The summer holidays are almost upon us and many of us have decided not to spend tons of cash on an overseas holiday but to rather stay at home. While this saves you an immediate bulk of cash you have to be careful not to end up spending the money on keeping the kids entertained instead. Otherwise you may as well have gone away!
This doesn’t mean that you now have to lock yourselves into the house and play cards all day to save money. With some clever internet hunting, some sassy shopping, and some smart planning ahead, you can have an amazing holiday at a discount. Even one overseas.
Don't eliminate the idea of a family day out to places like Legoland or Alton Towers. These theme parks do cost quite a bit of cash to get in but they also have bargains and discounts that, with a bit of hunting around, can save you lots of money off the entry fees.
On HotUKDeals I found a Legoland two day pass plus a one night stay in a four star hotel with free dinner, breakfast and a packed lunch for a family of four for only £164. That’s a fantastic saving. On the same deal site, Hotelshop, you can get a similar deal at Alton towers for £135.
If you plan on visiting several different theme parks over the holidays you can get a 10% discount on a Merlin Annual Passif you buy it online right now. You get to visit places like Alton Towers, Legoland, Warwick castle, Sea Life, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventuresand many more for an entire year and you only pay £89pp for a family group. The saving on an annual pass is impressive if you are a regular theme park visitor but not worth your while if you only go once a year.
Another great theme park deal is a 2 for 1 to Alton Towers Liveon 19June – around £59 for two people to have a fab night out. Just make sure you get a baby sitter or snap up a nice little holiday deal for your accommodation if you don’t live nearby.
These savings really do make a difference when you think of how expensive it can be to just arrive on the day, on a whim, and the costs of parking, entry fees and food add up considerably. I found lots of little deals on each of the theme park sites too, so visit the sites as well to see if you can get even better deals.
Last minute holiday deals can offer you rather brilliant savings if you fancy two or three nights away in the UK. You end up discovering a part of this lovely country that you had never seen before, and you can spend some time away from home.
These deals are often sneakily hidden away on sites that you least expect so pop into HUKD, or Playpennies, to find special offers that we have happily uncovered. Or regularly visit sites like Expedia, Holiday Inn,Travelodge, and Cosmosto see if they have put something in at short notice.
A deal that I discovered this morning, one that could very well tickle someone’s fancy is a two night mini cruisebreak to Amsterdam for £39.50pp. That’s a really good deal and everyone can pile in and have a whale of a time and you spend less than you would have to go to a theme park for the day!
If travelling anywhere doesn’t float your boat, then there are ways of transforming your home into a holiday resort. Instead of sitting around in the lounge watching movies on the telly, why not invest in a projector, move the furniture around, and create a home theatre. Some projectors will work just as well outdoors as indoors so you can even make home drive-in on a sultry summer evening. Invite your neighbours, whip up some popcorn, have a movie night to remember. And, in case you were wondering, you can buy a new projector for as little as £100 and it will last you for many movie nights to come.
Change the way your house looks by moving things and changing the layout of the house. They say that a change is as good as a holiday and it is pretty true. I recently shuffled the entire lounge around and felt as if I was living somewhere new and exciting for ages afterwards. This is also an excellent thing to do if you are not feeling the love for your home at the moment.
You may think that I am completely nuts suggesting that you spend hours heaving heavy furniture about the house but I promise you it works. And you will feel smug and self satisfied at the end of it all.
These are just some simple thoughts on how you can enjoy the holidays and not spend a lot of money. And also not sit at home feeling like you never get to have fun anymore.
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