Family camping
Yes, you could camp for less if you took your own tent, but this trip takes potential arguments over who forgot the pegs out of the equation. All food is inclusive and tents are pre-pitched at Go Camping's Overstrand campsite on the Norfolk coast. All you have to worry about is the weather.
The week includes bike rides to the broads and along coastal paths (averaging about 30 miles a day), a cycle treasure hunt (where families are pitted against each other), games and activities. It's a group trip, so there'll be other kids for yours to muck around with - and adults for you to enjoy a post-cycle beer with. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a good summer, but pack kagoules and wellies just in case.
• 01379 678711, gocampinguk.co.uk. From 15 August. £329pp per week (adult or child; all ages welcome but ideal for eight-year-olds and up).
Shropshire's Chinese New Year
This may involve some expectation management. No, kids, we're not going to China, or even Chinatown, we're going to ... Ironbridge! In celebration of 1,500 years of Ming vases and the like, Coalport China Museum is hosting a weekend of fun stuff for kids, kicking off with the traditional Lion Dance, followed by t'ai chi demonstrations and games.
Drop-in creative workshops let you try your hand at traditional blue-and-white ceramic design as well as paper-folding and lanterns. There are dragon shadow-puppets to make and a discovery trail following Chinese zodiac animals.
• Ironbridge Tourist Information Centre, 01952 884 391, ironbridge.org.uk. Admission £5.95 adults, £4.25 children and students, £5.45 pensioners.
Compare cottages
Ever booked a holiday cottage and found that "old-fashioned charm" really meant "no central heating" or that the "short walk from the beach" took all morning? So with more of us expected to holiday in the UK, news of a review site dedicated solely to self-catering properties is welcome indeed. At the moment the number of reviews is small but that should change as more users discover the site which promises "Everything you wanted to write in the guest book, but were too polite to say!"
