It’s spooky season, and if you're in need of some ideas on how to keep the kids entertained without breaking the bank over October half-term, look no further.
With the rising cost of living taking its toll on household finances, we've rounded up what you can do on a budget.
Read on for our tips, including the cheapest scary places to visit on a day trip, how to find a good deal on pumpkins perfect for carving and where kids can eat for free this month.
Kids eat free offers
A lot of restaurants and supermarket cafés offer ‘kids eat free’ deals or similar during the school holidays.
Here are some of the best offers we’ve seen, which don’t require you to purchase an adult meal for £5 or more.
- Asda café Kids eat for £1 all day, every day with no adult spend required for the rest of the year.
- Tesco Kids eat free with any purchase of fresh fruit by an adult, which means you can get a meal for as little as 60p. You must be a Tesco Clubcard holder and the scheme will run until 28 October in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and between 31 October to 4 November in Wales.
- Ikea Kids eat from 95p in Ikea restaurants. Available every day from 11am.
- M&S café Children can eat free when £5 is spent on an adult meal.
- Morrisons Kids eat free when an adult spends £4.50 or more on a meal.
- O2 Priority There are a number of deals available on the app which don’t involve an adult purchase, although you will need to save the offer and get a code. All T&Cs should be checked on the app. Deals include a free mega monster meal at Pizza Hut until 31 October, a three-course meal at Prezzo throughout October and kids eat free at Harvester between 24 an 28 October.
You could also consider getting a dining card, which could save you up to 50% at thousands of restaurants across the UK.
Tastecard and Gourmet Society both have free trials lasting 90 days. Just make sure to set a reminder to cancel your subscription before the free trial is over, though.
Get discounts on days out
If you fancy a day of thrilling rides at a theme park, don’t pay full price for tickets. There are plenty of deals to save cash.
Selected Kellogg's cereal packs and snacks are currently offering an 'adults go free' voucher for Alton Towers, Legoland, Chessington World of Adventures, Sea Life aquariums and sanctuaries, Madame Tussauds and other Merlin attractions. The offer is valid until June 2023, but tickets must be booked in advance.
If you're a Tesco Clubcard holder you can convert your points into Tesco Reward Partners Vouchers. These can often be used at theme parks, wildlife parks and more.
Elsewhere, National Rail's Days Out Guide is offering up to 50% off a huge number of attractions, including Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and London Zoo when you buy a train ticket. To get the deal, you need to choose the attraction you want to visit from the list, download and print your vouchers or buy your tickets online via Days Out Guide (daysoutguide.co.uk), travel to the attraction by train, then either present your printed or online voucher and train tickets.
- Find out more: how to save money on train tickets
Attend a spooky event
Looking for a good scare? How about a day trip to a spooky castle?
There are plenty to choose from – and Which? Travel has rounded up the best Halloween events taking place at some of the UK’s top-rated historic castles around the UK.
Several of the sites are owned by National Trust or English Heritage, meaning members can visit for free. Plus, there’s a special offer at National Trust properties for non-members this autumn, offering families with up to four children free admission until the end of November, although some exclusions apply.
For something closer to home, your local council or library may be running free October events. Search your local council’s name, followed by ‘October half-term activities’ to see what’s going on in your area.
- Find out more: 8 spooky castles to visit in the UK
Halloween crafts and pumpkin carving
For Halloween-themed fun at home, you could give pumpkin carving a go, or create spooky DIY decorations.
Make sure you buy the cheapest pumpkin – we've found several of the largest online supermarkets are selling medium-sized pumpkins for less than £1.
Aldi’s was the cheapest costing just 79p, Tesco’s slightly more at 85p and Morrisons had pumpkins for 99p. Lidl will likely also offer cheap options in-store, but pricing isn’t available online. Asda and Waitrose didn’t have medium pumpkins available online, only large ones for £2 and £3.50, respectively.
To make your pumpkin go further, if you have leftover pumpkin flesh to use up and want to avoid waste, you could make toasted pumpkin seeds or pumpkin soup.
If you want to go a step further than carving a pumpkin and try decorating your home for the occasion, an easy way to save money is to make your spooky designs from scratch using supplies you already have. Search around for old dolls that make for spooky ornaments, or your local charity shop might have some, too.
You could also print out paper decorations, such as skulls, spiders' webs, and personalised gravestones, to stick around your home.
- Find out more: what's the best way to carve a pumpkin?
Watch a scary film
A trip to the cinema is a good idea on a rainy day and many UK chains offer heavily discounted tickets for mid-morning screenings at the weekend, and every day during the school holidays. During October half term, many are including family friendly spooky films.
Here are the some of the deals on offer:
- Cineworld’s ‘Movies for Juniors’ screenings cost £2.50 for a child
- Odeon Kids has a deal where the adults pay the same price as a child, with the deal running every day during the school holidays as well as every Saturday and Sunday
- Vue has Mini Mornings screenings from 10am during the school holidays. Both adult and child tickets cost just £2.49 each.
Disney Plus and Netflix
If you fancy staying in to watch a film or stream a series with the family, make sure you are getting the best value for money.
For example, you might be able to change your Netflix plan to save money, or cancel and restart your memberships to alternate which subscription services you're signed up to each month, rather than paying for all of them all the time.
You can also save money buying an annual subscription rather than paying monthly. This is worthwhile if it's a subscription you use all the time. For example, Disney Plus costs £7.99 a month, or £79.90 for the year – a saving of £15.98 if you pay monthly for the full 12 months.
- Find out more: 11 ways to save on the cost of your subscriptions
October reading challenge
See how many scary books you can read during the week.
As well as borrowing physical books for free, most libraries allow you to borrow ebooks and audiobooks. Some even allow you to read digital magazines and newspapers from the comfort of your own home.
To find out what your local library offers, visit your local council website and sign up for free.
You could also swap books with family and friends to save money.
- Find out more: 21 money-saving tips for parents
Make your own Halloween costumes
Decorations aren't the only thing you can make yourself. There are many websites and videos online that give ideas and inspiration for creating your own Halloween costumes and looks using everyday make-up, rather than buying fake blood and face paint.
You could also use old clothes and sheets to make outfits.
If you do want to buy a costume, check out second-hand marketplaces – it’s also a great way to reduce the environmental impact of buying new.
If you buy a costume from a shop, make sure you know it's safe by checking for a visible CE or UKCA mark on the label or packaging.
Which? has previously tested kids’ Halloween fancy dress outfits and found that some didn't meet British safety standards.
- Find out more: 15 ways to save money on clothes
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/cheap-and-free-things-to-do-over-october-half-term-aVmGk6p0LxkJ