If you want, you can leave them outside for other people to find and brighten up their day or keep them as decorations, door stops or paper weights.

Create your own nature trail by visiting a park or nearby woodland.

Before you go, with your child, create a checklist of nature you want to see, from trees to ducks.

Tick each item off when you see it.

For older kids, you could set them a nature scavenger hunt. Ask them to collect certain things such as a feather, and complete tasks like doing a bark rubbing or taking a picture of a squirrel.

Find some great nature trail ideas here.

Does your kid love pirates or princesses?

Why not have a day dedicated to their favourite characters?

Dress up, play themed games such as a treasure hunt, and make themed food like boat-shaped sandwiches or sparkly cupcakes.

Get crafty by whizzing up some DIY playdough with your kids.

It's super easy to make and uses only four store cupboard ingredients. Find our favourite playdough recipe here.

Next time we have a sunny day, get the kids out in the garden for a big splash around.

From balloon toss to hose pipe limbo, here are some epic water games to try at home.

Crazy golf is a fun activity for all the family. From seaside courses to some of the new pimped up indoor crazy golf experiences, there are loads of places to play.

Find out the best places to play with kids here.

Buy some ice lolly moulds from your local supermarket and get creative with the kids by concocting some fun ice lolly flavours.

Adding fruit works brilliantly and looks great suspended in ice ( no one needs to know they're healthy).

No lolly mould? No problem! Empty yoghurt pots also work a treat.

Discover some easy ice lolly recipes here.

The perfect peaceful activity. Teach your kids how to make daisy chains so they can happily string the flowers together to create crowns, necklaces and bracelets.

Everyone loves a picnic and you can get the kids involved in making the food, too. Check out our recipes for picnic foods that aren’t sandwiches here.

Go out in the garden or visit your nearest park, bring a blanket and a ball and enjoy the sunshine!

Have your own mini family Olympics. Challenge each other to different fun events, such as the egg and spoon race, pillow fights and obstacle courses in the garden.

Award points for each race and make medals for the winners from coloured card and ribbon.

Do your kids love to entertain? Why not host a talent show?

Get every member of the family to prepare an act to perform – it could be dancing, singing, telling jokes, whatever you fancy.

You can have fun coming up with costumes and the kids could even create paddles with scores to hold up after each act like Strictly Come Dancing.

Board games often get forgotten about in the summer but dig them out and take them outside. Card games are fun played on the grass, too!

Check out our roundups of the best family board games and easy card games for kids.

Family quizzes are great fun with sightly older kids.

You'll need one quiz master who writes the questions, and the rest of the family can play as individuals or teams – adults against kids for example.

Include general knowledge questions, questions about some of your kids' favourite things like bands, sports teams or video games, and subjects they study at school.

Expect to be thrashed!

You can find some fun trivia and quiz questions for kids here.

Go exploring as a family with a bike ride. Or, if your child can't ride a bike yet, use the summer to teach them.

Check out our family guide to cycling for loads of tips and advice, including pointers for helping kids learn to ride their bike.

Hit the local bowling alley for a fun family trip out. Even young kids (from around three onwards) can play and enjoy it, as most bowling alleys have ramps for young kids to push the ball down rather than throwing it.

Find your nearest bowling alley here.

Does your kid spend ages watching YouTube? Copy some of their favourite vloggers and make a video together.

Perhaps they could make a nature documentary, present a cooking show from the kitchen or film themselves playing their favourite video games.

You don't need any fancy equipment, you can film on your phone and most phones have free video editing software.

If you want to upload the video to YouTube after, you can do it privately so only people you share the link with can see it.

Experiment with some fun painting techniques and make these blow paint monsters.

Water down some paint and place blobs on paper. Blow with a paper straw to create some crazy shapes. Stick on googly eyes to create your monsters.

You'll find step-by-step instructions for making blow paintings here.

You don't need a reason to have a party. Get out the tea set and make some sandwiches with the kids. Get a selection of cakes and some juice or squash for the tea pot, and have a tea party on the lawn.

Check out our tip tips for the ultimate tea party.

Got a dino-obsessed kid? Give them a summer holiday treat and visit one of these ROARSOME dinosaur attractions across the UK.

