That school holidays are not that expensive...

[Soggyflatjack]

We had some family over the other day who said the school holidays end up so expensive because of all the trips the children want to go on and to keep the kids entertained.

I disagreed.

I have two school aged children 5&7.

Yes, I'm paying more because they are home for an extra (morning) snack and lunch.

Petrol is just a little added cost as I drive DC to two different schools anyway which are quite far apart. I pay extra for car parking costs or sometimes we get the train somewhere

I'm lucky that we have a garden so I can throw DC outside to play.

We play games, make a creative mess which gets on my fucking nerves, go to parks, have picnics, go to friends houses and they come over to us. I also take the DC to toy shops so they can play.

I don't have any membership for anywhere like the merlin pass

I'm not including childcare costs.

I'm not including any booked summer holidays.

AIBU to think that you don't need to spend much on outings or am I missing something completely...? What are you doing which costs so much?

Can I be cheeky and ask how much you spend over the 6 weeks...? Do you budget for the holidays?

Ynbu. Entertaining young children does not have to cost much. It can if you if want to do costly things but it doesn't have to.

I think the OP has attracted some unnecessary hostility. Places like ELC do leave toys sitting on tables for children to play with. Her DC enjoy popping in and playing with them. What's with all the scorn? Nobody claimed it was a big day out.

During the summer holidays we spend more on ice creams, farms, swimming, small toys, entrance fees etc but we don't spend on activities such as ballet, swimming lessons and football. So the summer holidays end up costing us the same as term time as long as you are not including the cost of an actual holiday.

We're skint and the summer holidays were done on a shoestring. Its possible but less fun, less spontaneous and harder work, and your options are limited.

No picking up lunch when you're out, no £50 cinema trips etc. Making packed lunches and taking snacks everywhere helped but got dull.

Thank god for pokemon go, that kept them amused and out and about.

I have a teenager who just wants to sleep!

Cinema trips, trampoline parks and swimming are basic expenses during the holidays and they are not cheap. Then you get onto music festival or sports club costs and you are looking at loads of money, esp if you have a larger family. Plus money for the teens to spend when they go out with their friends and all the miscellaneous expenses like costa and ice creams, that make days out nice. Sorry, but I think school holidays are expensive if you don't want your dc at home on the playstation all day.

Obviously if you don't have the money, you don't have the money and therefore can't do these things. So yes, holidays don't always cost loads but once dc are past the park age the activities they consider fun tend not to be free.
I think that most parents (who do have the money) would consider swimming/some sports activity/ odd cinema trip as standard summer expenses. Holidays/festival trips not so much, but finances permitting, most people like to go away for a bit in the Summer. Along with giving teens money to entertain/feed themselves while out with friends these things cost more than you might spend if your dc were at school every day.
I didn't mean it to sound snotty, if it came across that way.

This comment makes me feel better about myself and spending habits:

As said, older children get more expensive and unless your a joy-sucker, then eating out/street food/I creams is part of the day out

I always knew stbxh was a joy-sucker with his "no food to be purchased ever" regime....

Pollyblack I'm with you completely, I'm also skint this month and Pokemon Go has been brilliant!

I think it is and can be but also varies on child age and family dynamics.

We only have one DS so if we throw him into garden he is happy for a while to play etc but not for 6 weeks . That said if I said he could use his iPad every day he probably would but he only really uses it on long car journeys as he does love running around etc. Not all his friends have been around at same time this holiday. We have varied what we do.

So far on the 3 days both myself and DH worked ( I work p/time so off half the time and have taken leave as has DH)he went to a kids day camp and did roller skating/ basketball/ football etc for £20 per day and on one day Uncle took him out to London and they did museum/lunch and general watching life go by.

We have also - been to beach with a picnic, been to local trampoline centre, been swimming, been to cinema X 3 (includes cheap movies for juniors weekend deal), gone to Kew Gardens and Hampto Court, gone to local country park with picnic, been to coast for 4 day short break , stayed in and had Olympic afternoon when weather diabolical, watched Harry Potter films recorded from Sky on another rainy afternoon. We had a swing ball competition between us one afternoon and spent an hour afterwards having a water fight - completely free !Went to Countryfile Live for a day and the tickets were free so only paid for petrol there and food/drinks.We have also eaten out more than usual but that is part of the fun of enjoying the summer holidays for all of us. Before he goes back we plan to go to London and if weather holds a short beak away. We were lucky to go away in May half term.

It has been more expensive in that we have done lots of things all one after the other but within our means and we only have one to pay for one child - I can see that when you have 2, 3 or 4 it can really add up eg drink today at country park £2.50 but if you are paying for 3 kids all the small things add up quickly.We do deals eg movies for juniors, my DH has a taste discount card so discounts on eating out, when we went away for the 4 day break had a hefty discount on hotel room courtesy of late rooms.

