Can't afford to do anything in school hols

[peebles32]

My children are 8 , 13 and 17 and we are just too skint to do anything! It's not like they are at that age where they can just be appeased with a trip to the park.
We have baked, long walks and for this second week of the school holiday we won't be doing anything. I am not one of these parents who finds stuff for them to do and I let them be bored, but all they are doing is going on devices.
Where on earth do people get their money from?
I teach and my husband has a good job but days out are extortionate.
Any ideas?

Charity shop for jigsaws ? New books.
Get the 13/17 selling on Vinted for family fun money ?
Compare the Meerkat cinema tickets ?

17 yo should have a part time job sutwly, so pick up some extra shifts and tben they have money to go out with friends.

The other 2, 1 trip per week is plenty then arrange play dates for younger one and middle one can arrange to see their friends. Play with toys/games at home, play in the garden etc.

We always do 1 day of holiday club per school hol week even if i'm off as its a busy day of playing with other kids so helps to break it up a bit

Mine are older teens now but at that age, with the 8 yr old I'd probably arrange a playdate for them, and another younger one to come to play, but with the older ones they could do some jobs to get them out of the house or go for trips out with friends / into town perhaps.

You need a break too

My kids are back at school on Weds, but today and tomorrow they have both arranged to see friends - playing football in a local park then will either come back to our or another house to play computer games and eat. We can't afford to book activities for every day either.

We didn't have loads of money when me and my siblings were those ages. We did things like:

• Younger one at park with parents and maybe arrange to meet a friend there too; middle one park with their friends.
• Local museums, we are lucky that we have loads and they're all free but would still need to pay for either bus or parking though which I appreciate may still be beyond budgets
• Youngest and middle child play/hang out in the street with local kids/friends
• For all of them - go to friends's houses and reciprocate
• Visit/host family members if local/practical
• We were lucky in that council gym membership was extremely cheap when I was young so middle and eldest would have gone to the local gym independently either alone or with other local kids
• Local library for all of them
• Swimming for all of them, locally it's extremely cheap in school holidays for kids at the council pools but appreciate might not be the case where you are

Are they into crafting? Do you have any old wardrobes or drawers or whatever that you could paint? Paint isn’t too expensive if it’s just a smaller thing. Like get them into a DIY project?
also, in an attempt to make you feel better, I had the most stressful Easter half term ever, (just had another thread where I’m complaining about some house guests who didn’t contribute much) with a trip to another country first (we are in a European country and our break was the two last weeks) and then guests with whom we did loads. All of it was fun - the trip and the guests- but also we tracked far by car and spend a lot of money and now I am completely exhausted, have a cold and feel skint! I wish we’d just stayed home 😂 I know may not feel like that for you, but try to focus on how relaxing a staycation can be. Maybe read some nice books, how about a trip to a library, or a local pool? Any other outdoorsy things - fishing, collecting flowers and pressing flowers?

@peebles32

Many places have tickets which are valid for a year.
We went to the National Space Centre in Leicester last week. It cost around £55 for the three of us so while initial outlay quite high, we will certainly go back at least once more this year. Also didn't know until we got there that it was next door to an industrial museum which was free.
Invest in a Family and Friends railcard and go off on a few trips to other places which will have different free things to do

That's it! Even simple things are bloody expensive.

He does have a part time job! I just feel guilty and want to include him in stuff. To be honest it's more the younger ones I am thinking about.

It’s so expensive during the hols but we’ve actually found quite a few free days out this Easter, free Museum, 3 free Easter egg hunt, free swimming and I’ve saved lots of 2ps so went to Blackpool to have a few hours on the 2p arcade machines!

National trust is your friend

Monthly membership is Around £10 a month for a family pass

Then the world is your oyster

We go every half term /Easter /summer /Halloween to one near us

Have 4/6 in 5/20mins drive so do a diff one each time

They do treasure trails and Easter egg hunts

Doing one tomorrow with mini blondes

At 17, mine were working in their PT jobs.

At 13, mine didn't really want to be seen in public with a parent

So it would only be the 8 year old you were having to treat to anything.

Most holidays, mine would spend at least some of the time doing stuff with Scouts. Sometimes camps (which cost, yes, but are excellent vfm), but sometimes things like going on a hike, or Spring cleaning the hut, or even taking part in a fund raiser.
Plus, down time is good, too.
Plus all the "stuff" you have to get done (optician, dentist, new school shoes or clothes) and stuff like clearing out their rooms.

OP, my partner is a teacher, I'm also in a professional job (albeit working PT). We can't afford to do anything either.

I've got two at 11 and 8, he has one who is 7. We have had one day out at a farm this Easter. That was £45 plus picnic cost. That includes the fact one adult was free as a carer.

