Cheap and free things to do over the Christmas holidays

If you’re feeling the pinch this Christmas, there’s still lots of free and cheap activities you can do to keep the kids entertained.

With many schools breaking up from today, we've come up with a list of activities you can do on a tight budget, from eating out for £1 or less, visiting Christmas light trails and getting a discount at the theatre.  

1. Eat out for less

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 - some require you to purchase an adult meal to qualify, but you won't need to spend more than £5:

• Asda café: Kids eat for £1 all day, every day with no adult spend required, available until 18 March 2023.
• Ikea: Kids eat from 95p in Ikea restaurants. Available every day from 11am. 
• Morrisons: Kids eat free when an adult spends £4.49 or more on a meal.
• 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 from Boxing Day until January 6. 

If you can spend slightly more, Bella Italia is offering a kids three course meal and a Cawston Pressed Fruit Water for £1 for every adult meal purchased, running between 4-6pm Monday to Thursday.

We'll update this list when we spot any more offers. 

• Find out more: what supermarkets are doing to help with the cost of living

2. Check out the Christmas lights

Most big cities have free Christmas light displays you can go and visit, but you may also find some closer to home. 

In London, Covent Garden, Carnaby Street and Oxford Street have impressive displays, but you’ll find winter light exhibitions at the Southbank Centre and in Canary Wharf you can visit for free.

In Swansea, you can head to George Square to see its giant Christmas tree; there's another Christmas tree in Newcastle, which the city receives as a gift from Bergen each year, outside its Civic Centre, while Bath has a series of illuminations across the city centre this year.

Many local neighbourhoods have their own light displays to raise money for charity, you can search if there is any news to you on apps such as Nextdoor, or check your local Facebook group.

• Find out more: how much does it cost to run Christmas lights?

3. Get cheap theatre tickets

Theatre trips for the family can be pricey, but there are ways to cut the cost. Here are a few tips to try:

• Disney Magical Mondays: every Monday at noon, a number of tickets for Disney shows (The Lion King/Frozen) will be available for £29.50 through the Disney Tickets website (Disneytickets.co.uk) - but be aware they get snapped up quickly.
• Enter lotteries: some shows, including Hamilton, have lotteries you can join to get cheap tickets. If you're successful, you'll be able to purchase tickets for between £10-£35 for a performance taking place that week.
• Save money on seats: you may be able to get cheaper seats if you're willing to sit at the back, or in a seat with a restricted view. You can use SeatPlan (Seatplan.com) to check out the view beforehand.
• Book direct: you can usually find cheaper deals by visiting the theatre's website directly, rather than buying tickets via third-party websites.
• Visit your local theatre: it’s highly likely there'll be a pantomime on in your local theatre, which should offer cheaper tickets compared to the West End - plus, by staying local you can save money on travel.

Find out more: budgeting tips for Christmas

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4. Watch a Christmas film

From Elf to Frozen, there are plenty of Christmas movies showing on streaming sites such as Disney+ and Netflix, which you can watch from the comfort of your own home. If you want to save money on your streaming options, we’ve explained how you can cut down on the cost of your subscriptions.

If you don’t have a streaming subscription, there are several Christmas films available to watch on BBC iPlayer and on terrestrial television, which is free to watch if you have a TV licence.

You could also plan a trip to the cinema, and many of the major chains have offers for families with kids. 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.

Find out more: 11 ways to save money on the cost of your subscriptions

5. Learn something new at the museum

Most museums are free to visit (though some exhibitions might require you to buy tickets), and many have dedicated exhibitions for children with interactive displays. Booking in advance is recommended, especially during the school holidays.

How about visiting Dippy the dinosaur at the National History Museum? It’s only there until 2 January. 

Or, if your children are into trains, how about checking out York’s world famous National Railway Museum, where you can pretend to ride locomotives and engines that have featured throughout history. 

If your family's had World Cup fever, you could visit the National Football Museum in Manchester.

