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?

I have managed to not spend too much. We have gone to free art galleries that do crafts (so my house is glitter free), parks and picnics, and cinema trips but we wait for the film to be cut price. We have had a uk holiday which was fab and we were lucky with the weather. I do think some people get too bogged down in trying to entertain DC's. My dd7 goes to childminder and school clubs in term time so really enjoys time at home with her toys. I think it can be as cheap or expensive as u want it to be.

My dc have done a few crafty days for free at museums this summer. We have a national trust pass so they've done all their free crafty/hands on free activities as well. That's included owl masks, den building, pond dipping, collecting salad from allotments, archaeological walks, flour grinding, dressing up, building stone henge and loads more. How great are my good mummy points for free shit to do?

I also spent £60ish today on pizza Hut buffet, cinema (ghost busters, such a good film) tango blasts for us all plus popcorn and then we went to the park and had a icecream.

It's all about balance. I also don't begrudge this money I absolutely love the summer holidays. I have all school holidays off as well and I really make the most of it. If I didn't have to work I'd probably HE the dc and travel the world doing stuff like this all the time.

They said today was the best day of the summer holidays.

I love treating them in the holidays. They work really hard all year round they deserve a nice summer.

OP. Don't worry. Teenagers are no more expensive. They will disappear with friends, balls and bats, skateboards, etc, boys do, anyway. Just an initial outlay on sports gear. No experience of girls, though.

Unless you are working and have childcare issues, holidays cost what you are prepared to pay. Obviously it takes time to research free and inexpensive things to do but there is no reason to spend a lot. It is easier for me given where I live but there are always walks to go on/crafts and cooking to do etc

Well they wouldn't be at 5 and 7!

Wait until they are teenagers op.

Start saving now.

cheval yes young teenagers agree but older ones even with jobs you end up as a taxi service and friends have birthdays so it's a pizza restaurant and new outfit, oh yes the festival that they can pay for but can't afford the sleeping bag etc and the boys/girls holidays they can pay for but the spending money, the driving lessons, and so it goes on.

I have 4c ( 1 at uni but home for summer - he works, the others are 17, 14 & 9. )We go away for a 2 week break which is costly and the 2 younger ones spend a week with me and my mum. Apart from that they have friends over or amuse themselves st home. We have bake off challenges and each take it in turn to cook supper and this summer have had fun recreating the Olympic challenges and of course 2 weeks has been taken up following the olympics.
Our latest challenge is the triathlon - swimming in our local pool, cycling home and then 25 laps around the house!!!
You can make your own cheap fun!!!

Mine are older now and two have left home but I did find it got a little more costly as they got older. Everything is easier and cheaper when the sun is out too! Also found the younger one (I have a 5 year gap between youngest and child 1 and 2) seemed to expect more to be spent to be entertained..peer pressure/media etc? However, I found using friends a lot helped..either having them round/going out with them to large (free) parks to play games like rounders , lurkey etc (to be honest mine would still do that now, age 25,23 and 18!)
National Trust can be good til you get fed up with visiting everything in your area!
Baking etc always a good choice
I was lucky in that mine didn't mind going on hikes with us and others...if you have more than one family trotting along, together with any passing boy/girl friends (and adults for you to talk to!) this can take a full day and mine were bought up doing it (although not sure the younger two would do it now...although they do at xmas..again with other famillies)
Board games up to a point (!)
Making films with the camera was always a hit up until teenage years or so.
Eldest v easy to entertain as she is v arty and loved to draw/paint/play music etc
Swimming wasn't too expensive...esp if you look out for passes etc
Museums are often free so they were and are good for visits
Cycle rides good...also free
Library used to get a visit every week or two.

Groupon,wowcher and other discount sites always worth looking at as are Tesco clubcard rewards.

We also went camping, weekends mostly and not at expensive sites, and on a weeks holiday in this country or abroad. We couldn't afford hotels and self catered both in this country and abroad, eating both at restaurants (no pudds tho...not for 5 of us until last night!) and perhaps once or twice at the villa...by request of said children. In fact have just returned from a villa in Spain (fares - £200 return..would have been cheaper but I booked late, villa and pool £450) with one child..tho not such a child now..who we took pity on as she didn't have anyone to go with so asked if she could come with us.