From animatronic dinosaurs to dino golf, these are the best places to see dinosaurs in the UK.

Everybody loves pizza right? And they taste even better if you've made them yourself.

Make your own base with the kids using our simple pizza recipe or buy ready made bases if you prefer.

Now let the kids get creative with toppings. Why not try sweet pizzas as well as savoury – Nutella and banana, yum.

It's always fun to visit some animals during the holidays so pay a visit to the zoo, a wildlife park or city farm.

Check out our roundup of the best zoos and safari parks in the UK, or find a farm near you.

Older kids will love being given a journal to write down their thoughts and secrets. Younger kids might like to write about what they're doing every day during the holidays and keep a scrap book where they can stick tickets to any attractions they visited, items they found – such as shells or leaves – and draw pictures.

Building a bug hotel is the perfect activity for kids who love everything creepy crawly.

A bug house will attract insects such as spiders and ladybirds to your garden, and the kids will be able to see them up close.

The RSPB has instructions for making your own bug hotel or you can buy a ready-made one and wait for the insects to come.

Have a family sleepover in the living room. Grab some bedding and blow-up mattresses and turn the floor into a big family den.

Get a load of snacks, let the kids stay up late to watch some films, play some games and have a big family sleepover. It's amazing how much fun sleeping somewhere new can be.

Walks are much more fun with a dog. If you don't have one of your own, see if a friend or neighbour would like you to walk theirs for them. Just make sure you ask the owner if they're kid friendly first.

Create some outside art with giant chalks. Kids can draw all over the drive, pavement and patio and it doesn't matter, you can wash it off afterwards.

They could also draw some squares and play hopscotch.

If your kids love the Gruffalo, there are loads of places across the country where you're sure to see Mouse, Fox … and the Gruffalo himself!

From woodland trails to parks and theatres, here are the best places in the UK to spot the Gruffalo.

Have a mini holiday in the garden. Set up the tent and let the kids invite some friends to stay over and arm them with some snacks and torches.

You might want to sleep out there with younger kids or set up another tent nearby so you can keep an eye on them.

Or head to one of the UK's best campsites for kids. You could even try one of our great camping recipes to really get into the spirit.

Create your own game of skittles using toilet rolls.

Simply paint ten toilet rolls with a fun design, set them up, then throw a ball at them and see how may you can knock down.

We've got loads more crafty ideas using toilet rolls here, too.

If you have kids who love horses, treat them to a riding lesson or pony trek.

Here are some great places to try horse riding for kids.

Slime might be fun to play with but it's even more fun to make.

Try these simple DIY slime recipes.

Daredevil kids will love whizzing down zip wires, traversing rope bridges and climbing ladders high up into the sky with a tree top adventure.

There are high-rope parks across the UK, here are some great places for a tree top adventure.

Get kids to create a bucket list and write down all the things they want to do before their next birthday.

It could be things like learn to do a cartwheel, stroke a horse, see a theatre show, go to London, get to level 10 on their favourite computer game …

Pop the list on the fridge and see how many you can tick off over the summer holidays.

From sock puppets to shadow puppets, there are so many types of puppet kids can create at home and they're so easy to make.

Check out our easy puppet making ideas for some inspiration.

Create a theatre from an old cardboard box and then it's time for the show!

Adventure-loving kids will enjoy trying their hand at bouldering or climbing. It's a great way to build strength and problem-solving abilities, as well as having fun.

Most climbing walls and centres will have kids' classes (usually for kids age five upwards), contact yours to find out more or check out some of these fab climbing options for kids.

Museums are a great option for rainy days. There are loads across the country and many of them are free.

There are often special kid-friendly events taking place during the holidays, so check out the museums near you to see what's happening.

Not only will kids learn something new by looking at the exhibitions, you probably will, too!

Teach green-fingered kids more about where their food comes from by planting some veg. (Hopefully it'll encourage them to eat them too!)

You don't need a veg patch or allotment; lots of vegetables can be grown in pots and containers, such as potatoes, carrots, salad, beetroot and herbs.

Visit the garden centre to buy some seeds and get advice about planting and growing your veg.

A classic sweet treat, chocolate rice krispie cakes are so easy to make and kids will love helping (not to mention eating them after)!

