Haemorrhaging money during school holidays

[JMAngel1]

Anyone else?

Trying to have stay at home days every other day but we usually get stir crazy by the afternoon and head out. But everything costs money when the weather is so bad - would be so much easier to pack a picnic and head to the park if it was sunny.

Money situation made worse by DDs wanting to bring a friend sometimes so everything costs twice as much - not sure what the etiquette is in this situation - we live in an affluent area so I think there is just an assumption that the hosting parent pays for everything. It's got to the point where I'm having to say no to DDs seeing their friends which I know isn't fair.

I read a tip on MN years ago to maximise annual passes - buy a pass now to get some entertainment for the last couple of weeks of the holidays and it will still be valid for the first part of next summer holidays essentially giving 2 summer's worth of activity.

Sorry I know this doesn't help when money is already short but always thought it was a good tip

Well of course you are spending lots of money when you go out and spend money every day...that's kind of insane. How about you just....don't?

I don't think the weather's been that bad? Not hot and sunny, no, but pleasant to be outdoor for most of most days?

We've been outdoors almost everyday anyway and if we can't or don't want to go out, friends come here and play/hang out depending on the age. Everyday doesn't need an "activity".

@MissyB1

Even just snacks, drinks, ice creams out are emptying my bank account bloody quickly! I haven’t done many “days out” but he’s eating non stop! My food bill has shot up!

I never leave home without water, a Tupperware box of grapes and a packet of biscuits. Buying drinks and snacks out is optional.

Make your food and drink requirements at home, like a picnic. I just had a huge delivery of snacks and drinks from starbargains. This is because my kids friends are coming to the house. There is a huge markup on catering, especially in tourist areas. Take a look at National Trust and other big nature areas. Loads of museums are free or low cost. Eventbrite is my go-to for my kids. For example, there is a free workshop on arts and crafts for kids in the next town. Check out what local libraries are doing as they are pretty good at organising events in school holidays.

I frequently feel like a bit of a shit mum in school holidays. We’ve not had a family holiday since Ds was a toddler and that was to Devon. Had our first holiday booked last year to the Caribbean, cancelled with Covid. A year of still being part furloughed and doing a few bits in the home, that money has long gone.
We’ve done some sleepovers, dh has taken him to the cricket at Lords a few times, and we have done some lunches out and seen family. Done a few play dates out playing football golf and stuff.
We split the holidays between dh and I but some weeks he’s been to football camp.
Ds would happily stay playing on PS4 if he was given the option. When I see endless Facebook posts from friends doing all kinds of lovely things, I feel envious, lazy and shit. The parents posting them don’t tend to both work. It is what it is.

Omg @scoobydoo1971 I've just had a look at Eventbrite!! Hadn't even considered it as a starting point for activities and it's jam-packed! Thank you 😊

Have children lost the ability to just do simple things in the school hols. instead of wanting to go to these costly places all the time. When my two were young, they used to group up with local friends, and set up games in the field behind us, or go to the woods and mess about doing all sorts. I would not have been taking them to paying places.

Have you thought about joining the National Trust. Family membership is about £10.50 a month.?

You do need to manage expectations, and definitely be avoiding places such as coffee shops. Just because you live in an affluent area does not mean you need to do as others do.

And assuming that they are not messy brats, DDs friends visiting your house.

@1forAll74

Have children lost the ability to just do simple things in the school hols. instead of wanting to go to these costly places all the time. When my two were young, they used to group up with local friends, and set up games in the field behind us, or go to the woods and mess about doing all sorts. I would not have been taking them to paying places.

I was wondering the same thing myself. Can the children not just read a book, comic or do colouring in, age appropriate of course. I think parent's seem to think that their children will somehow be deprived if they do not do all of the things that they seem to see everybody else doing. But what good is it when the parent's are burnt out, skint and fed up.

Yes!! So much! I don’t know why, I don’t think we’ve even done anything extravagant this summer but all of our money just seems to be evaporating!

I always try to find free or inexpensive activities to avoid this and we take food and drink with us to save further. We’re NT, EH and RSPB members so use those memberships most weeks. I use my local Facebook community page to find out about activities in the local area too, most often at the library, museums, art galleries or local castles. The biggest cost for me is bus/train fare because DH takes our car to work but I don’t begrudge that when everything else is free or very cheap. I think the most expensive activities were for DD’s birthday last week which is always to be expected and also went to a local maize maze which was £35 I think.

Have children lost the ability to just do simple things in the school hols. instead of wanting to go to these costly places all the time

Daft "back in my day" rhetoric. Children have always been able to do simple things, they still are and they still do. Children have always wanted excitement and to do things that cost money.
The only difference is whether they have parents who will constantly spend the money on them. The vast majority of children do not.

There are always posters on here complaining about the massive amounts of money they have spent on taking kids here there and everywhere all the time, for which the very simple remedy of simply not doing so doesn't seem to occur.
More fool them.

Of course children want to do simple things. My children love playing, even eldest dd still loves playmobil, sylvanians, the farm etc, but there are a myriad of different reasons why out of the house is better.

Some of those reasons are selfish - the more we're out of the house, the less mess to clear up! Some of them are for balancing out the guilt of screen time (my kids like playing but they also like tv, tablet, switch etc).
I think it's short sighted to assume that people saying they're a bit skint in august means that parents are giving in to demands of daily trips to Alton Towers. In an already tight budget, even packing a picnic, parking and an extra bottle of suncream (ok, maybe not this year!) all add up.

My children are very happy spending days at home (me too if I m honest, I love a day to potter around), but with WFH being a norm of today, there are days when we have to get the kids out so that Important meetings/presentations etc can happen undisturbed.

And though my summers as a child are very much as some posters have described - entertaining ourselves, playing out, making our own fun - times have changed. My mum and mums of friends either didn't work or worked term-time only so were on hand more for casual supervision of the street. And tbh, a lot of the time I was bored shitless and would have loved more parental engagement and I'd like to offer that to my children, and their friends, for as long as they'd like that to happen.