October Half Term Events

It’s time for some autumnal family fun. Whether that’s getting cosy at home with a cup of hot chocolate or heading out for a refreshing nature walk with your friends, we’ve got ideas for everyone in our top picks of family friendly activities for October half term.

Outdoor half term activities 

Nothing beats getting out in the fresh air with your family. You might need wellies, coats, gloves and raincoats but don’t let the weather put a damper on things. There’s lots to see and do with these fun-filled outdoor activities:

Autumn Scavenger Hunt

Head out to your local park, garden or nature space and try finding everything on our Autumn Scavenger Hunt. 

Download your free Autumn Scavenger Hunt

Leaf art

Autumn is the perfect time for making some leaf art. There are so many beautiful colours and shapes to make pictures with or even a wreath to go on your door. Choose dry leaves and stick them on to a piece of circular card (use a dinner plate as a template) Pop some acorns and conkers for added interest. 

Nature walk in your local park

Check out the Green Flag Award site for a list of fantastic, award-winning free parks and green spaces throughout the world. Use the search option to select the area of the UK you’re interested in and head out for a nature walk. 

Pumpkin picking

Picking your own pumpkins is increasing in popularity. Why not search your local ‘pick your own farms’ and find a selection of pumpkins and gourds for decorating in time for Halloween. Don’t forget your boots as this can be a very muddy exercise.

Hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows

This is such a lovely thing to do as a family. Plan an evening around a fire pit with big fluffy marshmallows for roasting and a warm cup of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.

Star gazing

You don’t need to wait up too late to see the stars but you do need a clear night and not too much light pollution. Find out where your local dark sky places are, wrap up warm and take it all in.

Great days out in half term

We’re hoping to prove that days out don’t have to be all about the expensive theme parks, theatre shows and trips to Harry Potter Studios. You can still make wonderful memories in a low cost way.

• Visit the National Trust. From historic adventures to getting up close to nature, there are activities for everyone. Why not check out your local National Trust activity pages and try out a pumpkin trail or spooky storytelling event. 

• Visit a Gruffalo. In a deep, dark forest near you there may be a gruffalo and some friends waiting to be discovered. Forestry England has a range of Gruffalo sculptures and activity walks throughout the country.

Educational activities

There are plenty of ways you can build on your children’s love of learning at half term. Try these events for starters:

• Library events. Perfect for a spooky story telling or indoor halloween trail. Check out free events at your local library. 

• Check out a museum or art gallery. We are so lucky to have so many free museums throughout the UK. They will often host additional kid events during half term too so take a look on their websites.

• Visit your local theatre. Most theatres put on a selection of family-friendly shows during the holidays. Popular shows at the moment include Dinosaur World Live, Stick Man, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and Ministry of Science Live.

• Visit Explore Learning. Have you seen our centres and wondered what goes on in there? Then half term is a great time to pop along and visit our vibrant education centres. You can even have a free trial session. Meet our tutors and discover a learning environment that puts the joy into learning!

Indoor half term activities

If you need a break from the cold and the rain there’s always some entertaining indoor options to keep us all occupied. 

• Spooky Museum, castle or Aquarium tours. Do your kids like something a bit spooky? Look out for themed halloween events at local museums and castles. If you live near a Sea Life centre they are putting on ‘Ascairum events’ this October complete with a sea witch and weird and wonderful sea creatures.

• Cinema mornings. Odeon Kids and Vue Mini Mornings offer low price kids screenings every day of the holidays. These aren’t the latest movies but if you love them or missed them the first time around they can be a great way to kick off your day (especially if it’s wet!).

• Get crafty. Need inspiration for a rainy day craft? It’s an ideal time to use those colouring books, paints or activity sets that have been stacked in your children’s cupboard for a while. Why not get them out and try making something new from our free rainy day resources. 

• Local leisure centres. In most areas, council-run leisure centres offer free swimming sessions for kids or discounted events like trampolining and roller discos to encourage children to try out new sports in the school holidays. Pop in to your local leisure centre and find out what’s on during the week.

• Halloween baking. Why not try out some baking to share with your friends and family for Halloween? The BBC has a great selection of Halloween baking recipes suitable for all the family. You could even turn it into a mini-bake off competition where you each make a different bake and vote on the results. 

Whatever you find yourselves doing this half term we hope it’s filled with memorable family moments and simple pleasures. 

Mastering new skills, inside and outside of the classroom, is incredibly rewarding. That’s why at Explore Learning, we believe it’s important to get the right balance of nurturing, learning and results. Find out how we do this in a free trial session.