Did you see the great list of movies for children posted here the other day?
I love taking my family to see a film, but it's not exactly a cheap excursion, is it? By the time you've paid for transport to the cinema, tickets, popcorn, icecream and a drink, bang goes your family budget and it's beans on toast for tea for the rest of the week.
But there is a way that you can take your family to the cinema without having to take out a second mortgage: the Saturday morning cinema club.
Saturday film clubs are a tradition that goes way back to when our parents were little, pre-TV, when cinema was the only form of screen time available to children.
My dad used to reminisce about collecting empty bottles of pop to take back to the shop and exchange for pennies to pay for his weekend cinema visit.
These days I take my children to the Saturday cinema club at our local independent cinema, the Duke of York's in Brighton. It's really quite an event, with a colouring competition and sometimes free goodies like sweets and stickers. The children love it, and get an education in the art of sitting quietly concentrating on something for an extended period of time.
Because clubs like this generally show films that are a few months old, they're substantially cheaper than going to see a film that's just been released. We only pay £2.50 per child (it's £3.50 for non-members), with adults going free.
There's probably a Saturday cinema club near you:
The Odeon chain runs its kids screenings on Sundays too. Find your local one here. Again, the tickets are less expensive than usual at £2.50 and adults get in free.
Cineworld has a Movies for Juniors session on Saturday mornings (Sundays in some locations) at only £1 per head. Find your nearest venue here.
Vue cinemas have a Kids AM club, with tickets at only £1.70, more details here.
So what are you waiting for? Get going to a cinema today. Whilst you won't see the latest movies, you can start to build a love of cinema in your children that will hopefully last a lifetime.