For our summer London trip this year we really wanted to go to the theatre. We've been to the Grand Opera House in Belfast quite often, but never a big show in the west end.

There are several options to bag tickets for less than up front price, so let's have a look at them.

We booked through LastMinute.com and picked restricted view seats for The Garrick's production of Gangsta Granny. Check theatre layouts on TheatreMonkey.com as some seats, like the ones we picked, aren't too bad. We just had to lean forward a bit when the action moved to one side of the stage, but it saved us £10 a seat each compared to the people beside us.

Another option to look into is Kids Week. Every year theatres release a bunch of kids go free tickets, which you can buy through the Kids Week website. Pay for an adult ticket and get a child's seat free. It's also more than a week so the name is misleading, so if you are visiting during the summer at all, be sure to check that website for the shows you might want to see.

Lastly, you can always try the TKTS booth in Leicester Square. It may have half price seats for the show you want. Be careful about any other booths, as they may not be official and may not be accurate about offering you the best price.

Happy ticket hunting.

STENA LINE are offering tens of thousands of free child places for travel to Britain by car all summer long on its 4 Irish Sea routes.

Their Kids Go Free offer means that you can travel any day and on any sailing, but you need to book quickly so you don’t miss out – it really is that simple with no catches or conditions.

You can travel any time until December 18.

Travelling with Stena Line means that your holiday starts the moment you drive onboard, as the kids have dedicated play areas and even a children’s entertainer on selected school holiday week-ends. There’s even free Wi-Fi, free movies and great eateries with superb family meal deals, so your holiday spending goes even further. You also don’t have to worry about baggage restrictions or charges so you can bring all the comforts of home and avoid the airport hassle.

We tend to go on at least one Stena Line jaunt a year, and we are currently planning where we will go with them this summer. All the photos in this blog post are from our own trips. There's also a snazzy £10 Glasgow day return you should also check out.