FEEDING the kids this half term doesn’t need to break the bank, with a host of chain restaurants and supermarkets offering deals where kids can eat cheaply or even for free.
From completely free meals to paying just £1 a head, it’s easy to find something nutritious and in budget.
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For worried parents getting slammed by the cost of living crisis, these bargains could offer a lifeline during the school break.
Sarah-Jane Outten, shopping expert at MyVoucherCodes, said: “Looking at discount and voucher websites would be my first stop - then, take a look at any deals offered via your supermarket loyalty cards or apps.
“Supermarket cafes are also great places to feed your family cheaply, with various offers from children eating for £1 or eating for free, when an adult pays full price for a meal.
“Many restaurant chains will also be doing email mailshots ahead of half term to advertise any deals they currently have on offer, so don’t be too eager to delete them from your inbox.”
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Here, The Sun has rounded up all the best "kids eat free" or cheap offers that are available over the half term week and beyond.
Angus Steakhouse
Children aged eight and under can enjoy complimentary meals at Angus Steakhouse on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, as well as every day during half term, when accompanied by a full-paying adult.
You get one free child meal per adult buying a main course, but remember the deal can’t be used in conjunction with any other offers, menus, specials, or discounts.
Asda
Asda’s ‘Kids Eat for £1’ deal runs in over 205 Asda Café’s all year round - not just during the school holidays.
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Kids under 16 can enjoy a hot meal for £1 and, unlike with other retailers or outlets, you don’t need to make an accompanying minimum adult spend to qualify.
Dishes in the deal include penne pasta with meatballs and a vegan hidden veg pasta meal, as well as fish fingers, chicken nuggets and an all-day breakfast.
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Children also receive a free piece of fruit such as an apple, pear or banana when purchasing the hot kids £1 meal deal.
As an alternative to a hot meal, Asda Cafés also offer a cold pick and mix selection in the deal, which includes a sandwich, a drink and piece of fruit.
Banana Tree
At Banana Tree, kids under 12 eat free every Sunday.
This offer entitles you to one free kid's main meal and kid’s dessert per full price main meal ordered from the ‘All Day' menu.
The children’s menu includes chicken or vegan katsu curry and sweetcorn fritter balls, and comes with an activity pack.
The offer is not available at the O2 Arena restaurant on event days, and kids’ drinks are not included.
It’s also not available alongside any other offer, set menu, voucher or discount, except for the two-for-one co*cktails deal. ID may be requested.
Beefeater and Brewer’s Fayre
Beefeater and Brewer’s Fayre are offering free breakfasts for kids under sixteen alongside every adult breakfast purchased.
And in great news for single parents and larger families, you can feed two kids for every one adult meal purchased. That means you can feed three people for just £10.99.
During the day, Beefeater also has a three-course kids’ menu for just £6.99.
Meanwhile, Brewers Fayre has a "Feed the Family" offer over half term.
From May 28 - June 7, Monday to Friday, 12-6pm, customers can get two adult mains and two kids’ meals for £20 all-in.
Bella Italia
Kids eat free at Bella Italia every Thursday and for £1 between 4-6pm, Sunday to Wednesday.
As part of the offer, children can enjoy three courses and a drink, with meals suitable for 2-11 year olds, the restaurant says.
You can get one free child’s meal per adult meal purchased. If two adults are dining and both order a main meal, then two children get the offer.
Outside of these times, Bella Italia’s smaller kids’ menu costs £6.49 and the larger menu costs £8.49.
Bill’s
Up to two kids can eat free all day at Bill's restaurant from Monday, May 27 to Friday, May 31.
To get the deal, one adult needs to order any main dish from the breakfast, lunch or dinner menu.
Bill’s children’s menu features favourites such as buttermilk pancakes, mac & cheese and fish fingers and chips.
The offer is valid for kids aged 10 and under, although drinks are not included. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
BrewDog
Kids can eat for free at BrewDog over half term from May 25 to June 2, with everything from DIY pizzas to cheese toasties included.
You need to pre-book selecting "KIDS EAT FREE" to claim and you can get one free kids’ meal per adult main purchased.
What help is available for parents?
CHILDCARE can be a costly business. Here is how you can get help.
- 30 hours free childcare -Parents of three and four-year-olds can apply for 30 hours free childcare a week.
To qualify you must usually work at least 16 hours a week at the national living or minimum wage and earn less than £100,000 a year. - Tax credits -For children under 20, some families can get help with childcare costs.
