The summer is, theoretically, on its way and we have warm days and sunny skies to look forward to. So what do we all do? We leap into our cars and beetle off to camping grounds across the UK (and the world) to enjoy nature and each other.

The thing is, you don’t get a full camping kit with your children, like some kind of package deal. You have to spend a lot of money buying all the right equipment and getting stocked up and, for some, this can be more than a little daunting. Today I thought it would be a great idea to look into how you choose the perfect family tent along with links to some tasty, tenty deals.

The classic Snakes & Ladders board game is given a cool 3D twist in this Spears 3D Snakes & Ladders game. And Tesco have decided to join in the fun by shaving £2 off the original price of £5.97 and dropping it to £3.97.

• Click here to get playing with Tesco

This game is a race around the board to the finish line with wriggly snake slides to fall down and straight ladders to climb up. It looks really cool actually, being able to slide your piece down the board or climb the ladders step by step.

The game is for two to four players and is suitable for kids over the age of five. It doesn’t need batteries or anything awkward like that, and is easy to set up and play. I am definitely thinking of taking advantage of this deal, I reckon it will make a great present as well as hours of family fun at home.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD!

ARK Age Aware Skincare are offering a full range of free samples for you to try out and enjoy. You can choose which product range you want to try out and they will send you your special free samples by mail.

• Click here to get free skincare with ARK

The different product ranges you can get free samples of include: Age Prepare, early teens to early 30s, Age Maintain, mid 30s to 50s, and Age Repair, 50s onwards. The form is self explanatory, a simple one that asks your name and address.

However, you can’t opt out of spam so you may end up getting promotional emails and other such stuff as a result of getting this face loving freebie.

At ARK they believe that it is important to be age appropriate with the skincare products you use and should complement your age and the needs of your skin. They have spent years perfecting the formulas and they are designed to support and nurture your skin as you age. It’s a pretty cool freebie.

Thanks to Moromir at HUKD!

How nice, clean teeth for free! What a lovely way to start the new week than with a tasty freebie that will help you keep those chompers shiny and fresh. The sample is for Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste and the form easy enough to complete.

• Click here to get clean teeth with Colgate

The Colgate sample is part of their Challenge apparently. You fill in the sample request form below and they will send you your Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste sample straight away. You’ll get your sample within a week.

Try it for five days and then take on the food or drink that would normally trigger your tooth sensitivity and see if you can feel a difference. By completing the challenge you’ll get money off your next purchase and be entered into their competition to win five prizes of £1,000.

So there you go, fill in the form, brush your teeth, report back to Colgate and enjoy a bunch of cool free stuff and chances to win.

Thanks to notts6501 at HUKD!

Fancy nabbing some free samples to help you keep your workplace clean and healthy? Well, AF International are offering you free sample packs that have a bunch of different AF International products inside so you can do just that.

• Click here to get clean and healthy with AF International

The form you need to complete for your free samples is very short and sweet and doesn’t ask you to do very much at all. You don’t get the option to avoid spam though, so I imagine you’ll get that regardless.

There is no information as to what’s included in your free sample pack but apparently it is a bunch of stuff that will help you to keep your workplace clean and healthy. It is rather cool that they have an entire section dedicated to freebies though, so stay tuned for others in the future.

These are a great way of wiping down keyboards and monitors and other such things, especially after the kids have drooled and spilled on them.

Thanks to Spyder027 at HUKD!

The Woodland Trust has prepared a bunch of free Diamond Jubilee activity packs for parents to download and for kids to enjoy. You can choose from a wide range of activities that can be done either indoors or out.

• Click here to get free Diamond Jubilee activities at The Woodland Trust

The Diamond Jubilee party kit includes printable invitations, a guide to the best woods to hold your picnic to celebrate the event, and plenty more. You’ll find free decorations such as bunting, pinwheel flags, paper chains and confetti.

There are also free games such as crown jewels colour bingo, the red, white and blue hunt and flower crowns. You can also enjoy treasure hunts and create treasure hunting bags, and even create a fairytale woodland stage.

The free Diamond Jubilee packs also include picnic recipes like strawberry and elderflower recipes and caterpillar tortilla rolls, as well as honey cakes and jam tarts. Other extras include royal plates, leaf doilies and name badges.

Thanks to logie31 at HUKD!

Dry Like Me is offering a free potty training wall chart and sticker pack to anyone who registers to join their club. You will need to fill in a form with your details in order to get the freebie posted out to you, but you also get access to their free newsletter which has potty training tips and advice in it.

• Click here to get your free stuff from Dry Like Me

The free potty training wall chart and sticker pack is ideal for helping your little one master the art of potty training. I have to admit that I really like their website, it is so bright and cheerful. The fake weather report is also pretty awesome.

To get your freebies you need to select the Click Here button on the bottom left of the screen and a separate pop-up will appear with all the bits and pieces you need to fill in. If that doesn’t open in your browser, you may need to enable pop-ups first.

Thanks to kitkat at HUKD!

