11 cheap and free things to do with kids during Easter

Easter is nearly here, which means chocolate eggs, roast lamb, and parents facing the inevitable challenge of keeping the kids entertained through the long holiday break.

Fortunately, there are lots of things going on all around the country. 

From £1 kids’ meals to discounted cinema tickets and budget-friendly outings, Which? has rounded up the best ways to keep your family entertained this holiday.

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1. Kids eat cheap and free deals

Some supermarkets offer free or discounted meals during the school holidays:

• Asda runs its 'Kids Eat for £1' all-day offer all year around, with no adult spend required.
• Morrisons has a deal where kids under 16 eat for free when an adult spends £5 or more on a meal at its cafés. 
  

Restaurant, pub and hotel food offers

These deals might be useful if you’re looking to save cash while treating your kids to an evening meal out.

• Angus Steakhouse Kids under eight eat free every day between 12pm and 5pm when you order at least one adult main course.
• Ask Italian Up to two children get a free meal when at least one adult main meal is ordered between 27 March to 19 April. Only available via the Ask Perks rewards app.
• Bella Italia Kids aged between two and 11 can eat free with the purchase of an adult main from Sunday through to Thursday. 
• Beefeater Up to two children under 16 years can eat breakfast for free at Beefeater with the purchase of every adult breakfast. 
• Bill’s Between 30 March and 10 April, up to two children can eat a meal for free with every adult main dish. Offer does not include Saturdays and Sundays. 
• Café Rouge From 1 April until 12 April, kids under 12 years can eat free with the purchase of any adult main course all day. 
• Dobbies Garden Centres You can get a children’s breakfast with any adult traditional or full breakfast, or a child’s hot meal, or a pick-and-mix lunch box with any adult main course for just £1. This is available every day and also includes a free child's drink. 
• Frankie and Benny's From 13 March until 10 April kids can get a main, two sides, a drink and a dessert free with each adult meal purchased. 
• Franco Manca Children under 12 can get a free kids' pizza with the purchase of an adult meal at selected restaurants from Monday to Thursday. 
• Holiday Inn Children under 12 get a free meal from the kids' menu at breakfast, lunch and dinner when dining with an adult guest who orders from the full-priced menu. The deal is limited to four kids per family. 
• Ikea From 11am, families can get a kids' meal of pasta and tomato sauce for just 95p at Ikea cafés across the UK. Other children's dishes cost between £1.95 and £2.50. 
• Premier Inn Up to two children under the age of 15 can eat for free with a full-paying adult who buys a full Premier Inn breakfast.
• Purezza Available all year round, at Purezza you get a free kids pizza for every adult pizza purchased. Then it’s £5 for every additional child’s pizza. The child must be under 10 years old to qualify. 
• Sizzling Pub and Grill Children can dine for £1 with the purchase of an adult’s main meal. The offer is usually available on weekdays from 3pm, but during the holidays it’s available from 12pm.
• TGI Fridays Kids eat free all day every day at TGI Fridays with the order of an adult’s main meal. The offer is only available to Stripes Rewards members, so you will need to join through the app, which is free to download.
• The Real Greek Children under 12 can get a free meal on Sundays at The Real Greek for every £15 spent by an adult. 
• Travelodge For every full-paying adult, up to two children under 15 years old get breakfast for £1 each at Travelodge hotels.  
• Turtle Bay All day every day, one child can get a free meal from the kids’ menu when an adult spends £15 or more. 
• Yo! Sushi Kids eat free all day from Monday to Friday during all school holidays when dining with a full-paying adult with a minimum £10 spend. 

Find out more: dine out for 50% less in top UK cities (even at Michelin restaurants)

2. Catch a film for less

Most major chains offer lower prices over the holidays, so it’s a great time for you and the family to catch a film.

Cinema deals to look out for include:

• Cineworld runs its Movies for Juniors screenings, where children and accompanying adults can get tickets for £3.99. 
• Odeon offers its Odeon Kids scheme, letting adults pay kids’ prices as low as £1 during school holidays at selected cinemas.
• Vue has its Mighty Mornings sessions from 10am daily, with seats priced at £2.49 per person when booked online.

Find out more: best and worst TV streaming services

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3. Explore a museum or gallery for free

There are plenty of free museums dotted all over the UK, covering science, art, technology, and history, which are open over the Easter holidays. 

In London, most major museums and galleries are free, such as Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, the Science Museum, the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.

Other cities also have free museums and galleries, such as the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the Biscuit Factory Gallery in Newcastle, and the Industrial Museum in Bradford. 

Most also have temporary exhibitions to supplement the permanent collections, so there will always be something new, even if you've visited before. As special exhibitions tend to be ticketed, do check beforehand. 

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

4. Book a free or low-cost holiday club

Local councils put on activities and provide healthy food for low-income households over the holidays through the government's Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. 

The programme is available to school-aged children from reception to year 11 who receive benefits-related free school meals. 

Often, parents will need a special code to book. This code is usually issued alongside a free school meals code. 

What’s on offer varies by council. For example, the Manchester Communication Academy is hosting its Easter Holiday Club funded through the government's HAF scheme. The sessions will take place from Tuesday 7 to Friday 10 April 2026 from 9.30am to 3pm. Open to children aged seven to 14, the sessions will offer free breakfast and lunch and see children engage in arts and crafts, cooking, dance, drama and both indoor and outdoor sports. 

You can also use tax-free childcare accounts to pay for holiday clubs, childminders and sports activities. Providers are listed in your tax-free childcare account.

• Find out more: tax-free childcare and help with childcare costs

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5. Explore the great outdoors this spring

A walk in a local park or nature reserve is a perfect family activity and Easter falls at a wonderful time of year for spotting wildlife. Get the kids to look out for lambs in the countryside, ducklings in local ponds, and butterflies, bees or nesting birds in the park. 