- Childcare vouchers -If your employer offers childcare vouchers you can get up to £55 a week in tax and national insurance savings.
You pay for your childcare before your tax contributions are taken out.
This scheme is open to new joiners until October 4, 2018, when it is planned that tax-free childcare will replace the vouchers. - Tax-free childcare -Available to working families and the self-employed, for every £8 you put in the government will add an extra £2.
Dobbies
Dobbies garden centre is offering one free kids’ meal or breakfast per adult traditional or vegetarian breakfast or main course lunch purchased.
The lunch offer is available every day from 12 noon until 3pm and the breakfast offer is open until 11.30am.
A £1 supplement applies to kids’ roast dinners on Sundays.
The deal may not be used in conjunction with any other offer promotion or discount and is available in Dobbies Restaurants except for Beaconsfield, Hungerford, Keston, Andover, Lelant, Marple, Reading, York & Anchorwood.
Dunelm – Pausa Café
If you're visiting a Dunelm, kids can eat for free in the Pausa cafés when an adult spends £4. There’s no discount code required, and the promotion should be added automatically to your bill.
Franco Manca
Children aged 12 years and under receive a free kids’ pizza for every full-priced adult main meal in selected Franco Manca pizzerias.
Branches taking part include Stoke Newington, East Dulwich, Balham, Chiswick, Kilburn, Bishops Stortford, Cheltenham, Hove, Manchester Didsbury, Manchester Trafford Centre, and Peterborough.
Ring your local if you're not sure.
The offer is available for eat-in only, is applied to individual kids’ pizzas (not the extended kids menu) and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
Frankie & Benny's
Italian-American chain Frankie and Benny’s is offering a kids eat free deal from May 28-31.
It says that under the offer, children can get a main, side, dessert and drink.
Gordon Ramsay Restaurants
At Gordon Ramsay restaurants, kids eat free when ordering a main from the Ramsay kids’ menu. You also have the option to add a dessert for £3.50.
The deal is only available for children aged eight and under and you get one free meal per adult dining from the a la carte menu.
It’s not available in conjunction with any other offer, promotion or discount.
The chain says the offer is available at selected UK restaurants only - these are: Heddon Street Kitchen, all Bread Street Kitchen & Bars, Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill, and Pizza East.
It’s also not available on selected key dates including Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve and the chain strongly advises calling ahead to check it is running at the time and location you wish to visit.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK)
Kids’ meals at GBK are £2 with every adult meal purchased.
The menu includes cheeseburgers, chicken tenders and vegan burgers and each meal comes with fries.
The offer is available all day every day in participating restaurants, but cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount.
You can’t get the deal in the Trafford Centre or at The Restaurant Hub or Sainsbury's locations.
Hungry Horse pubs
Kids can eat for £1 every Monday from 12pm at Hungry Horse pubs.
You can get selected smaller children’s meals for just £1 and larger meals for only £1.50 with every full paying adult.
The offer includes main meals only and excludes starters, desserts or drinks.
Dishes for £1 include: sausages, fish fingers, chicken nuggets, beef burger, tomato pasta, impossible nuggets or fishless fingers.
Meals for £1.50 include pasta bolognese, katsu chicken burger, fresh garden salad, jacket potato with cheese and beans, cheese and tomato flatbread pizza, beyond burger, nacho chicken pasta, double cheeseburger or build your own tacos.
Las Iguanas
Kids eat free at Las Iguanas all year round, but you need to download the My Iguanas app and join the loyalty programme.
The kids’ menu is only available for children aged up to 12 years old and you get one free meal with each adult who orders a main course from the a la carte menu.
The kids’ meal includes a choice of main, two sides and a dessert and the adult lunch menu is not included.
The deal cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount, and is not available on big event days at The O2, Wembley, Resorts World, Cardiff Mill Lane or Brindley Place restaurants and at Las Iguanas Center Parcs.
Money saving tips for parents
WE'VE put together six top tips to cut costs, nab freebies and to make sure you're not fined.
- Free prescriptions and dental care - Prescriptions cost £9.15 a pop in England, while NHS dental costs vary by location. You can get both for free while you're pregnant and for 12 months after your baby's due date. Ask your doctor or midwife for a maternity exemption certificate (MATEX) to claim the free care.
