There's something equally poignant and special about the last bank holiday before autumn sets in.
It's our last chance to pull out all the stops and ignore the fact that it has been raining for weeks, the Husband's locked himself in the shed and the kids have been rendered mute by iPads.
Many of us have blown our budget on days out around the UK, not to mention the fact that our offspring have eaten us out of house and home. We are still trying to dig our way out of a crisp packet mountain having naively thought it was actually possible to win a holiday on that Walkers' Spell & Go promotion.
So, are there ways you can have fun cheaply without forking out another £100+ on a theme park family ticket for the privilege of inspecting the motorway tarmac as you roast in a traffic jam and then spend 2 hours queuing for a ride which lasts less than 5 minutes?
Well, possibly - but it might involve a bit of fibbing and a lot of "well that's what we used to do in the good old days".
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| Nothing like a good old fashioned game of "hunt for the rusty bicycle" |
If you're all out of bribery tactics and wine o'clock is now commencing when the sun is over the yard arm anywhere in the world, here's some budget friendly suggestions for the last 'blow out' of summer.
* plan ahead - you can save money by booking attraction tickets online in advance and there may be some last minute hotel bargains to be had from sites like lastminute.com.
* save on train fares by investing in a Family & Friends Rail Card which gives you 1/3 off fares and 60% off the kids' fares
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| Thankfully the kids haven't noticed that the sea is approximately 5 miles away |
* check for offers on your loyalty cards, such as Tesco Clubcard and dining cards like Tastecard which for a small annual fee gives you up to 50% off in over 7000 restaurants across the UK, plus a range of other attractions and cinemas.
*If the weather's fine, just pack a picnic and a football and head off to your local nature reserve or the beach (but be prepared for queues as usual). Don't forget the suncream
*Of course there's the standby of the Great British Barbecue, even if it's raining!
*Or what about a movie afternoon with popcorn for the kids and something made out of grapes for mum?
* If it's raining, a family boardgame challenge will pass a couple of hours - the old favourites are best - Monopoly, Cluedo or how about Kerplunk or Mousetrap?
If all else fails and the kids strop off to their bedrooms with their gadgets, you could always catch up with a bit on online shopping and snap up some of the bargains to be had.
Why not join the fun with Ideal World (Sky 654, Freeview 22, Virgin 747, Freesat 812 and at www.idealworld.tv) who are giving free postage and packing on everything until 9 pm on Monday 29th August.
They'll be running lots of fun competitions throughout the bank holiday weekend with some fabulous prizes on offer.
No queues, no public transport, no stroppy kids.
Actually that sounds like quite a fun bank holiday to me......
