Summer Holiday Entertainment: A Gibsons Guide

Beach in the UK with sand castles at Summer

Posted on Jun 22, 2022

Summer is coming and we all know what that means: the kids are off school and need entertaining. This can be daunting when you realise that means 6 weeks of filling time, especially for working adults! We’ve put together a list of activities that will keep young people occupied that won’t cost you a penny, so that while your patience may be wearing thin, your wallet doesn’t have to.

Visit A Museum

This one is usually a crowd pleaser. In 1997, the government decided to make all 14 of the National Museums in the UK free to encourage more people to visit. Aside from that, there are plenty of other free museums and art galleries that you can take the children to for a full day out this summer holiday. The added bonus of museums is that they’re incredible places to learn, so even though the kids are off school, they’re still engaging with their brains!

Some of our favourite free museums and galleries include:

British Museum - London
Imperial War Museums - London, Manchester and Duxford
National Gallery - London
Science Museum - London
Natural History Museum - London and Hertfordshire
The Tate Galleries - London, Liverpool and Cornwall
Wallace Collection - London
National Museum of Scotland - Scotland

The Guardian also put together a list of their top 20 family-friendly museums and galleries across the UK to visit.

The Great Outdoors

Buttermere Cockermouth scenery in the UK

We’ve all heard adults say “the fresh air will do you good” but this is actually true. Spending time outdoors is good for Vitamin D intake, can help you feel energised, improves sleep, and is beneficial for both mental and physical health. Fresh air can improve our lungs, helping to remove impurities such as car fumes and dust.

National Parks have put together a list of some excellent family-friendly walks that will be moan-free, and with nearly 8000 miles of coast there are some fantastic beaches across the country.

Many of the national parks mentioned in the above list are also easily accessible and wheelchair-inclusive, as well as being ideal for families who may have young children that require a pram.

But if you’re not up for going on a hike or heading to the beach with the kids then there is an abundance of activities they can do outside at home as well. Whether that is playing tag, kicking a ball around, camping in the back garden, washing the car or even just lying on the ground and making shapes out of clouds, the fresh air will definitely do them some good this summer holiday.

Geocaching

Geo-what now?

Geocaching is an outdoor real-life treasure hunting game that is happening all the time, all across the world. To play, participants follow GPS coordinates from the Geocaching app to find hidden containers called geocaches. Once you find the cache, you sign the logbook and sometimes there might even be treasures and trinkets to swap or trade. Then you can log your find on the app and put the cache exactly back where you found it to leave it for the next person to find.

Geocaching is a fantastic way to keep kids busy, discover new and interesting locations, as well as helping them to learn about orienteering and the power of patience. It’s an exciting, adrenaline-fuelling activity and everyone is sure to have a lot of fun.

There are millions of geocaches in over 190 countries just waiting to be found. They can be hidden in parks, hiking trails, urban areas, underwater… Pretty much anywhere! There are probably some near you right now, so download the app and get hunting!

Spending Time With Friends or Other Family

Grandparents spending time with grandchildren.

While parents may find it difficult to entertain their own children, sometimes having more children around can be a useful way of keeping everybody amused. Kids can have fun together, playing games that involve more people, or just hanging out. Alternatively, spending time with the extended family and grandparents can help to build emotional intelligence in children, can nurture love and happiness, and connects children more with their family history. Plus, when children spend time with their grandparents, it has the added benefit of helping to reduce depression for both generations.

Indoor Activities

Not everybody is able to go out and about all the time, and while it might be easier to plunk kids down in front of the television, there is an abundance of indoor activities that children can engage with too. Conduct easy science experiments at home, such as building a paper-mache volcano and using baking soda and vinegar to cause an explosion; bake cookies or a cake; play indoors hide-and-seek; arts and crafts, or even some colouring in; learn how to do origami; or simply encouraging kids to use their imagination and giving them a big box to see what they can do with it.

Gibsons Jigsaws and Board Games

While we might be a bit biased, we think our games and puzzles are great for keeping the kids entertained this summer holiday. As we’ve mentioned previously, jigsaw puzzles are a great way to improve mental and memory speed, as well as lowering stress levels and improving mental wellbeing. The same applies to board games and playing cards as well, providing a great way to relax and enjoy free time.

Read our top reasons why to play board games here.

Gibsons Games jigsaw puzzle collection with plant and jigsaw pieces

We have a great range of children’s puzzles and games that will keep them entertained for ages. Quirk! is a family-favourite which will have everyone squawking like birds, saving the world, and roaring like lions. Rockpool is a seriously fun game with a serious message and teaches children about the impact of littering and encourages players to collect rubbish from the beach to increase their chances at winning the game.

For younger children, we also have our Little Gibsons range which is our collection of bright and colourful jigsaw puzzles and games that have been tailor-made for inquisitive children. The products are produced from the same high-quality materials as Gibsons’ award-winning adult jigsaw range and all the artwork has been designed by British artists. What’s more, each jigsaw and game is presented in an innovative box to complement the artwork theme, which means that the collection includes some weird and wonderful boxes that are sure to spark the imagination!

Have A Great Summer These Holidays!

Whatever you and your family get up to these holidays, we’re sure you’ll have a great time. The most important thing is to remember to enjoy the time that you have with your children, and keep their imaginations active and interested.

We hope you’ve found this list of ideas useful – if you were inspired by any of our suggestions and decided to go ahead with them, make sure that you tag us on social media to show us what you get up to.

Happy holidays!