Try this simple recipe and mix it up by using cornflakes or adding sprinkles.

It doesn't need to be a birthday to play party games. Invite some of your child's friends round and play some old-school party games like pin the tail on the donkey, musical statues and blind man's bluff in the garden.

Check out these great party game ideas for different ages.

Make some fun cress heads by drawing a funny face on an old yoghurt pot or eggshell.

Plant cress in your container and as it grows it'll look like hair! Kids will also enjoy giving their cress heads a haircut and eating the cress in sandwiches.

You'll find full instructions for making cress heads as well as more green-fingered activities for kids here.

There's something special about watching a film in the cinema rather than at home, so treat the kids to a movie and some pick-n-mix.

Loads of kid-friendly films tend to come out in the school holidays so there's bound to be something they'll want to see.

There are so many castles, stately homes and ancient abbeys to visit around the UK.

Many of them have amazing grounds to explore and often put on historical reenactments and events during the school holidays – perfect for Horrible Histories fans!

Take a drive to your nearest castle or country estate and explore.

Everybody loves a bit of limbo – it's so easy to play and all ages can join in.

Grab a broom or something else you can use as a pole. Two people hold the pole while everyone takes it in turn to limbo underneath.

If anyone touches the pole or falls over, they're out. The pole gets lower each time and the person who can go the lowest is the winner.

Take a day trip to your nearest beach. There's hours of fun to be had, from playing in the sand and taking a dip in the sea, to eating ice cream and playing in the amusement arcades.

Fish and chips are a must!

Not sure where to go? Check out our roundup of the UK's top family-friendly beaches.

The whole family can enjoy a trip to a theme park. Younger kids will love Legoland and Paultons Park, home of Peppa Pig World, while older kids may enjoy the rides at Alton Towers and similar.

During the summer there are often savings to be had on family entry tickets. Check out Money Saving Expert for all the latest offers.

Baking a cake is the perfect activity for a rainy day and kids will love licking the bowl out, too.

Try this classic Victoria sponge recipe, or browse all our easy cake recipes for inspiration.

Do you remember the 90s TV programme Art Attack? Each week the presenter would create a huge artwork that was best viewed from above.

Get creative with the kids and make a big artwork outside your house – you could draw a ship on the patio with chalk for example, and add sheets or pillow cases to make sails and the wavy sea.

Then head upstairs and view your masterpiece from above.

Older kids will love making friendship bracelets to give to their besties.

All you need is some embroidery thread and some patience..

This YouTube video shows you five easy bracelets to make.

If you haven't heard of Geocaching, it's an outdoor digital treasure hunt.

Download the Geocaching app and it'll lead you to waterproof treasure boxes hidden outdoors. Known as 'geocaches', there are hundreds of these boxes to be discovered across the UK (and thousands across the world).

Kids will love finding them and seeing what's inside. Geocaches are hidden in urban and rural areas so you won't need to go far to discover one!

Building a den is a classic summer holiday activity.

On a rainy day, create an indoor den. Get a selection of pillows, furniture, sheets, cardboard boxes and let the kids go wild.

If you want to try an outdoor den, hit the woods or park and look for some logs and large pieces of wood.

You've probably heard of parkrun, the free weekly runs held in parks across the country. But did you know many venues have a junior parkrun, too?

A great way to teach kids how much fun it is to be active, junior parkruns are completely free of charge and open to kids aged four to 14.

There's no time limit and no pressure, kids can walk, jog or run the 2km course and adults can run with younger kids, too.

Find your nearest junior parkrun on the parkrun website.

A trip to a water park feels like being on holiday – especially for kids who love swimming.

You don't need to go abroad to hit the water slides either, there are loads of water parks in the UK. Here are some of our favourites.

Have fun decorating cupcakes. Get a selection of coloured icing, sprinkles, fruit, chopped nuts, mini marshmallows and edible glitter and let the kids go wild.

Top tip: a cupcake baking tray is perfect for putting all your toppings in.

You can buy simple cupcakes from the supermarket to decorate, or why not try making your own with our easy cupcake recipe?

Remember these from your school days?

