If I see the word ‘spooktacular’ one more time, I may scream (from frustration, not horror!). My email account is now pinging at an alarming rate offering me ‘spooktacular October savings’ and wishing me a ‘spooktacular half-term holiday’.

The October half-term, falling in between the big spend of the six-week summer holiday and the even bigger spend of Christmas, often creeps up (Halloween/ spidery pun intended) unexpectedly. If you're anything like my family, we opt for a more low-key, local-activity approach to the week, in an attempt to save a little and avoid the over-commercialised run up to Halloween. But how to plan a week’s worth of activities for our kids?