As you know, here at PlayPennies we are all about deals, discounts, bargains, vouchers and anything else that can make a parent’s life that little bit cheaper and more cost effective. Considering how every year there is a report that roars out about how expensive one child can be, this mission seems like a good idea.

Today I decided to celebrate those stores that seem to make it their mission to help parents too. These websites and stores always seem to have a tasty bargain or three available for the budget parent and are a great place to start when hunting for a specific item at a discount price. So, here they are….

Right, so, if you fancy doing something a little bit fun and different over the next few weeks, then this deal should really make you happy. If you book for a family of four to go to Legoland and you stay one night at the Hilton in Basingstoke, you pay £131 in total which is a whopping saving.

• Click here to get to Legoland

To find the deal what you need to do is go with the large blue welcome box that has 1 Day + 1 Day Free on it, choose your date and how many family members are going, and then select Search Hotels. You will then be given a range of options at a range of prices.

The hotel prices vary from place to place and the Hilton Basingstoke does have a few days where it doesn’t have any spaces, but there is enough variety to net you a really good deal regardless. The one day free deal with Legoland certainly helps and you can book quite far in advance.

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD!

Yeah, this is not an optical illusion, this is the new Fanta website that comes with all sorts of cool freebies and extras for kids, like their Fanta Fun Packs. These Fanta Fun Packs were created with Linda Barker so that kids and parents can make fun things together and stay entertained.

• Click here to get free fun from Fanta

These free Fanta Fun Packs are a pretty good idea considering that the weather is about to get nasty again. Yes, those two days of sun were IT my friends! So, without further ado why not peek at the free recipes and crafts on the site so you don’t go mad in the rain.

You can whip up a scrummy banana cupcake recipe (yum) or you can get to grips with learning how to stencil with step-by-step instructions. You can either download and print these, or you can follow them onscreen. From toiletry bag ideas to designing a funky t-shirt or learning how to create your own pouffe, everything you need is in there.

What a lovely freebie for the kids!

I recently got a pair of Reebok Womens Easytone Reeinspire 2 trainers from M&M Direct as I’ve been desperate to try these shoes for ages. Loads of people have raved about how well they have worked, and just as many people have said they are a marketing scam. So which is it?

Honestly, after wearing the Reebok Easytone trainers for the past three weeks I don’t care. They are so comfortable. They are like memory foam pillows for feet. They are both soft and firm, sturdy and supportive and utterly and completely, well, comfortable.

On my first wearing, the shoes did leave my big toes feeling a little odd, almost as if they had pins and needles. It was an odd sensation but didn’t last beyond the first few days of wearing the shoes in. These shoes are built to help you get a better butt and legs and for every day walking and use.

The Reebok Easytone trainers are also very subtle in their colouring. Instead of the pink looking as vivid and startling as it does in this picture, it actually is rather easy on the eye. These shoes match pretty much every walking outfit I have and the various features built in – like the anti bacterial and fungal growth material – make them very lush to own. Every had a pair of cheap and nasty trainers start smelling? Yeah, these won’t.

One other thing worth noting about the Reebok Easytone Trainers is that the laces are good quality and don’t undo after every step. Add to this the comfort and the lovely low price at M&M Direct (they have it on offer for £39.99 instead of £74.99 so you save about £35) and you have a pair of very nice trainers in your cupboard.

Do they make your bum and legs thin and sexy? I honestly couldn’t see anything dramatic but they are worth the price for the comfort and style alone.

Last week the government set out its legislative plans for the year, through the usual medium of writing a speech and getting the reigning monarch to read it out.

This, then, is the Queen's Speech. It seems a bit odd to me that someone who has nothing to do whatsoever with the contents and can't even legally enter the House of Commons, give voice to this. But there you go. It is one of those peculiar British things and gives this country its unique flavour. I also suspect that these are the sorts of things that result in literary and comedy classics such as Shakespeare and Monty Python.

Some of the Queen's Speech is directed at families. So here's what was said, and a bit more about what the government intends to do to interfere, I mean help assist, in our lives in the future.

This is an excellent freebie that saves you money over the long term. You can download this free app called Tickety Split from iTunes and then this free app will look at all the options on your train route and see where you can save money.

• Click here to get free train advice with Tickety Split

It can take absolute ages to find cheap train fares if you do it manually. I’ve spent hours trying to sort out the cheapest fares as the train websites are, well, just awful. This app takes the pain away for you by checking all of the available options on your route and showing you the cheapest ones around.

The free app uncovers hidden ticket combinations and saves you loads and it is entirely legal. You download the app onto your iPhone and tell it your journey. This first version only shows you tickets available today, not returns or advance bookings. It isn’t infallible but it could save you some lovely cash.

Thanks to ds2000 at HUKD!

Mamas and Papas are offering both new and existing customers a lovely £10 gift card at the moment. It comes with a bunch of terms and conditions, of course, but what a nice way to start a baby shop!

• Click here to get free money from Mamas & Papas

The free £10 gift card from Mamas and Papas will take three to four working days to arrive. It is an ecard so I believe it will appear in your inbox. The ecards will only be sent to accurate and genuine email addresses and it must be used in transactions over £30. Considering how expensive Mamas & Papas are, that last condition shouldn’t be too hard to fulfil!