Paper fortune-tellers are fun little origami projects for predicting someone's future and giving answers to questions

Check out this handy guide from Origami Way for instructions to make them.

Forget Glastonbury, why not create your own mini festival in the garden?

Kids can create a playlist with all their favourite music and make bunting, signs and decorations.

You can have a bar where they can whizz up fruity cocktails with a blender, a dance floor, piñata, tents and a food stall with all their favourite treats.

Go all out and dress up in some festival outfits with biodegradable glitter, bright colours and face painting.

You don't need to go away to send postcards. Get kids to choose a postcard of your town or make one themselves and send it to friends or grandparents.

Younger kids will enjoy going to the post box and buying stamps, too.

Spend a day learning a new dance routine and then get kids to perform it in the evening.

You can even record them dancing like a TikTok star!

There's a whole world of wonder under the sea and aquariums make a great day out.

The added bonus is they're indoors so you don't need to worry about the weather.

Here are some great aquariums to visit with kids.

If your kids love all things crafty, why not use the summer holidays to learn a new skill like cross stitch?

Suitable for kids from about seven up, you can buy ready made kits online, or visit your local haberdashers or craft shop to pick up some coloured threads and Binca fabric, which is designed for learning to cross stitch.

Make your flowers look even prettier by decorating plant pots.

Acrylic paints work best – or get craft paints designed for outdoors if your plant pots are going outside.

They make great gifts for green fingered friends and family, too.

With parks in Kent, Durham, Devon and Yorkshire, digger fans will love Diggerland.

Kids can ride and drive REAL diggers and construction machinery as well as go on dodgems, go-karts and fairground rides.

Find more details on on the Diggerland website.

If you have young children who love transport, take a trip on the bus.

Try a bus route you've never been on before and go off on an adventure. Or sit on the top deck of a double decker and see what you can spot on your journey.

From making an erupting volcano to water that doesn't spill, these crazy science experiments should keep kids entertained all summer.

How many can you tick off the list?

Get a large sheet of polythene, such as a groundsheet from your camping kit, stretch it out over your lawn and secure it in place.

Then turn on the sprinkler, add a generous squirt of baby bubble bath and let your kids slip and slide themselves silly.

Who doesn’t love this game?

Find a park or open space with a stream or river and a bridge, collect some sticks and give one to each player. Then everyone needs to throw their stick over the upstream side of the bridge at the same time.

The first stick that emerges at the other side of the bridge, wins.

If you're heading to a beach this summer, make sure to go crabbing.

All you need are a few nets and then head off to find rock pools. You can look up what you've caught on the internet after, just make sure you put the crabs back after you’ve caught them!

Fancy having a go at making your own ice cream? This fruity ice cream recipe is super-simple and perfect for making with kids.

It tastes delicious, too!

For this one you’ll need a paddling pool, washing up liquid and a hula hoop. Or you can buy specialist big bubble liquid.

Add washing up liquid to the water, then watch as the kids try to make giant bubbles using the hoop. You might need to lend a hand but they'll soon master it!

If your kids love Thomas the Tank engine, they'll enjoy going for a ride on the train. You don't need to go far, just a couple of stops – or take the train to the beach or a local parkt.

If there's a steam railway near you, why not visit for a fun day out?

Or go the whole hog and try one of these great days out for kids who love trains!

If you child loves trampolining in the garden, wait till they go to a trampoline park!

These purpose-built indoor parks are bouncing heaven. As well as wall-to-wall trampolines, many also have spongy assault courses and other fun activities.

Whether it's at the beach or in the sandpit, why not have a sandcastle competition?

See who can build the biggest and best – or try making sand sculptures with wet sand.

Arty kids will love trying their hand at creating their own comic strip and coming up with fun characters.

All they have to do is draw a story frame by frame. They can add speech bubbles and captions if they want.

Why not buy some comics from the newsagents to get some ideas?

If you've never tried salt painting before, you have to give it a go.

Paint patterns and designs onto a piece of card with PVA glue and then sprinkle with salt.

Next, dab on paint – watch it fizz and see the colours merge for a beautiful painting.

Follow these step-by-step instructions to make your own salt painting.

A craft afternoon is ideal when the weather isn't too great or you want some quieter time.

