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Family Days Out in 2027: How to Plan the Year Ahead
A whole year can disappear surprisingly quickly. January starts, the children go back to school, and school breaks arrive before you’ve really thought about it, and suddenly you’re trying to find something to do during the school holidays at the last minute.
Planning some of your family days out for 2027 ahead of time can make the year feel much more manageable. That doesn’t mean filling every weekend or booking dozens of attractions months in advance. It’s simply about looking at the year as a whole, deciding which experiences your family would really like to have, and spreading them out across the months.
Here’s a simple way to do it.
Start With the Important Dates in 2027
Before choosing attractions, start with the dates that will shape your family’s year.
Add things such as:
- School holidays
- Mid-term break
- Public holidays
- Birthdays
- Family celebrations
- Planned holidays / vacations
- Long weekends
- Christmas and New Year
These become the framework for everything else. Once they’re in front of you, it’s much easier to see where you actually have time for family days out. You might realise that February mid-term break is perfect for an indoor attraction, while a long weekend in May could work well for a bigger day trip. You’re not booking anything yet. You’re simply getting a picture of the year.
Keep Your 2027 Plans in One Place
This is exactly why we created our 2027 Family Attraction Calendar. Instead of having attraction ideas saved on your phone, dates written on pieces of paper and school holidays sitting in another calendar, you can use the calendar to start mapping everything out in one place.
You can add the family days out you’re considering, important dates and activities you don’t want to forget. You don’t need to fill the entire calendar immediately either. Start with what you already know and add to it throughout the year.
Planning your family adventures for 2027?
Keep your school holidays and family plans organised in one place with our 2027 Family Attraction Calendar.
Create Your Family's 2027 Wishlist
Next, ask everyone where they’d like to go.
You could end up with ideas including:
- Theme parks
- Zoos
- Aquariums
- Museums
- Farms
- Water parks
- Beaches
- Adventure parks
- Castles
- Indoor attractions
- Festivals
- Seasonal events
- New cities
- Local attractions you’ve never visited
Let the children contribute too. You might be surprised by what they choose. The attraction you assume they’re desperate to visit might not even make their top three. Once everyone has contributed, you’ll have a family wishlist to work from rather than constantly searching for ideas whenever a free weekend appears.
Don't Try to Do Everything
Your wishlist is exactly that, a wishlist. It doesn’t all have to happen in 2027. Choose a few experiences that your family would particularly like to do and place those on your calendar first.
For example, you might decide that 2027 will include:
- Spring: A zoo or farm visit
- Easter: A theme park
- Early summer: A museum or city day
- Summer: A bigger attraction or family trip
- Autumn: A Halloween event
- December: A Christmas experience
You can then build smaller days around those plans. This makes the year feel exciting without turning every school holiday into an exhausting list of things you “need” to do.
Think About the Best Time of Year for Each Attraction
Not every attraction works equally well throughout the year. Weather, opening hours, seasonal events and crowds can completely change the experience.
A farm might be particularly enjoyable during spring. Theme parks can be great during warmer months or during special Halloween events. Museums, aquariums and other indoor attractions can be useful during colder or wetter periods. Beaches and outdoor adventure parks naturally make more sense when the weather improves. Christmas attractions usually need to be planned towards the end of the year, although popular ones can start selling tickets surprisingly early.
Instead of simply writing down where you’d like to go, think about when you’d most like to experience it. Then pencil it into the appropriate month of your calendar.
Use School Holidays as Anchors
School holidays are often when families end up spending the most on activities, partly because there are simply more days to fill. Rather than waiting until each holiday arrives, look at them together.
You could decide in advance that:
- February break will include an indoor attraction.
- Easter will include one larger family day out.
- May mid-term break will focus on outdoor activities.
- Summer will include several local days plus one or two bigger attractions or holidays / vacations.
- October mid-term break will include a Halloween activity.
- December will include one Christmas experience.
You don’t need to know the exact attraction immediately. Writing “Zoo Day”, “Theme Park” or “Christmas Day Out” on your calendar is enough to start. You can research the exact destination later.
Planning ahead?
Add your school holidays and potential days out to your 2027 Family Attraction Calendar so you can see where your bigger family adventures fit throughout the year.
Mix Big Adventures With Simple Days
A good family year doesn’t need 20 major attractions. In fact, we’d recommend deliberately mixing bigger experiences with simpler days.
Alongside theme parks and zoos, your calendar might include:
- Picnic at the park
- Bike ride
- Beach day
- Local museum
- Woodland walk
- Free festival
- Library event
- Local farm
- Family movie day
- New playground
- Nature trail
This helps keep the year interesting without constantly spending money. It also takes some of the pressure away from parents to make every school holiday spectacular. Sometimes children just want somewhere different to run around and a snack afterwards.
Give Yourself Something to Look Forward to
One of the nicest things about planning ahead is seeing what’s coming. Instead of finishing one family day out and immediately wondering what you’ll do next, you already know there’s something planned for another month.
Try spreading your bigger experiences throughout the year. If you have three attractions you’re particularly excited about, don’t necessarily put all three into the summer holidays. You could have one in spring, one in summer and another towards Christmas.
