In our house, school holidays are always something we look forward to.  However if we’re not careful, staying at home for the holidays can end up costing you more than actually going away. Movies, museums, play centres and even craft activities can end up costing you a fortune.

That in mind, we’re always on the lookout for fun and free school holiday activities.  And if those activities get my kids out of the house (and off the screens) it’s even better.

Like most children, whether it be boys or girls, my kids love bikes, skateboards and surfing (well none of them can actually surf but they love the idea of surfing because Daddy does it).  So you can imagine their delight when they gathered around YouTube with Daddy one night and he showed them this clip …

Yes, it’s called Tarp Surfing and once our kids saw this clip, they immediately wanted to do it! Obviously we couldn’t replicate the YouTube clip exactly (our tarp was silver, much smaller and the kids can’t ride a skateboard well enough yet) but it was still huge amounts of fun.

The best thing about it?  It proves that fun and free school holiday activities really do exist.  Granted we already owned the tarp for camping but they are really cheap to buy (especially the light blue coloured ones)

So how to Tarp Surf?

Lie the largest tarp you have on a wide open grassy area – in these pics we were camping down at Blackfellows Beach so had lots of space.  But we have been known to tarp surf in the front yard, at the local park and even in the school playground.  Then grab one corner of the tarp, extend your arm and run diagonally across the tarp.  Keep your arm up high and move fast – the wind catches in ‘the barrel’ of the ‘wave’ creating the space where the kids can skateboard, ride or run through.

So, lots of fun and very active for everyone.  Fun and free school holiday activities do exist!

What’s your favourite free school holiday activity?