Check out our easy summer crafts for kids for some inspiration.

Take the kids on a surprise trip. Book tickets to an attraction you know they'll love or plan a visit to the beach and drop hints during your journey to see if they can guess where you're going.

Our local listings are packed with ideas for attractions near you.

Draw a big tree onto a large sheet of paper and go back as far as everyone can remember, writing all your relatives on a branch.

Kids might want to interview grandparents and look at old photo albums to see what they can find out.

Have a history day. Pick a certain era and spend the day doing activities based around that time.

For example, if you choose the Romans, you could dress in bed sheets to make togas, make laurel wreaths from cardboard and gold paint, create mosaics from cut out pieces of paper and have some Gladiator-themed games in the garden.

Watch some Horrible Histories for inspiration!

Finger painting is a great way to keep young kids entertained. Try making a tree by drawing a trunk and then using finger prints to make leaves and blossoms.

Older kids will enjoy rearranging the furniture in their bedroom to feel like they have a whole new room.

It might even mean they tidy it more, too!

Local libraries are fab for borrowing new books to see you through the long summer holidays. And best of all, they're free!

Many libraries have special events and kids' groups you can join in with, too.

Visit your library to find out more.

Turn your front room into an aeroplane by placing all the chairs forwards. Choose a country you want to visit and take the plane there!

Watch a TV programme or movie about the destination on your plane journey. When you arrive, you can do lots of activities based around that country.

Fo example, if you choose Spain, you could make tapas for lunch, learn some Spanish words, try flamenco dancing and maybe even have a tomato fight in the garden!

Yoga is great for kids' balance and keeping them active, and it can help them learn to concentrate and relax, too.

Kids of all ages can try yoga, and many yoga studios have classes just for children. You can also try it at home with free YouTube videos. We love Cosmic Kids Yoga, which incorporates yoga postures into fun stories.

You've probably seen pictures of colour runs, where competitors get plastered in powdered paint.

Now you can host your own version at home, using holi powder paint, which is easily available online and designed to be thrown. Old clothes are a must though – go for white to really get the full effect of the colour!

Kids love getting mucky so let them go mad in the mud with water, spades and containers.

Have a mud pie competition to see who can build the best one, just make sure they clean off before they come indoors!

Check out our ultimate mud pie instructions here.

Keep kids occupied outside by setting them a scavenger hunt. You can do this in your garden, the beach or local park.

Give them a list of things they need to find and set them off – this could be a feather, a stone, a purple flower … whatever you want.

Award points for each item gathered in a set time and see how many they can tick off.

If you don't mind them borrowing your mobile phone or using a tablet, you could ask kids to take selfies in certain places as one of the items on their list – pulling a face next to a tree for example.

If you have the space in your garden or are camping, why not try building a campfire?

Kids can help collect the wood and kindling and they're great for sitting round and telling stories by firelight. Just make sure you follow these campfire safety tips.

And what's a campfire without s'mores? These American treats have now become a staple this side of the pond.

Toast marshmallows and then squish them between two biscuits with a chunk of chocolate. Yum!

Check out this simple s'mores recipe.

Stand up paddle boarding, also known as SUP, is a fun water-based activity that can be done in lakes, rivers and the sea.

It's a fun activity to try as a whole family. Younger kids can sit on adults' boards while kids over eight can have a go themselves. Lots of SUP centres offer kids' lessons, too.

Use the summer holidays to make a trip to the theatre and see a kid-friendly show.

If you're heading to the West End, the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) hold a Kids Week every summer where kids go free with a full-paying adult at many of the capital's theatres.

Find more details at the Official London Theatre website.

Or check out our roundup of the best musicals for kids.

You might think of it as a chore but loads of kids love helping out with things around the house, such as washing the car.

There's water, there's sponges … what more could you ask for on a hot day?

Kids love dressing up so let them raid your wardrobe and the dressing up box to put on a fashion show.

They can practise their best model walks and you can help them create fun hairstyles and maybe experiment with some make up or face paint.

Kids can do this with their friends or you can do it as a family.

Each person takes it in turns to write a line or paragraph of a story then passes it on to the next person.

You never know what twists and turns the story's going to take and it can have some hilarious outcomes!