Beat the crunch: A family’s guide to having fun for free

Apr 2 2009 by Joanne Douglas, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

FAMILIES up and down the country are having to find new ways to bite back at the credit crunch and keep the kids entertained – but one Quarmby family have been having fun for free for years.

The Lloyd family have been coming up with ingenious ways of having a cheap holiday or a free family day out.

And with four children, Alison and Trevor Lloyd found that it was child’s play getting them to take part in activities which have led to a lifetime of happy memories.

From camping in their garden to house swapping with friends for a holiday – Alison, 40, Trevor, 42 and their children, Sam, 16, Bethany, 15, Anna, 13 and Abi, 11 have saved thousands of pounds over the years.

House swapping holidays have become the norm with the Lloyd family staying at friends’ homes from Lancaster to Swansea.

In fact the children are only now planning to go on their first foreign holiday soon with a trip to Florida.

Alison added: “We’re all really looking forward to it but one of our best holidays was a trip to Wales in a cottage we hired with family friends.

“We’ve also stayed at friends’ houses many times and we’ve had many great times – it’s always been an adventure which everyone loves.”

And it’s not just holidays – over the years the children have been able to come up with wild and wonderful ways to keep the whole family busy – often for free.

Alison, a youth worker, said: “I wanted to stay at home with them when they were young as money was short.