I'm taking my 2 DS to a museum tomorrow as we can't afford to do any paid activities. Even that costs though as we will need picnic things, plus either pay for the train or parking/fuel. Yes, I am counting every penny right now.

Other things I've found to keep them entertained in the lower end of costs:

Swimming near us in the council pool is £15 (but we get a free carer in that) Seems expensive for an hours entertainment if I'm honest though! Plus all the washing after and everyone needing a shower to wash hair because the pool showers don't stay on without you holding them down and are like piss dribbling out. Water, electric and gas costs bump that up by at least a fiver! If you've got decent showers though, I'd probably be more inclined to go!

Reel cinema is £3.99 before 1pm. You may have one of these near you? Or the juniors showings at various cinemas in the mornings for the 8 year old - they are £2-3 usually.

Tenpin (that's the name of it) bowling is £3 per person for a game locally to us. So for 5 of us 2 games is £30 which is half the cost of the local Hollywood Bowl.

We do have a national trust membership, and again we are lucky that for £30 a year it covers all 5 of us as we get 2 essential carers for free. However we seem to live in a bit of a black hole with not many local NT places. We tend to use it more when visiting family in other areas.

Without the carer discounts, we'd be even worse. Mind you, if I wasn't caring for my son then I'd be able to work full time and have an extra 1k a month. So I guess it is swings and roundabouts.

All I know is I'm fed up. I'm penny pinching everywhere. We don't eat out at all now. Not even McDonalds as that is expensive, creeping up to £4 for a bloody happy meal! I'm utilising discounts wherever I can (blue light card, DS works at a supermarket so I always use the staff discount card etc). But it just doesn't stretch to fun. We used to do something every weekend, even if that was just soft play with some lunch there. Hell would freeze over now before I'd pay £50-60 for that now! I try not to dwell on it as if I'm honest it makes me feel really down and like there is little joy in life anymore. What was the point in us both going to uni and working hard? We even get universal credit ffs! We should be able to afford to live a decent life without benefit top ups!

This is really lovely. Thank you ♥️

We have a big lake near to us we walk around with dogs.

Make pizzas and have lots of different toppings.

My boys used to do a movie night and take turns to choose the movie but it had to be something we'd all enjoy. Often a Marvel or Star Wars or Harry Potter. I'd buy popcorn to share.

Bike ride with picnic if not raining.

Swimming in ordinary pool near me only cost about £3 each and under 16 only £1.50.

Trip to McDonald's to meet a friend.

Game of football in park. Outdoor gym equipment free in park.

Baking, my DC all had a signature thing they made well, ginger cookies, blondies or millionaires shortbread etc.

Clay modelling. Younger 2 might enjoy that.

Made homemade ice cream.

Make a bird box with bits of wood or a garden planter than plant with bulbs or plants.

Sudoku, crosswords and puzzle books. Also jigsaw puzzles. My DD and elder DS would race to see who could make a 500 piece jigsaw the quickest.

I used to save up Top Cash Back money to spend on extras little bits for kids during half terms.

Geocaching?

Don't feel guilty. I'm working. It's not stopped raining. I have two young teens. We are spent up. They are on screens a LOT

Can you give you give us a vague geographical area, op?

Might help with recommendations

Get a lockup box for the devices, seriously! Best purchase I ever made.

Get the kids to declutter and sell stuff on Vinted, eBay etc., with them taking a share of the profits from anything sold.s

Having similar with mine on devices. Too much work going on in our house to be able to afford anything until it's completed which means house isn't very easy to be in either!
We've had a nice trip to town to sit in Waterstones - reading and a hot drink
We've done lots of beach dog walks before they become no go dog zones
We've decluttered a car load to charity
We've watched movies together on Netflix
Local Uni had an open day for families we went to (worth checking)
Been encouraging them to do more cooking and washing up which takes FOREVER

For future, look at things like tesco points. Which can be exchanged for days out. Also, I use top cash back as much as I can, I saved £1k towards a skiing trip for my son last year by using this and a combination of other money back ideas.

Ask for cinema tickets / experiences for birthday and Christmas presents from family. My kids got a cinema pass each from their aunt one year, it was brilliant.

Sell anything you're no longer using to make extra money, and open a separate 'holiday pot' so you can use it.

Mine (older teens) quite liked a mooch around the local farmers Market at the beginning of the holiday. They tried loads of stuff, chatted ti the makers etc. We did buy food, but only a few bits for dinner that day, nothing too extravagant.

I think it's good to encourage independence too. Mine take themselves out for walks when the weather is fine. They can be gone hours. Started in covid, they got their confidence exploring, and still do.