Again...I was lucky in that I had more than one child so they kept each other company (not always agreeable company admitedly!) I do miss the school holiday times now, although I still get them not all of my offspring do. I think it is difficult to entertain older ones,and ofcourse it depends on your particular child. Some people do seem to spend a lot on entertaining their children during holidays, but some manage without doing so, but still do good "stuff"...it's just more of a challenge!

I budget for more or less same as term time. What I save on breakfast/after school/childminder/music lessons/drama sports etc. I spend on activities. My younger kids and step son have attended some paid for activities - holiday sports clubs, cinema, trampolining, ice skating, theme parks etc. This has been balanced with free bike rides, trips to various parks (fab selection in my part of outer London including mini zoo type park), store activities (halfords bike maintenance, pets at home sessions, hobby craft), Pokemon go walking trips, hiking, bug hunting, star gazing, free sightseeing around central London, museums, days at home baking. Currently on 'hol' at in-laws uk hol home. Tesco vouchers paid for theme park and 4 meals out. Free air show, free fire works, plenty of free activities on 2 separate piers, charity shopping for toys and games (harmonicas driving me crazy all day!), bike riding on common, dog walking, beach trips day and evening, local free museum. If kids behave they will be rewarded with trip to splash park, I will prob do kids a.m. Cinema also depending on film showing. We went to the dog races one evening. Odd ice cream and coffee, but mainly picnics and treats taken out with us. I try to limit spending on these as that is what (in my case) pushes costs up. Eldest (17 yr dd) is amazing at blagging free gig and festival tickets - hangs out with right people and does free modelling/promo work in return. She also gets free stuff via Instagram (due to loads of followers). I give her the odd £20 (as does her dad plus extra for train fares) for spending. I have taste card and student card, helps keep costs down. I also use groupon, wowcher and little bird for offers (2 4 1) offer at kidzania (great fun for youngest 2) at beginning of hols. Kids travel for free on London buses and tube, I use Oyster for work anyway so no extra cost for me. Car fuel costs probably slightly higher this past week, but over whole hol period balanced. I took 2 weeks annual leave, husband 1 week (so we all together 1 week), he worked from home 1 week, me 1 day per week in between. In the past I have had merlin passes to keep costs down. I work out budget and then find ways to make it stretch!! Kids favourite activity of hols so far was outdoor pool.

I forgot the free local fruit picking (blackberries, damsons, Apples so far - pears and hazelnuts to come). Also mystery dining and shopping....

Sounds amazing - lucky kids!

I agree with the point you are making OP. When mine were that sort of age I'd hear people say about how expensive it was, but they were choosing to go to expensive places all the time. There is so much around that is free or very, very cheap if you look hard enough.

Oh, and teens aren't as expensive as everyone is saying - don't forget they spend 2/3 of daylight hours asleep

I think you have to count childcare TBH - that IS the expensive cost!

And if you don't have any childcare then you do definitely have to do some outings to break up the tedium and stop them getting screen-crazy. It gets boring going to the same free activities on rotation. Childcare gives you a break from that, so you can't really say "Oh I'm not counting the cost of childcare but if you take that out you don't have to do any outings!"

It's just them needing a change of scene.

I think it is an entirely personal choice and depends on lifestyle and money. Yes i personally couldn't justify lots of expensive day trips but I don't judge anyone that does, I have spent more on entertainment than in term time, I love being able to spend time with ds's and see them have fun but I haven't let them do everything they could do- ruled out the trampoline Park, didn't realise how pricey they are!
I hope they don't get much more expensive as they get older, they will only get as expensive as I can afford and justify. As a teenager I spent most of the summer out with friends, reading or mucking out in exchange for rides, plus I still loved playing in the garden, I really hope that doesn't stop soon ds1 is nearly 11 and he was outside for hours earlier with his friends who are 10 and 12, they had set up a Base and had various weapons. I suspect he won't play like this for much longer so making the most of it.

It's the childcare costs for most people.

I'm looking forward to mine being a bit older (currently 3 year old twins and a 16 week old baby).
I'll get free help on the farm then!!! They want to inherit it , then they work in the holidays just like I did.

And I don't mean slave labour - I mean fun , useful stuff that helps them learn the ropes as well as helping me out.

Neither way is the right or wrong way but there is a bit of a look at how my DC are making mud pies therefore I'm a more grounded human tang to your post. They should however not moan if they have chosen to spend their money on days out.

The best summer holidays we had were 2012. We went to the Olympics, had two weeks in France and a week on the Isle of Wight. It cost ridiculous amounts of money.