- Free milk, infant formula, vitamins or fruit and veg - Under theHealthy Startprogramme, you may be entitled to the freebies if you're at least 10 weeks pregnant or you have a childunder four and you're on certain benefits, such as Universal Credit.
- £500 free grant - In England, Northern Ireland and Wales you may be entitled to a Sure Start grant of £500 if you're on certain benefits and expecting your first child or expecting more than one baby - such as twins.To claim, you need to fill out the followingform on Gov.ukand get your doctor or midwife to sign it.
- Register the birth in time or face a £200 fine - You need to register the birth within 42 days of your baby being born with your local registry office. This costs £11 in England and Wales.
- Update a will or update it - If you don't have a will, in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, where one parent dies, children will only inherit cash if the estate is worth more than £250,000 - otherwise all the money will go to the surviving spouse. If you don't want that to happen, you need to get a will stating your wishes.
- Consider getting life insurance - No-one likes to think about death but if something happened to you, could the family survive without your salary? If not, you many want to consider life insurance. Use a comparison service to find not only the cheapest, but the most suitable cover for your needs.
Morrisons
Kids eat free at Morrisons all day, every day when you purchase an adult meal with a value of £4.50 or more.
You get one kids’ meal per adult order, but extra portions or trade ups are not included in the £4.50 minimum value. The child must be under 16 years of age and present at the time of purchase.
The children’s meals include piece of fruit and a Tropicana Kids Orange or Apple drink or bottle of water.
The deal cannot be used with any other offer except the Teatime Meal Deal, and the free meal must be a kids’ meal purchased from the customer Café kids’ menu or chilled kids’ snack pack.
Premier Inn
Kids eat free when an adult orders a full Premier Inn Breakfast or a Meal Deal.
Up to two under 16s get a free breakfast for every adult ordering.
Preto
Children can eat free at Preto every weekday from 4pm. The offer is also valid all weekend.
To take advantage, you need to download a voucher here and show a member of staff.
This offer is open to children up to 10 years old and proof of age may be requested. You get one kid’s meal for every full-paying adult.
Purezza
Children under the age of 10 get free pizza at Purezza with every full paying adult, otherwise priced as standard 8” pizza.
Sainsbury’s
You can get one children’s hot main meal or lunch bag for £1 with the purchase of an adult hot main meal costing at least £5.20 in Sainsburys cafés.
The children’s £1 meal must made in the same transaction as an adult hot main meal to qualify.
The deal is available every day from 11:30 until the café closes, and extra portions or trade ups are not included.
Sizzling Pubs
Kids can eat for £1 every weekday at Sizzling Pubs, including holidays.
From Monday to Friday from 3pm, you can a children’s meal for £1 when you buy an adult main meal.
During the school holidays, the offer is available from 12pm.
Tesco
At Tesco, children can choose a sandwich, a piece of fruit, two snacks and a drink free with any adult purchase in a Tesco Café, when the Kids Eat Free offer is available.
TGI Fridays
If you join the TGI Fridays Stripes Rewards member club, kids eat free all day, every day.
Children aged up to and including 12 years old get a free meal with every full price adult meal ordered.
Kids can tuck into favourites including fish fingers, tomato tubes, chicken burger, veggie sausage and mash, boneless bites, hot dog, bacon cheeseburger or crispy chicken tenders, and you also get two sides from the children’s menu.
To sign up, you need to download the TGI Fridays Stripes Rewards app.
The deal is not available at 63rd+1st or Fridays and Go locations and cannot be used for any click and collect or dine out order.
The Real Greek
Kids eat free on Sundays at the Real Greek. You get one free child’s meal for every ten pounds spent by an accompanying adult.
The deal is available year-round, not just for half-term.
Travelodge
Kids can get free breakfasts at Travelodge when accompanied by a paying adult.
Up to two children aged 15 or under eat free for every full paying adult, not including the breakfast box.
Breakfast times vary depending on hotel, so check when you book.
Yo Sushi
From May 27 – May 31, kids under 12 eat free all day in Yo Sushi restaurants when dining with a full-paying adult.
The adult must make a minimum £10 spend to qualify, and you get a free kids’ meal deal bento box.
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If you spend £20, you can get two free boxes, but a maximum of three kids per booking can eat for free.
The offer is only available for dine-in at UK YO! Restaurants, not including YO! Bath, Heathrow T2, Heathrow T3, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Rushden Lakes, St Pancras Station, York Outlet or London Luton Airport.
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