Mum's genius envelope idea to keep kids entertained during the summer holidays

One mum's inspiring idea for cheap and free experiences for the summer holidays is taking the internet by storm – here's how it works

Struggling for things to do with the kids during the last few weeks of the summer holidays? Yup, we hear you.

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Thankfully, one mum has the ultimate DIY hack for summer holiday adventures. And with just over 2 weeks until schools go back, there's plenty of time to fill!

Amanda Pearce, from Torbay in Devon, has created inspiring summer holiday activity envelopes – containing vouchers her 7-year-old daughter can cash in for treats and experiences.

Each envelope contains a voucher for a day trip or an activity the family can do at home, complete with the money needed for the activity, if needed. Her daughter can pick from the envelopes and cash in her 'vouchers' throughout the holidays.

'Not every activity has to cost money'

'Not all activities like game night cost money,' the mum of 1 explained on Facebook group Family Lowdown Tips and Ideas where her post has more than 500 likes and comments.

She told others how she'd instead come up with low-cost ideas for things to do with her daughter while out and about or at home – including 'you choose dinner' and 'a trip to the beach'.

And while some of the envelopes contain activities that are totally free, Amanda said she'd also budgeted for other experiences, such as a day trip of her daughter's choice and a visit to their local leisure centre.

She added:

'Others, I have budgeted for and put money in the envelope ready to use.

'Hope this helps anyone stuck with what to do, plus it gets the kids involves with choosing and planning.'

'I wanted to make life easier'

Speaking to Netmums, Amanda said she didn't come up with the idea, but that she'd taken some examples she'd seen online and added her own experiences too.

Amanda explained that, as a single parent who is going to be working a lot of the summer holidays, she wanted to ensure her daughter had lots of fun things to do over the summer, either with herself or her grandma.

She explained:

'The reason behind it is because I am a single parent and my mum is my daughters main childcare, so with me working a lot over the summer I really wanted to make life easier for her by not only giving her ideas for activities I know my daughter loves, but also providing the funds in the envelopes so she doesn't have to worry about money either.'

Amanda added that creating the envelopes has also helped her finances, as she's had to stick to a budget of free and low-cost activities.

She said:

'I also think it has helped me budget better for the summer cause I have made sure to pick a range of activities that cost varying amounts mixed with free activities.'

So what ideas could you include in your own summer holiday envelopes?

How about:

• A trip to the cinema
• A trip to the leisure centre
• A trip to the beach
• Games night at home
• Play date
• Picnic in the park
• A trip to the sweet shop
• Your child's choice of dinner
• A trip to the library

The possibilities are endless!

More help for the summer holidays

Need help with your finances over the summer? We've got a handy list of ALL the benefits and entitlements you could be entitled to over the summer holidays here.

With living costs through the roof, it's certainly worth claiming everything you can right now ... and it's especially helpful after shocking figures showed that it costs parents £1k a week more for their kids to be off school over the holidays.

Read more summer holiday news below.

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