My ds is 13. He did a kayaking course one week which cost £65. He spent a week at my mum's which cost petrol to take him there and back. She won't accept money for his food etc but if she did it would be another £30-40 on top.

The weeks inbetween he's been watching the Olympics and other sport which has kept him occupied most of the time and played computer games and we've gone on some bike rides. He also goes swimming and does athletics which are part of all-year-round activities and already paid for. We have a National Trust membership but we've not used it this summer other than to get free parking at a parkrun venue.

We are going away for the last week of the holidays so that's the expensive bit.

So no, I don't think it's very expensive, we don't do theme parks etc either.

Last year we went away twice and he also had a week on a scout camp. That was a lot more expensive - this year has been much less so.

I agree Op I never spend that much.
My two are 7 & 10 and are real home bods.
They love playing at home. The eldest has just started having friends come to call and they play on the field near us. We have been swimming every week, but they swim free as they get free entry as part of their lesson fee so it costs just £4 for me. We have been to the cinema once. Grandparents have taken them to the seaside.
We went away the first week on our family holiday and are going camping this weekend with friends. Excluding the holidays I have spent about £50 so far on swimming and cinema.
I feel guilty though as I haven't done anything big with them. But take them to a zoo and they only want to play on the blinking park anyway!
I am lucky that I work term time only so have no childcare costs.

Haha not expensive they might not be in your house but they are in this one.
But you only have 2DC,we have 5DC,we knew it would be expensive the more DC we had it was our choice and one I'm glad off.

I think if you can afford to spend alot on the school holidays and want to then where's the harm.

We have merlin passes,so far we've been to Legoland,Chessington,Thorpe Park,were going to Thorpe Park again and taking one of our DC's friends with us and were paying for them.
We've been out to different restaurants for lunch/dinner,been swimming,taken the DC to different towns and treated them,visited friends/family,been to different parks and play areas,been bowling,had a BBQ.

Were planning a few days at the Seaside,a visit to warwick Castle and visiting some family for a few days and going to try and take the DC to London for a couple of days as well if we can fit it all in.

We've done things at home as well that haven't cost much,made our own pizzas and set up a sundae bar for the DC to make they're own sundaes afterwards,we sat and watched movies with homemade popcorn.

Had water fights in the garden with water balloons and water guns.
I've planted strawberries and sunflowers with the youngest DC.
We've had messy play sessions,days where we've played board games.
We're having a sports day this week in our back garden with egg and spoon races,sack races,3 legged race all the old fashioned races even the oldest 2 enjoy joing in with that,it always ends up being fun and we usually end up with some lovely pictures from that day as well.

Yesterday me and my DH and our youngest DD8 went and helped two different sets of neighbours do they're gardens,one's lost his wife and not doing to well sadly and the other one has bad joints now and his poor wife's been really ill.

I try to do a bit of it all really,nice days out where I've spent alot of money,days in doing nice things at home that have cost nothing or very little,cheap days out,visiting friends and family,helping some neighbours out,having friends and family round.

But I won't put how much I've spent on here I've seen that turn nasty before on MN.

Tbh you come across as a bit smug

Yes it could be the case your friend is making it more expensive than it needs to be or is generally a bit of a moaner

But plenty of people have genuine reason to find holidays difficult due to their circumstances
You have 2 younger children who like playing with each other - great
You are off yourself so not having to arrange childcare - great
You have friends to meet up with with similar age children - great
You seem to enjoy the holidays - great

Not everyone has this - some must work, some have only children who you cannot throw in the back garden to play , some don't have the same friendship meet up options, some children themselves need more to occupy themselves than being with a sibling/parent or being thrown in the back garden or making cakes

No wrong or right just different circumstances

Don't like moaners but don't like those who cannot appreciate other people's differing circumstances

I think a lot of people find that younger children are easy and pretty cheap to entertain. As a rule, the older they get , the more expensive they become.
My DD has gone shopping today with friends. She needs train fare, money for some lunch ( they are going to Pizza Express) which i'm paying for, and tonight she is going to the cinema with another friend.
That's around £30 in one day. she is using some of her own money, and i am giving her some extra,.
That's just one Day.
We had 11 nights away in Spain, two nights in London, and three nights at a music festival.
It costs a fortune even compared to a few years ago, as she counts as an adult for everything now, - and that's just one child..

Meant to say, the friends she is with today are twins, so double the cost for them.