You can make the outing extra special by packing a packed lunch with sandwiches, fruit and juices – it could be hot enough for an ice cream treat too!

The Forestry Commission has a range of free walking and cycling trails, as well as play areas and designated picnic areas across its network, with free printable activity sheets to help you explore your local woods. 

It also offers a wide array of family-friendly activities, and many are low-cost or completely free. These include Stick Man trails, Gruffalo sculptures and wildlife spotting. Most of its trails will have parking fees. 

• Find out more: best UK walks for 2026

6. Visit a city farm

You don’t have to head deep into the countryside to experience rural life. Even in the heart of the city, your little ones can make new furry and feathery friends at local community farms. Since some locations require advance booking – especially during the Easter holidays – it’s always best to check their website before you travel. 

Although many farms offer free entry, most are charities that appreciate a small optional donation to help with animal care.

Places you can visit include: Deen City Farm near Wimbledon, Stonebridge City Farm in Nottingham, Bath City Farm near Bath, and Surrey Docks Farm in south-east London. 

• Find out more: best UK days out for free

7. Easter egg hunt events

It's not Easter without an egg hunt, and there are loads of them on during the holidays across the UK that aren't that expensive. 

For example, Barnstaple Town Council is hosting an Easter egg hunt at the Rock Park on 5 April from 12pm until 3pm and it's only £1 per hunter to enter. Tanet Valley Railway in Shropshire is also hosting a trail across that weekend from 10am until 3pm. This is free to enter with a £2 fee for those wanting to ride the Monoloco and Monorail. 

You can also create your own at home. Hard-boil eggs, decorate them and hide them around the garden or house. Alternatively, use reusable Easter eggs that you can fill with chocolate or small treats.

To keep it interesting, you could set clues or a simple trail for older children, or assign different colours or areas for younger ones. You can also set a timer and see how quickly they can find them all, then reset and go again.

• Find out more: supermarket Easter delivery slots – when can you book yours?

8. Join a Junior Parkrun

Every Sunday morning (usually at 9am), children aged four to 14 can participate in free, timed 2K Junior Parkrun in parks across the UK. Kids can take part solo, but a parent or guardian must accompany those under 11 to and from the event and remain on-site throughout. Adults are also welcome to join in the run. 

For a bigger challenge, children of all ages are welcome at the Saturday 5K events, though these tend to be a bit busier.

• Find out more: best gifts for runners 2026

9. Get creative with a workshop 

High street retailers often put on free or cheap workshops for children over the school holidays. Here are just a few:

• Dobbies Garden Centres is running free holiday clubs and workshops called 'Little Seedlings' over Easter for children aged four to 10. The session is 'Gabby’s Dollhouse', where kids will discover what happens in spring and learn about spring animals and colourful spring flowers. The workshop will also explore Easter symbols and traditions, and teach what plants can be grown at this time of year. 
• Ikea is hosting a range of fun workshops in stores nationwide this Easter. This year, it includes a workshop where you can make your own Easter bonnet and a Bunny Hop-Off challenge.
• Pets at Home is running free My Pet Pals workshops for kids across most of its stores in Easter. They include activities such as creating and designing animal characters and learning how to care for pets. 

10. Use your Blue Peter badge for free entry

A Blue Peter badge can be a brilliant money-saver, giving your child free entry to more than 200 UK attractions in 2026. 

The scheme covers big-name days out such as Stonehenge, Edinburgh Zoo and the British Motor Museum. Shakespeare’s Globe is included, too. You can see the full list of participating venues on the BBC website.

To get a badge, children can appear on the show, win a competition or send in a creative entry such as a drawing, photo or video by post or online. There are six badge types, including Blue, Green and Gold, each with its own criteria.

Badges can take up to 10 weeks to arrive, so if your child doesn’t have one yet, it’s worth applying now for future savings. If they already do, it’s a great time to make the most of it.

11. Make fun at home

There are plenty of fun things you can do at home to keep the kids entertained this Easter. Here are a few you could try out: 

• Baking Roll up your sleeves and roll out the dough. Make some Easter Bunny cookies, butterfly cakes or hot cross buns to celebrate spring and Easter. Baking is always a fun and inexpensive afternoon activity for you and the kids. 
• Have fun crafting Pull together some basic supplies like paper, cardboard, crayons, paint and glue and get into the Easter spirit by decorating paper Easter eggs, making bunny masks, or creating Easter cards for family and friends. Old materials from around the house such as cereal boxes, egg cartons, and old magazines are perfect for creative projects like these. 
• Celebrate the next lunar mission To celebrate Nasa’s Artemis 2 mission this April, set up an astronaut training course in the living room using oven mitts as space gloves or build cardboard Orion capsules. Finish with a galactic feast of moon-rock popcorn and rocket-shaped fruit skewers.
• Movie night Create a cosy movie night at home with a selection of your kids' favourite films, popcorn and blankets.

Find out more: best board games 2026

Top tip

'Do your research first' 

'Whatever you plan on doing this Easter break, you should always do a little bit of research and try to find offers beforehand online, as it could save you money,' says money writer Ruby Flanagan. 

'For example, Tesco Clubcard vouchers are worth double their value if exchanged at any of Tesco's 100 Reward Partners, which include Cadbury World, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Legoland, Pleasure Beach Resort and Leeds Castle. 

'National Rail's Days Out Guide also offers two-for-one deals on attractions such as The Shard, Big Bus Tours and Battersea Park Children's Zoo when you travel by train. 

'When planning your days out, you can also work out whether it's worth buying memberships or annual passes if you visit a few times a year.'

This article is updated regularly to feature new deals. It was last updated on 16 March 2026.