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Downloadable PDF colouring sheets, posters & more for different ages

Publisher Bloomsbury has a host of free downloadable activity packs for kids. The packs include ideas for activities in your home or garden, posters, and other resources.

The packs have been organised by ages, which means you can easily find one to suit your child. There are also seasonal packs with different activities for Easter, Halloween and Christmas.

More than 40 free sites across the UK

Are you looking for an alternative to your local park for your little one? The Wildlife Trusts, a federation of independent charities dedicated to wildlife conservation, has a list of more than 40 wildflower meadows you can visit in the UK for free – see 'More info' below for the full list.

Visitors are asked to keep to the paths at the edges of the fields to avoid accidentally trampling on any wildlife. While these are free, some do ask for an optional donation, normally about £3.

Save big on family-friendly films at Odeon, Cineworld & Vue

The big cinema chains offer cheap family films on weekend mornings and every day during school holidays, where adults and kids going together pay the same. Rather than brand-new releases, it's generally recently or previously released films. What's on offer will vary by cinema.

Odeon - £1 child and adult tickets. With 'Odeon Kids' screenings you can get £1 tickets for kids (aged 14 and under) and accompanying adults on weekends and school holidays. If you're an Odeon Extras Plus member, tickets are just 90p. Odeon offers a small selection of movies per week (usually between one and three, labelled with 'Kids').

Cineworld - £2 to £4 child and adult tickets. Cineworld is currently offering 'Movies for Juniors' screenings for £2 (usually £3.99) for kids (aged 14 and under) and accompanying adults on weekends and school holidays. The price includes a £1 booking fee per ticket.

Vue - £2.49 child and adult tickets. With 'Vue Mighty Mornings' screenings you can get £2.49 tickets for kids aged four to 12 and accompanying adults on weekends after 10am and every morning during school holidays, when booked online or via the Vue app (if bought at the cinema, tickets are £3.49 each).

We've looked at the big three here, but it's worth checking smaller chains and independent cinemas near you as they may offer similar deals.

For full ways to save at the movies, see our Cinema deals & MoneySaving tips guide.

Hunt for elephants, spot the Gruffalo or follow in the footsteps of Tolkien

If you’re not keen on walking the entire coast of England along the new King Charles III England Coast Path, then why not try one of these free family-friendly walking trails in the UK:

The Outernet, Tottenham Court Road, London

Immersive entertainment attraction The Outernet is lighting up its big screens with Baby Shark's Easter Splash from until Friday 10 April. Alongside this, there's also be an interactive Easter Egg Hunt. You can download the Outernet app for free (Google Play/iOS) to take part in trails. The Outernet changes its screens throughout the year, with themed routes popping up. It’s a good spot if you're in central London and you’ve got time to kill.

The Elephant Trail, Battersea Power Station, London

London landmark Battersea Power Station is home to a host of activities, including a free Elephant Trail. Head to Battersea Power Station until Sunday 26 April to hunt for 20 different elephant statues. Download the Battersea Power Station Trail app (Google Play/iOS) to tick off each elephant sculpture as you find them.

The Tolkien Trail, Birmingham

Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien grew up in Birmingham and took inspiration from the city to write his famous fantasy novels. You can follow in his footsteps by walking along the Tolkien trail. If you don’t want to follow a route, you could also head to the Lickey Hills Country Park. Climb up to Beacon Hill for sweeping views over Birmingham and Worcestershire, parts of which are also said to have inspired The Hobbit author.

‘Hullywood’ walking trail, Hull

Hull’s Old Town often finds itself being transformed into Victorian England, so much so, the city launched a self-guided walking tour, dubbed the 'Hullywood' walking trail, giving film fans the chance to step into their favourite movies or TV shows. Download the free What Was Here app (Google Play/iOS) to follow the trail map and learn more about the history of the city.

Gruffalo Trail, Thorndon Country Park

Is your little one a fan of Julia Donaldson? Well, Thorndon Country Park has some woodland creatures hidden in its deep dark wood. Families can go on a self-led trail to spot the Gruffalo and friends.

If you have any other free walking trails you think we should mention, let us know on Facebook. See cheap days out for more ways to save on family fun.

'It cost me £4.60 for four vs £16 from Domino's. Here's how I did it, and you can too'

Domino's doesn't just do pizza, and in the run up to Easter it's added Cadbury Creme Egg cookies to its menu for a limited time – something it's been marketing a lot on TV and online. It's a whole Creme Egg inside a cookie.

MSE Olivia says: Some will think this is a clear case of 'just because you can, doesn't mean you should', while some will be salivating at the idea of what's essentially a sweet scotch egg. But I think what we can all agree on is the price for these is far from eggs-ceptional – £7.99 for two Creme Egg cookies.

Domino's codes and deals are often available, but we've never seen these included in those. They seem to neither count as a cookie, nor a dessert in the eyes of Domino's – Schrödinger's cookie, I fear (though unlike the cat, these definitely exist and are definitely expensive).