The ecard is redeemable in Mamas & papas UK and Ireland instore and online, and it is not valida t their factory shop or outlet stores. You get one ecard per person and it is only valid for one month from the date received.

Thanks to Alex7911 at HUKD!

These flip top flasks from The Works have all been reduced to £1.99 and this includes free delivery thanks to the code below. You can choose from a range of different themes and they all look rather fabby for this price.

• Click here to get a flask from The Works

The flip top flasks come in the following flavours: Spongebob SquarePants, Disney Princess, Disney Cars, Dora the Explorer, and Minnie Mouse. Each flask costs £1.99 and the code to get free delivery is DELIVERY15 which is still working just fine as of right now.

These flip top flasks are utterly brilliant, if I do say so myself. The themed pattern is around the entire flask and it comes with a handy carry strap as well as a lid that can click shut to hold the juice/water/whatever.

Brilliant for taking on camping holidays, walks, trips or pretty much anything else (except planes), these flasks will always come in handy. If you buy three at this price you only pay £5.97, not bad at all!

Thanks to missgem at HUKD!

Argos is offering you £5 off when you spend £10 on all kids clothing. Please note that this tasty voucher is only valid on children’s clothing and that it will be expiring on 15 May 2012. So, get in there quick if you want to get some discount kids clothes.

• Click here to get baby clothing deals at Argos

The voucher code you need to get £5 off a £10 spend at Argos is CHAD20. You can only use this voucher on children’s clothing and you have to spend over £10 in order to qualify. There, said it lots, now nobody can say I didn’t explain it properly.

The code looks set to work on all children’s clothing although I have not tested it on sale items, so you may not be able to do that. It also looks like it will give you free delivery, which is rather brilliant if you ask me. So, there you go, visit Kids World, nab some ace clothes and shave that nice £5 off the price. Brilliant.

Thanks to ather7851 at HUKD!

The one thing that I battled with as a child was saving money. I was terrible at it, no matter how hard my parents tried to teach me the basics I was having none of it. My brother, on the other hand, was brilliant. He’d wait for months and months to buy the perfect toy. And today he has an excellent grasp of finance that has taken me much longer to perfect.

The point of my story is that it is extremely important to teach children about money from a very young age. As toddlers and preschoolers they can count it and play with it to get used to it and to learn the various values, but as they approach the age of seven, it’s a good idea to sort out pocket money and bank accounts.

There are quite a few options open to parents who want to get their kids a bank account and I’ve gone out to find which ones offer what rates so you can make an informed choice.

Anything that saves you time cleaning is a good thing. Especially if it saves you a bit of money too. Oh how your perspective on things changes when you become a parent!

My clubbing, 19 year old self would probably be horrified to find that at parties these days I'm most likely to be found chatting with other parents about exciting things, like housecleaning tips and whether we could live without a dishwasher or not.

Here's some of the top tips our collective PlayPennies parents had to tell me about what they do to take drudgery out of every day family life. Otherwise known as the housework.

I've stuck with the tips that focus on using natural products or items you might have around the house anyway. If your favourite housework tip isn't on here, then please do let us know and leave a comment at the end!

Click here to read more...

I am torn about this particular freebie but I thought that it was worth mentioning for some of you may be able to take full advantage of this offer. It is a Tesco Internet Exclusive where you get a free box of Kelloggs Mini Max cereal to try out.

• Click here to get your free cereal from Tesco

The new Kelloggs mini max cereal is made with wholegrain fibre and the free box is the 560g size and you can only get one per customer. What has had many of us chattering, though, is why they say it isn’t suitable for vegetarians! What on Earth could this cereal contain? If you’re a vegetarian, maybe you can help us figure it out…

Anyway, the discount will be credited when you go to the till and the free cereal offer is subject to availability. Make sure that you add this during your online shop otherwise you’ll be charged delivery charges on this, making it not free at all. And make sure it is taken off your total price at the end too as some people have had a problem there.

Thanks to ambergarcia at HUKD!

My Kindle is starting to groan under the weight of all the freebies I’ve been discovering for download from the Kindle store and I honestly cannot resist just this last one. You can download the Viva La Mexican Cookery: 59 Easy Mexican Recipes book for free at the Kindle store right now.

• Click here to get free cooking at Amazon

The Viva La Mexican Cookery book is reduced from the usual price of £7.20 to, um, well, nothing. Amazon do this sort of thing all the time, suddenly dropping a book to free on the Kindle store, and it is utterly fantastic. I now have so many books that I need another Kindle!

This particular free recipe book by Maria Catarina Garcia is designed to introduce you to 59 Mexican recipes that avoid the stereotypical Quesadilla or Tortilla, but instead introduce you to a fantastic world of food and flavour that shows you the real taste of Mexico. It looks fantastic and I’ve just downloaded it, thank you very much.

P.S Non-Kindle users can read these files on their PCs, iPhones, iPads and Android phones too.

Thanks to janegoodie at HUKD!