With half-term under way, parents everywhere will be desperately planning what they can do to keep the kids occupied. A day out with the family can be an expensive business, and entertaining the children generally involves spending money. There are a few ways you can make their day without spending a penny though. Here’s how:

1. Free football lessons

Not just for the boys, the FA Tesco Skills Programme offers free football skills coaching sessions all over the country throughout half term. Head over to their website to find out about your nearest session and sign your kids up. All the coaches are full-time professionals who are specialists in coaching children aged 5-11 and have undergone CRB checks.

2. Free kids toys

A great way to enjoy a day of fun with the kids is to organise a toy swap shop with some other parents who have children of roughly the same age. Get the parents to bring any of the toys their children don’t play with any more, and the kids can all play together while they swap toys. It’s new and exciting for the children, and completely free for you!

3. Free days out with the National Trust

Most people live within 40 minutes of a National Trust attraction, so why not make the most of that this half term and take advantage of one of their free family days out. There’s a whole list of ideas on their website here, so brave the chilly weather and get the kids outside and active.

4. Use your reward points for free days out

If you collect Tesco Clubcard points or Sainsbury’s Nectar rewards, you can make them go much further than in the supermarket by putting them towards all sorts of days out. Everything from theme parks and Sea Life Centres to cinema tickets and zoo passes are available through both the Tesco Clubcard and Nectar schemes, so cash in your points and enjoy some free family fun!

5. Free cinema tickets

The Odeon kids clubs run everyday throughout most school holidays and while you do have to buy a child ticket, you’ll get in for free! So for every child ticket, you get a free adult ticket. Find out what films are being screened at your nearest Odeon kids club here.

And don’t forget… if you’re going to travel by train as a family this half term, and even this year more generally, right now you can get a discount on an annual Family and Friends railcard. Use the code MONEY20 in the promotional code box to get 20% off the price, making it £22.40 instead of £28. Real value when you consider you get a third off adult fares and 60% off kids fares. Plus up to four adults and four children can travel on one card.

{Image: D. Sharon Pruitt}