As children break-up from school and many families prepare for Christmas, some may be thinking about how to keep them entertained over the next two weeks.
While many children’s centres and youth clubs close for the festive season there are still ways of getting them out of the house without having to spend a fortune.
The first is to explore some free outdoor activities. Bristol is blessed with plenty of parks and green spaces which can easily be accessed for free.
If you want to work off those Christmas puddings- check out our list of the top 10 ways to explore nature without leaving the city. All of these places can be accessed via public transport and most walks include at least one playground and cafes along the way.
Next why not check out some kids clubs. While they can be expensive, there are plenty of free activities you can book via Your Holiday Hub, which include day trips, sports clubs and forest school.
While this service is for families on Free School Meals, some individual activities may be open to all or offer limited paid-for spaces. St Werberghs have drama workshops over the holidays, including half days for younger children.
What about a festive cinema trip? Although there will be plenty of Christmas films on the TV over the festive season, going to the cinema helps to get out of the house on a rainy day. Tickets for the ODEON cinema on Union Street can be booked for £5 if you buy them in advance and VUE in Longwell Green sells tickets for £4.99 online or £5.99 for selected seats.
Get a free meal or for £1: Supermarket cafes, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Tescos and Asda all offer free kids meals or a £1 child’s meal for every paying adult. IKEA offers children’s meals during school holidays for £95 but there is no need to make any additional purchases. There are plenty of other places with similar offers but you may need to download an app for some. Check out the full list here that was put together over the summer holidays.
Most of Bristol’s public swimming sessions can be booked by downloading the Everyone Active app or through their website. They have swimming pools in Easton, Horfield and South Bristol. Bristol’s first community-run pool, Jubilee in Knowle offers an alternative to the Every Active pools in Bristol and also benefits from having a pub with a children’s play area within walking distance Active also runs several Swimming pools on the outskirts of Bristol, including Kingswood and Bradley Stoke. If you fancy a trip to Bath, their pool run by Better is worth the visit and the centre also has a soft play.