October Half Term Ideas for Frightful Family Fun!

October Half term fun for all, on all budgets!

As the weather gets cooler and the evenings get darker, there's something about staying home under a blanket on the sofa, with a cup of tea in hand and a good film enjoying the cosy vibes that October brings. But when you're a parent, and October half term rolls around, the thought of staying home all week with the kids can (and I know this from experience), leave everyone feeling like they're climbing the walls a bit! But fear not, because I've got some ideas to share that we've personally enjoyed before as a family during half term in October that will hopefully inspire you! 

P-P-Picking Pumpkins 

Pumpkin patches are getting bigger and bigger in the UK, and we Brits are embracing Halloween more and more as such pumpkin patches are becoming popular! We booked to go to our local; 'The Patch MK' last year and it was SUCH a great way to spend a few Autumn / Halloween themed hours. The Patch MK had lots of fun things set up for the children to enjoy and lots of Halloween/autumnal photo opportunities dotted around too. It cost us £2 each to go (it's risen to £2.50 now) and then we just paid for the pumpkins we wanted to take home (but there's no obligation to buy if you don't wish to).  

My two boys enjoyed finding a pumpkin each and they loved the hay maze that had been set up. They also enjoyed the slides and playing on the combine harvester too. I got some lovely photos of us there! We were super impressed with The Patch MK, so much so that we've just booked to go back this year again! Will we see you there? 

Because pumpkin patches are becoming more and more popular, lots of fantastic places are opening this year all over the UK, so even if you're not local to Milton Keynes, you can google 'pumpkin patches near me' to find your nearest one. 

Frightful family fun 

What's fantastic about October half term week is that most family attractions adopt a spooky Halloween theme! Our local Gulliver's Land theme park is somewhere we've enjoyed taking the boys to in previous October half terms. Bigger theme park attractions like Legoland, Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and Paultons Park all adopt a Halloween theme too and we think it makes a fantastic family fun day out even more amazing! 

Looking for something more budget-friendly? If you're looking for something a bit more local and budget-friendly, then check out more local spots like local farms, National Trust properties and gardens and even garden centres; lots of these places will offer themed fun for kids such as pumpkin carving, fancy dress costume competitions and lots more! For a few years now we've loved going along to Waddesdon Manor, which is a National Trust property not too far from us for their outdoor Cryptic Safari Halloween trail. They also offer a fun spooky afternoon tea. 

FREE Autumn Fun 

Autumn is the PERFECT time to go outdoors for a walk in the woods too. As a family we love seeing all the trees changing colour, a beautiful sight and collecting conkers is a lot of fun for the kids! In the UK we are so fortunate to have many great places to head to for a walk to enjoy our beautiful surrounding nature. 

Weatherproof on a budget 

If the weather is bad, but we want to get out of the house whilst not spending any money, we usually opt for a trip to a museum! What I love about museums, aside from a good selection being usually free to go to, is that they are interesting for the whole family. We've enjoyed The Natural History Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire, several times, as well as the bigger one in London.

There's also the Pitt Rivers Museum, University Museum of Natural History and Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, which we highly recommend. The Science Museum in London will be next on our list! Have you been? If you have, let us know what you suggest. 

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Autumn Peaks

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