100+ Fun Free Things to do with Kids
As the school holidays approach, I’ve found myself beginning to write down ideas of fun, free things to do with kids that will make for a happier and more relaxed time. After all, there’s nothing worse than having the kids constantly moaning about being bored whilst their home, to ruin what should be relaxed family time, right?
So, I thought, instead of just pinning my list of ideas to the fridge, I’d share it with you, because, chances are we all need some more ideas from time to time. Especially as we progress through the holidays and our brains begin getting just a tad frazzled!
Since it’s so long, I’ve split this massive list of ideas into sections to make it easier to navigate to the type of activity you’re looking for.
We have a section for outdoor activities for when they just need some fresh air and maybe some exercise too! There’s a discovery section with ideas of new things to learn for free, and there’s an education section for more generic or structured learning.
Then we have an ‘at home’ section for those home about the house sort of days, especially useful if you have to work from home a bit whilst the kids are home! And lastly, we have some community resources that you can make use of for some free fun with the kids and some volunteering opportunities!
So, here it is, my official list of Fun, Free Things to do with Kids! Let me know if there are any more you’d add to it!
Outdoor Free Things to do with Kids
Getting our kids outside in the fresh air is so good for them! Throw in some nature activities and a spot of sunshine, when it’s about, and it’s even better!
If, like me, you sometimes meet with resistance to the idea of going outside, take a look at these fun, free things to do with kids outdoors for fun ways to entice them into the great outdoors!
- Go Geocaching
- Plan a Picnic somewhere nice
- Go for a Bike Ride Together
- Try out the local Skate Park
- Cloud Watch (spot different shapes and pictures in the clouds)
- Collect Rocks to Paint
- Fly a Kite
- Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt (I have several FREE seasonal ones here!)
- Meet some friends at the Playpark
- Stargaze
- Create Pebble Statues at the Beach
- Go on a Hike (Tips here to make this more fun!)
- Go on a Walk to Collect Flowers to Press for Crafts
- Create an Obstacle Course in the Backyard
- Gather some friends for a Sandcastle Building Competition (at the beach or in a large sandpit)
- Organise a Mini Sports Day Competition with friends or family
- Go Roller Skating!
- Go Wild Swimming (at a lake or beach where safe!)
- Collect Shells at the Beach to make a Necklace
- Go for a Puddle Jumping Adventure!
- Gather some friends for a Football/Soccer/Basketball Game
- Have a Water Fight! (Or a Snowball Fight in Winter!)
Learn Something New for FREE!
If you want to use some of your time with your kids to teach them life skills, or just some cool and interesting new skills and talents, take a look at this list of ideas for fun free things to teach your kids!
23. Set up a kerbside business (lemonade stand, garage sale, selling homemade crafts, etc)
24. Learn to sew on a button
25. Juggling! (Loads of YouTube Videos and you can juggle toy balls, or even balled up socks!)
26. Teach them to cook their favourite meal
27. Learn a new dance together (youtube is once again your friend here!)
28. Set up an online shop selling homemade cards, crafts, or printables
29. Upcycle a piece of old furniture (if you don’t have any to experiment with take a look at places like free cycle and local free facebook groups)
30. Take some free coding classes online
31. Learn to Crochet or Knit
32. Teach them how to change a flat tire
33. Learn Origami
34. Learn a New Language Together with Duolingo!
Fun Free Things to Do With Kids At Home
If it’s things to do at home that you’re needing, here are a bunch of fun, free ideas to keep you all entertained when you can’t go out anywhere! These include activities to do inside your home and activities to do in your outdoor space, if you have one.
35. Stage a Talent Show with Friends or Family
36. Camp out in your backyard
37. Dance Party!
38. Play a Board Game
39. Put on a Puppet Show! (Make your own puppets!)
40. Baking!
41. Do a Puzzle Together
42. Make a Blanket Fort
43. Movie Night!
44. Recycle your old packaging to make something beautiful (a model or piece of jewlery)
44. Family Quiz Night
45. Homemade playdough
46. Create your own comic book
47. Floor is Lava!
48. Decorate your sidewalk chalk
49. Make Slime!
50. Recreate an Old Family Photo!
51. Try out some of these unusual Painting Ideas!
52. Create a new board game
Fun and Free Community Activities for Kids
Depending on whereabouts you live, there are often lots of opportunities for fun, free activities within your local community, or slightly further afield. These are some of the things you might find available if you search your own area.
53. Free Kids Holiday Clubs (Often local churches will run free holiday clubs during the holidays)
54. Watch a Parade
55. Free Concerts/Live Music with local performers
56. Spectate a local Sporting Event
57. Check out your local Farmers Market
58. Community Scavenger Hunts or Treasure Hunts
59. Kids Sports Clubs Taster Sessions
60. Community Clean Up Days (A Park, Beach, Or Forest Area)
61. Organise a neighbourhood Toy or Book Swap
62. Visit a Local Nature Reserve
63. Emergency Services Open Days
Free Educational Things to do with Kids
During those long school holidays, we often want to sneak in the occasional educational activity for our kids, just to keep that brain ticking over! And yes, I know they are learning all the time, but sometimes a specific educational activity is also nice. And so, if that’s the sort of thing you’re looking for, then this list is for you!
64. Free Museums
65. Visit your local Library (they often host events or have challenges during the school holidays too!)
66. Make a Time Capsule
67. Watch a Documentary or Youtube video on a topic of interest
68. Plant some seeds (we planted seeds from our apples during lockdown and they’re still growing!)
69. Do an at-home Science Experiment
70. Do a Virtual Zoo or Museum Tour
71. Look for Star Constellations at night
72. Do some Bird Watching
Fun, Free Kids Activities that help others
Teaching our kids about the value of helping others and contributing to the world is really important to us. If this is also one of your family values, then you may enjoy this list of ideas to encourage it!
This includes some volunteering activities your kids can do themselves, as well as activities the whole family can join in with.
73. Singing or playing an instrument at your local Care Home for the Elderly
74. Litter Picking in your local area
75. Volunteering at a local animal rescue centre
76. Write Encouraging Messages on the Side Walk
77. Baking for an elderly neighbour or someone you know who is ill
78. Volunteering with a Dementia Friendly Singing Group
79. Organising a little fundraiser for a Charity (garage sale, bake sale, craft sale, backyard movie night, jumble sale, etc)
80. Helping out at a local kids club
81. Create Care Kits for those experiencing homelessness
82. Have a clear out at home and donate gently used books, clothes, and toys
83. Volunteer at your local Food Bank / Food Pantry
84. Write Thank You Letters to Veterans
85. Make Bird Feeders out of recycled materials
Fun Free Things to do with a group of Kids
86. Create the longest daisy chain EVER!
87. Make your own face masks – use Pinterest to find free templates, like this FREE Unicorn Face Mask to color in!
88. Put on a play
89. Create your own News Program and record yourselves
90. Create a replica of your school, town, or favourite hangout spot using Lego
91. Invent something!
92. Create your own Water slide in the backyard, using sheets of plastic, a hose, and some washing-up liquid
93. Snail Racing!
94. Create a Bug Hotel with things you find in your garden or shed
95. Organise your own charity car wash
96. Create your own Kindness Club and plan little acts of kindness to do in your local community
97. Invent a New Sport
98. Do a Group Scavenger Hunt (Like these FREE ones!)
99. Design a T-Shirt Competion
100. Split into 2 teams and each team design a treasure hunt with clues for the other team to complete!
101. Form a little business together doing odd jobs around the neighbourhood to save towards other trips and days out.