Your 2027 Family Attraction Calendar can become a visual reminder of what’s ahead rather than simply somewhere to record dates.
Research Before You Put Something in the "Definitely Going" Column
There’s a difference between an idea and a plan. Before deciding that an attraction is definitely happening, check the practical details.
Look at:
- Ticket prices
- Opening dates
- Travel time
- Parking
- Public transport
- Age or height restrictions
- Food options
- Accessibility
- Typical visit duration
- Accommodation if needed
This is particularly important for attractions that involve travelling further from home. An attraction may look perfect until you discover it’s a three hour journey each way. That’s where planning ahead saves more than money, it can save you from a very long day with very tired children.
Add a Rough Budget to Your Plans
You don’t need to turn your family calendar into an accounting spreadsheet, but it helps to have a rough idea of what different days will cost.
You could simply label plans as:
- £ – Low-cost/free
- ££ – Moderate
- £££ – Bigger family day out
Then spread them throughout the year. If April already contains an expensive attraction and a weekend away, you might deliberately keep May’s activities simpler. This is much easier than reaching every school holiday and trying to work out what you can afford at the last minute.
Don't Forget Seasonal Events
Some family experiences only happen during certain parts of the year.
When planning your 2027 calendar, leave room for seasonal activities such as:
- Spring
Farm visits, Easter trails, gardens and outdoor attractions reopening for the season.
- Summer
Theme parks, beaches, water parks, festivals, outdoor attractions and longer family day trips.
- Autumn
Pumpkin picking, Halloween events, autumn walks and seasonal theme park events.
- Winter
Christmas markets, light trails, Santa experiences, ice skating and festive attractions.
If there’s a seasonal experience your family absolutely loves, put a reminder on your calendar before tickets normally become available. That gives you a better chance of getting the date you actually want.
Leave Empty Space
This might be one of the most important parts of planning your year. Don’t fill every gap. Some of your best days out in 2027 might be places you haven’t even discovered yet.
New attractions will open. Events will be announced. Friends might invite you somewhere. You might wake up one sunny Saturday morning and decide you’re going to the beach.
A family calendar should help organise your life, not control it. Leave room for spontaneity.
Review Your Calendar Every Few Months
Plans change. Something you were excited about in January might not appeal by August. Prices can change. Attractions can close. Children develop new interests.
Every few months, look through your calendar and ask:
- What have we already done?
- What are we still excited about?
- Is there anything we should remove?
- Have we discovered somewhere new?
- Are our plans still realistic?
Then adjust the rest of the year. Your calendar isn’t a contract. It’s a planning tool, so adjust when needed.
A Simple 2027 Family Planning Routine
You don’t need to plan the entire year in one evening. Start with the basics.
- First: Add school holidays, birthdays and important dates.
- Next: Make your family attraction wishlist.
- Then: Choose a few must do experiences.
- After that: Spread them throughout the year.
- Add: Some cheaper and free activities.
- Leave: Plenty of blank weekends.
- Finally: Revisit the calendar every few months.
And that’s it! You’ll have enough structure to know what’s coming without making family life feel scheduled to within an inch of its life.
Start Planning Your Family's 2027
There are hundreds of places you could take your children next year. You don’t need to visit all of them. The goal is to choose the experiences that genuinely appeal to YOUR family and give YOURSELF enough time to plan them properly.
Our 2027 Family Attraction Calendar was created to make that process easier. You can use it to map out school holidays, potential attractions, important family dates and the adventures you’d like to have throughout the year.
Start with just a few dates. Add your family’s must do attractions. Then let the rest of 2027 take shape as you go. Because planning ahead shouldn’t take the spontaneity out of family adventures. It should simply make the good ones easier to enjoy.
Ready to start planning 2027?
Our 2027 Family Attraction Calendar gives you a simple place to organise your family days out throughout the year, from school holiday adventures and birthdays to seasonal events and spontaneous plans.
Early Bird Offer: Get the 2027 Family Attraction Calendar at the introductory price for a limited time of £7.99
Original Price: £9.99
FAQ's
- When should I start planning family days out for 2027?
You can start creating a rough plan before 2027 begins, particularly for school holidays, birthdays and attractions you already know you’d like to visit. You don’t need to book everything immediately.
- How many family days out should I plan each month?
There’s no ideal number. Consider your family’s available time, budget and energy. Some months might include several activities while others have none.
- Should I book 2027 attractions in advance?
For popular attractions and seasonal events, advance booking can be useful or required. For more flexible local activities, you may prefer to wait until closer to the date. Always check the attraction’s current booking and cancellation conditions.
- How can I organise family days out around school holidays?
Add the school holidays to your calendar first and use them as anchors. You can then decide which holidays will include bigger attractions and which will focus on local, cheaper or free activities.
- How can I avoid spending too much on family activities throughout the year?
Mix more expensive attractions with free and inexpensive activities, spread larger trips throughout the year and consider the total cost of each day rather than admission alone.
- What should I include on a family days out calendar?
Include school holidays, birthdays, booked attractions, potential days out, seasonal activities, important booking reminders and any family events that could affect your availability.