What can kids do at half term without screens?

Half term has a particular shape. It is long enough to get bored, too short to plan a holiday, and often arrives in weather that cannot make up its mind. The good news is that the best half terms are rarely the expensive ones. Here are 30 ideas, sorted so you can pick by the sky, plus a few facts worth knowing before you go anywhere.

When is half term this year?

It depends on your council and your child’s school, so check rather than guess. GOV.UK sends families to their local council’s website for term, half term and holiday dates.^[1] Academies, voluntary aided and foundation schools may set different dates from the council’s.^[2]

The dates really do differ. In Surrey, community and voluntary controlled schools have a two-week autumn half term in 2026, from 19 to 30 October, with five days taken from the summer holiday instead; the council says it reverts to one week from September 2027.^[2] Many other areas keep a single week. If you home educate, half term is whatever you decide, but it is worth knowing when attractions will be busiest.

What can kids do at half term on a rainy day?

Ten ideas that need nothing more than a living room:

1. Build a den from sofa cushions, chairs and a sheet, then eat lunch in it.
2. Indoor picnic on a blanket, with a menu the children write.
3. Make a newspaper about the family’s week: headlines, weather, interviews.
4. Bake something and let them do the measuring.
5. Board game tournament with a homemade trophy. Our list of the best family board games has ideas by age.
6. Puppet show using socks, wooden spoons or paper bags.
7. Junk modelling with the recycling box and a roll of tape.
8. Treasure hunt with written clues hidden around the house.
9. Audiobook and Lego afternoon: one story, one big build.
10. Letter writing to a grandparent or friend, with a stamp and a walk to the postbox.

For more wet-weather ideas, see our guide to rainy day screen-free activities.

What can kids do at half term outside?

Ten for dry days, most of them free:

1. Nature scavenger hunt: a conker, a feather, something red, something smooth.
2. Leaf collection to press in a heavy book or turn into a collage.
3. Bug hunt under logs and stones, putting everything back where it was.
4. Pooh sticks from any small bridge.
5. Cloud spotting lying on a coat in the park.
6. Bike or scooter loop around the local area with a map they drew.
7. Build a stick den in the woods.
8. Pavement chalk murals or hopscotch.
9. Picnic in a coat: flask of hot chocolate, sandwiches, a bench with a view.
10. Night walk with torches, since it gets dark early in October and February.

What are cheap or free half term days out?

Ten ideas that work in any weather, including the free ones worth knowing about:

1. National museums. Free entry to the permanent galleries of DCMS-sponsored national museums in England began on 1 December 2001.^[3] DCMS sponsors 15 of them, including the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum Group, the V&A, Tate and National Museums Liverpool.^[6] Special exhibitions usually charge.
2. The library. Borrowing books is free: in England and Wales, the law stops library authorities charging for lending written material.^[5] Many libraries also run free holiday activities; check your library’s events page.
3. Local museums and galleries, many of which are free or ask for a donation.
4. A bus or train ride just to see where it goes, with a packed lunch.
5. A market with a small budget each to spend.
6. Your town’s oldest building: a church, a castle ruin, a war memorial. Find out one fact about it.
7. A big park or country park you have never visited.
8. A pond or canal walk counting ducks, swans and boats.
9. A beach or riverbank walk out of season, when it is empty.
10. Free events at garden centres, bookshops or community centres, which often run half term crafts.

A note on museum entry: in its 26 March 2026 response to the Hodge review, the government said it would explore charging international visitors at national museums.^[4] That was a proposal to explore, not a decision, so check a museum’s website before you travel.

How do you plan a screen-free half term without it falling apart?

Plan one anchor a day and leave the rest loose. A whole timetable collapses by Tuesday; one fixed thing (the museum, the bake, the walk) gives the day a spine, and the gaps around it are where children invent their own play.

Three things help:

• Agree screen time in advance. “TV after tea” is easier than negotiating every hour.
• Put the ideas where children can see them. A boredom jar or a list on the fridge means they can choose without asking you.
• Expect some boredom. It is not a sign the half term has failed. It is often the moment just before a child starts something of their own.

What can teenagers do at half term without screens?

Give them something real to be in charge of. Teenagers tend to resist anything that looks designed for a younger sibling, and respond much better to responsibility. Six that work:

• Plan and run a day out: route, timetable, budget and packed lunch, with you as the passenger.
• Cook a family meal from shopping list to washing up.
• Take a film or disposable camera on a long walk and get the prints made.
• Learn a proper card game such as cribbage or rummy, and beat a grandparent at it.
• Fix or make something: a bike, a shelf, a piece of clothing.
• Volunteer for a morning at a local litter pick, food bank or animal shelter, where age rules allow.

Agree screen time with them rather than for them. A teenager who has helped set the rules is far more likely to keep them.

What half term activities suit different ages?

Match the job to the child. Under-fives want short, physical and messy: dens, baking, puddles. Primary-age children like a challenge with rules: treasure hunts, tournaments, building something big. Teenagers want real responsibility: plan the day out, cook the meal, navigate the train. Our guide to screen-free activities for kids by age breaks this down further.

If you want a box of prompts ready for the next “I’m bored”, The Bored Box is our collection of screen-free prompts for exactly those moments.