• Find out more: the best museums and galleries in the UK

6. Take a day trip to the city

Ditch the car and save money by travelling by train, but first check there is no strike action on the days you are planning. 

If you've got two adults going, see if you can save money with a railcard - the two together card costs £30 upfront but will save you a third on fares for a year.

National Rail (Nationalrail.co.uk) offers two entry tickets for the price of one at a huge number of attractions nationwide, including The London Dungeon, Sea Life locations across Great Britain and ZSL London Zoo. 

If you're a Tesco Clubcard holder you can convert the points you earn on your loyalty card into Tesco Reward Partners Vouchers. These can often be used at wildlife parks, and more.

• Find out more: how to get cheap train tickets

7. Christmas crafts

How about making your own Christmas decorations, like paper chains and decorating pine cones?

You may be able to use items that you already have in the house - lollipop sticks can transform into icicle ornaments, empty loo roll tubes can create reindeer and snowmen, while empty glass jars can make great snow globes. 

You may also be able to pick up cheap craft materials in charity shops, and on neighbourhood apps.

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8. Toy swap

If you want to breathe some new life into old toys, you could arrange a swapping party with other parents. This way, you'll be able to clear out the toys your kids don't play with any more, while possibly finding something they'd love that someone else is throwing away. 

You could also sell old toys on second-hand selling platforms such as eBay, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace to make some cash in the run up to Christmas.

• Find out more: which website is cheapest for children's toys?

9. Christmas reading challenge

A visit to your local library means your kids can borrow festive physical books for free, as well as borrow ebooks and audiobooks. Some libraries even allow you to read digital magazines and newspapers from the comfort of your own home.

To find out what your nearby library offers, visit your local council website and sign up for free. 

As an alternative, you could also swap books with family and friends.

• Find out more: best e-book readers

10. Visit a Christmas market

You don’t need to venture to the continent for a twinkling Christmas market. 

Which? Travel has rounded up the best UK cities with great Christmas markets, where you can pick up hand-crafted gifts and sweet treats. 

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park has a Christmas market, as well as a funfair and food outlets. Entry is free during off-peak times, and Monday 2 January is a family fun day where there will be free kids activities. 

11. Board game marathon

Everyone loves playing a board game at Christmas, from the classics like Monopoly and Cluedo, to newer games like Herd Mentality and Taskmaster. 

But rather than buying them all yourself, you could invite friends over and ask everyone to bring a game of their choice. You could then have a board games marathon, with prizes for the winner.

If you’re short on games, there’s lots available for free online. For example, Big Potato Games (Bigpotato.co.uk) has board games you can download for free online.

12. Seek out local free events

Your local council might be running free Christmas holiday activities for kids, or sports workshops.  

Search your local council's name followed by 'Christmas holiday activities' to see what's going on in your area. 

If you're not sure which local council covers your area, you can search on gov.uk using your postcode.here

13. Get ready for Santa

There are plenty of ways you can catch Santa in the run up to Christmas. 

You can create and share personalised videos from Santa to your loved ones on Portable North Pole (Portablenorthpole.com). Some options are available for free.

You can also track Santa on Christmas Eve on a free website called Norad Santa (Noradsanta.org).

• Find out more:  11 ways to give yourself a Christmsa bonus

14. Go for a winter walk or run

Wrap up warm and go for a winter stroll to stretch the legs if you’ve been trapped inside. 

Which? has rated the top walking routes in the countryside. 

If you fancy some more strenuous exercise, how about a Parkrun? Parkruns are free, weekly, community events all around the world that take place in public parks. On Saturday mornings there are 5k events where adults and older kids can take part (and younger kids in buggies can be pushed along for the ride), as well as junior park runs for children aged four to 14 on Sundays. There is no time limit, and the events' volunteers make sure no one finishes last! 

Find out if there is a race near you by visiting the Parkrun website (Parkrun.org.uk)..

This story was published on 15 December and updated on 21 December to add in Tesco's kids eat for 60p deal.