I expect as he gets older things will change but for now we have had a great time and I really have enjoyed the weeks so far.

They have cost us a lot. 3 teenage boys and 11 year old ds. The boys eat a lot and want money to go into town or mcDonalds with their mates. Ds3 is going to the seaside for the day tomorrow which will involve funfair etc so that will be costly. DD has been on a guide camp costing £250.

Try a bigger age gap.
Try 1 with additional needs
No local ELC or Toys R Us

We haven't spent that much but it's not so easy as you make out.

I can't be the only one who sometimes pops into Decathlon so DS can play in the tents?

We are obviously very careful with the stuff, but can pass a good hour or so pretending to sleep, zipping and unzipping the doors, making campfood... He is 4.8.

Other than that, this summer we have done 1 cinema outing (DH stayed at home, he has zero interest in the Secret Life of Pets), i took sweets and water from our local Spar. Multi-picnics and parks, 2litres of ice cream per week, walking in woods/up hills, also paddling pool in the garden, out on bikes Luckily buses are cheap here.

But, self-employed DH has lost money while I have worked weird hours. I'm sure costs would add up if i wrote them down.

No doubt it'll get more expensive - probably the local waterpark mostly, he can't swim yet. I'll encourage him to save some of his pocket money from the year to pay for a few trips- not all his money or every trip, but extra cinema, extra puzza hut etc.

My summers are very expensive because it is my break too (teacher) I want to eat out, travel, swim, etc. Your summer would be boring to me and probably your friend too.

I haven't got kids but I now know why my parents took us hiking as kids. Apart from£100 on boots, which last a coupla years, it's free and wears you out.

Mine are smaller so it's very different but we pay for term time only childcare and yearly membership to a few local attractions, so the holidays are much much cheaper for us. We go on lots of walks, the park, library, and to see friends.

Yes I want to know more about this toy shop thing- do the staff not throw you out? Do the kids just play with the toys on the floor still in their packaging?

Yes I want to know more about this toy shop thing- do the staff not throw you out? Do the kids just play with the toys on the floor still in their packaging?

I go into toys r us and ELC where it is perfectly acceptable to do this. We don't play with toys in their boxes just toys that are out and to be played with. My local ELC had a train track on a table for the DC to play with and other toys. In toys r us they have keyboards, kids computer things and the big cars and scooters. I don't let them scooter around. We look at all the toys and they say what they would like for their birthday/Christmas. Sometimes they even like to write down what they would like. We can easily kill an hour if not more.

I don't do it as a day out but if I have to run some errands in town or go to the opticians/dentist it's like the reward after

So many people do it. It must only be you lot who don't.

Must give the camping shops a go next

I think they are expensive. Mine are 16,12,5 and 4.

Failed so far to make plans with the younger ones friends parents, they are working/on holiday/we are away/kids sick/my kids are sick or older DC doing something so couldn't go.

We have a garden, it's a bit small not really fun for long.

Parks are good but get boring after a while, oldest won't come.

Ditto nearest woods. Even the little ones refused to go yesterday.

Ditto games I've played who shook hook a million times, it's not fun.

Picnics are expensive IMO. Our last one cost £30.

Toy shop in town has about two 'display' toys. Kids pester for a toy, don't get it end up miserable or do get it and I end up skint. It would cost about £25 in bus fair to get to the nearest Toys 'R' Us and ELC plus lunch out as it would be a full day out and again it's not much fun for the over fives.

Same cost for nearest splash park.

Swimming is free for the kids but I can't take the little ones without another adult and DD has a broken foot so can't be the other adult.

So we pay for bowling, to go on the train to the beach, for the cinema, for a trip to a city, for lunch out etc and holidays become expensive.

I have just done a quick calculation on my summer holiday spend, and nearly had a heart attack!! I do think there can be a level of competitiveness about this, either with regards to how little or how much you have spent. People do have different priorities. Our priority in the holidays is days out, a friend who is on a similar income commented on how I could afford it. But in my house no one has an iPad or an iPhone, and I look like I have been dragged through a hedge backwards, as my clothes are crap. Neither of us is right, we just spend money on different things.

£30 for a picnic? What are you feeding your dc?

Yeah, DS doesn't really want to go out in the garden for a splash in the puddles on a rainy day or 'paint' the shed with water on a sunny day now he's 13. Things change.

I think you are probably just a better parent than your friend

There's a lot of those knocking about on MN just now. Luckily, we all get to benefit from their exemplary parenting as they're always happy to share the many many ways in which they perpetually excel at it.