For me, part of a parent's duty is to give their children as many unique and happy experiences as possible.

And so I said to the boys: "How to you fancy floating in mid-air underneath a giant hair dryer?"

They shot me a look that said, "Have you been on the bottle again dad?"

So I said, "Ok, how do you fancy sky-diving, but you don't have to jump out of a plane?"

They were clearly none the wiser.

Indoor sky-diving, which sounds like a contradiction in terms, is the ideal end of summer splurge.

Airkix, in Milton Keynes, is the only place in the country where you can try it

There are a number of restrictions relating heart, neck or back problems and no flyers over 18 stone (and yes I was comfortably within the weight restriction) or under four years of age. Basically, if you're in reasonable health and fitness, you can fly.

Ok, it's not cheap – at £34.99 off-peak and booked online – but this is supposed to be your summer splurge.

Family tickets only apply to groups of up to five at £151.99 off-peak online and includes a free DVD for the family to take home.

Your experience lasts for approximately an hour. After check-in there's a short class with a video brief and instruction, then it's off. You get two flights of one minute each – the equivalent in time to about three tandem skydives.

In our first flight we learned the basic freefall position, which my boys found much easier to master than their Effalump of a dad. After my first attempt, the instructor told me that I need to get my legs further apart (probably the first time any woman has suggested I do so).

In the afternoon we booked in for the ice slide session at Snozone, right next door to Airkix.

We had 30 minutes tobogganing down an icy runway in giant tubes (£13 per adult, £10 for kids). It was great fun but, a word of warning: this is not for those of you who find tackling a flight of stairs these days tantamount to conquering Mount Eiger. There was no drag lift to haul us back up for the next run. Accentuating the positive (and fulfilling my role as "competitive dad") we turned it into race to get back to the top, but by the end of the half-hour session I was shot.

Next week, in my final guide to surviving the six-week holiday, I'll be returning to cheaper, more simpler forms of entertainment (especially, if, like me, your overdraft is taking a hammering).