Now, I'm no Mary Berry – but I am a MoneySaver, and I was convinced I could make a 'fakeaway' version of these Creme Egg cookies cheaper myself. Here's how it went:

The ingredients are simple – cookie dough and Cadbury Creme Eggs. I wanted it to be quick too, so I opted for pre-made cookie dough. A few supermarkets sell own-brand chilled pre-made cookie dough, and based on proximity to me, I opted for M&S Belgian chocolate cookie dough, which was £3 for 300g. I don't have Asda or Tesco* near me, but these are cheaper options if you do (I can't comment on taste though).

One thing to remember, is you'll get half the number of cookies as is listed on the packaging, as you'll need two cookies worth of cookie dough to make one Creme Egg cookie. This means I was able to make four from M&S' 300g dough.

I bought my Cadbury Creme Eggs from Waitrose when it offered an eight-pack for £3.25, so about 40p per egg. This deal has since finished, but you can currently get a five-pack of Creme Eggs for £1.99 (also 40p per egg) at Farmfoods, or for £2.25 (45p per egg) at Waitrose.

So to handmake four Creme Egg cookies, it cost me £4.63, as opposed to £15.98 for four at Domino's, not factoring in any delivery charges – so a minimum £11.35 saved.

If you want to read how I made the cookies, check out 'More info' below, but I'm sure the burning question you've got is, how did they taste? Well of course, to truly know how they compare to Domino's, I had to order its version too. After suffering the humiliation of accepting two Domino's cookie boxes and a large dip (needed to reach the minimum order threshold) from the delivery driver, I roped in my two friends to embark on this taste test journey.

I was immediately struck by how the Domino's cookies (left on the image below) looked like Findus Crispy Pancakes, but they were incredibly uniform and still warm from the oven. You can see my DIY cookies on the right.

I went into my first bite of the Domino's Creme Egg cookie with an open mind, but I was left disappointed. All I could taste was the Creme Egg, the surrounding cookie was tasteless. I've had the regular Domino's chocolate chip cookies many times and I find them to be full of flavour and really rich.

Now for mine: I don't want to blow my own trumpet, but these were brilliant. They reminded me of those gourmet cookies you buy for £5 a pop at posh dessert shops. I think they had so much more flavour than the Domino's ones too. My friends completely agreed with my sentiment.

So there we have it, if you make them yourself you can save over £11, which is a staggering 71%! It's usually possible to get Creme Eggs for about 40p to 45p each on a deal (cheapest we've seen so far this year is 35p each), and if you used the Tesco 300g cookie dough* for £2.45 instead of the M&S one, you could make the cookies even cheaper than I did.

It took about five minutes of prep time, 10 minutes of cooking, and another five minutes for them to rest – 20 minutes all in. That's less time than it takes for your typical Domino's to arrive.

Tempted to give it a go? Let us know on Facebook.

Including free downloadable clues

A big part of Easter is the fun of a scavenger hunt! If you fancy doing one yourself, you could hide small chocolate eggs in foil around the home, or if you've not got any eggs, why not use small toys or other treats instead? If you already have reusable plastic eggs that pop apart (think the inside of Kinder Surprise eggs), then you're set – but otherwise small Tupperware or plastic food containers filled with snacks, choc, small toys, or even jokes would work.

Hobbycraft has free clue sheets you can print to help you set up the hunt, or they're eggs-tremely easy to make yourself if you've got paper and pens.

Save compared to buying the popular branded version

Branded Play-Doh usually costs about £4 for a pack of four 85g tubs, but you can easily save money by making your own playdough.

You only need four common household ingredients – vegetable oil, plain flour, table salt and food colouring, plus warm water, which should cost about £3 total. You'll be able to make more than four small tubs, so you'll save money in the long run. You can use an online recipe, such as Good Food's playdough recipe.

Use less food colouring to make a lighter shade – for example, make pink playdough with a small drop of red food colouring. It's probably best to make lighter colours anyway, as the salt dough can stain clothes and other soft furnishings.

£5 minimum spend, for Byron Club members only

Sign up to Byron Burger’s free loyalty scheme, the Byron Club, to get a free burger (normally about £9.50) on your birthday when spending £5.

You’ll be sent an email with a QR code voucher, which is valid for four weeks from the date of your birthday. Bryon Club members must dine-in and cannot use the voucher in conjunction with any other offers. See full T&Cs.

No need to buy a cinema ticket

If you sign up to the cinema chain’s free loyalty scheme, Odeon Extras, and provide your date of birth, you’ll receive a free large popcorn on your birthday (normally £5.90 to £6.40).

The free popcorn will be added to a member’s account on their birthday and will be valid for seven days. Members can pre-order via the app (Android/iOS) or scan the QR code at checkout.

You will need to be a member for at least two weeks before your birthday to get the freebie. See full terms & conditions.

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