Easter Hols Ideas Needed - NO BUDGET

[carocaro]

So I have exactly £1.45 for the entire Easter Holidays, this is not a joke, I repeat this is not a joke, DH redundant, drowning in bills, this is all I have in my purse, I have £35 for food, my Mum stocked us up on essentials last week, so this is for bread, milk etc. Can't even put diesel in the car to go anywhere. Family Allowance not due until the 14th April, DH gone to Scotland for 3 days for interview and to stay with a mate for a break. Have DS1 7 and DS2 3. I have declared today a DUVET DAY, the boys can wear PJ's all day, eat what they want and watch what they want and it is pissing it down. Job Seekers Allowance goes in on Friday, £100 and gets eaten up straight away by bills. Supposed to be going to MIL in Devon but cannot afford the petrol. Tried to sell and Sworoski necklace and leather briefcase on ebay and they did not sell, my plan for cash for the hols.

Library
Swings
Walk in park
Football
Make cakes
Arts and crafts at home
Clearing the garden
Laptop/surfing
Bike rides/scootering
Walking dogs with a friend and thowing the ball

I have not left my local vacinity since August, I feel like I am trapped in a perspex box and feel so claustrophobic and frustrated, I have looked for work too, but after 5 years as a SAHM I am up against those who have been made redundant recently.

I also have a bright red hot itchy rash all over my face and swollen glands in my neck, so have just Googled and it says Glandular Fever, maybe. Can't get a docs appt till Thurs.

Anyway and off at a tangent here, mixed with a general moan and offload.

oh no, poor you. You could try checking out local museums? They sometimes have free stuff on over the school holidays. Even local churches might have things on?

Join your local Freecycle - I've recently become a freecycle junkie and have managed to get a trampoline and some outdoor toddler toys for my little girl.

If you have a garden, go to the BBC dig in website www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/apply_for_seeds/here and they will send you some free seeds that you can plant with the kids. My 2-year-old loves messing about in the garden!

There's also the CBeebies website, you can print off pictures for your little one to colour, and they have games etc that might amuse your 7-year-old for a while.

Good luck, hope you get the glandular fever sorted.

sorry, I typed in that link wrong, here it is: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/]

aarggh, 3rd time lucky www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/

Do you have bikes? I go for long bike rides with DS in the holidays, ending somewhere for apicnic (just lunch brought from home) and then cycling back again.

Is there a fire station near you? I just turn up at my local one with DS and look hopeful and every time we have done this the firefighters have been happy to show Ds around. It kills at least two hours of the day.

Don't forget plonking them in front of a dvd while you have a long nice bath with a book is perfectly acceptable.

I very very rarely spend any money on outingd in the holidays, out of principle, I like to live frugally and do things that don't cost any money.

(Do you have nothing else you can ebay? I have made enough in the past few weeks to get DS a DSiXL and pay for a trip to Xscape)

My DS got a voucher for a sports session during the holidays from school. Asda are running it here

Everything else on your list sounds great. Our highlight in the Easter hols is painting eggs climbing a huge hill and rolling the eggs down. We get to see lambs on the way and have a picnic at the top. The kids love it!

Don't forget to make tents in the house with dining room chairs, pegs and sheets. I still remember doing this as a child

do you have any old gold jewelry ?

I know selling your gold per the awful "Cash For Gold" adverts is seen as a bit naff, but I just got 200 quid for stuff that has been ignored for years

it was a necklace, a couple of bracelets (one broken) and a couple of odd earrings

hellloooo, dd's school holiday to France, which we were struggling to justify

Museums often have big free exhibitions in the school holidays.

Can your ds play out? I know this very much depends on where you live and whether he has friends in the street etc. We were very rarely taken on outings during the holidays when I was growing up and holiday clubs hadn't been invented. We just hung out in each others gardens and got up to mischief.

woodland trust is great use it all the time, loads of genuinely educational but fun downloads and packs. Well worth a browse.

Our local woods have changed there regular trial to an easter trial its free and the kids get a little prize at the end. Thre maybe something like that near you.

Ive got some cheapy veg seeds from homebase 30-20p per packet, hoping to spend a few hours doing that with them.

Netmums have a local things to do maybe worth a look.

Can you let us know what part of the country you're in. We have free holiday club run by the church but I know it's a long shot that you'll be in the Woking area!

Make butter by shaking full fat milk in a jar for a bit.

Newspaper / junk / leaf and twig sculptures

bug hunting and looking at.. Go out with a strong stomach and a tuppa ware box

have a look for your local geocaches.. There will very likey be one or two less than a mile away from you. Google geocaching first to give you a good idea what you'll end up getting in to.

Teddy bear adventure / treasure hunt.. Let them make the treasure and hide it for you to find

Join freecycle (www.uk.freecycle.org/) and request some toys and bikes or scooters so you can all get out and have a picnic together. Everything is offered for free. Our local one often has bikes, clothes, new playdough, leap pads, all sorts of things that people have grown out of which the kids could enjoy.

Stick up a card locally offering to care for pets over the hols for a small fee. that would bring money in and kids have fun helping to feed and muck out cages or walk a dog.

At library look for any free events. More likely in cities than quieter areas but there are often free storytelling sessions or craft workshops at museums and local churches.

Make dens by hanging sheets over furniture in or outside the house. Kids love to play in them. Keeps my kids occupied for hours.

Be honest and ask for help. Tell others you're ill and ask if they'd have the kids over for tea or a sleepover so you can have a break one evening and get some rest.

Ask a friend to join you in running a car boot if they'll pay for the table this time and you'd pay next time. It might bring in some money for those things you couldn't sell on E-bay.

thanks, great ideas here, never heard of geocaching.

the thing with museums is the petrol/train fair to get there in the first place!

Have invited some friends over for a play date on Friday and will make some cakes for it.

It's just hard when DS1 aged 7 wants to go to the movies/bowling/man utd museum with his friends, we've talked to him about our financial situation, but somehow I feel like I am letting him down, he is fine about it, but he has done so well at school I feel like I shoud be rewarding him in some small way.

I made him a certificate which he loved and is in his room.

Ask around your friends and neighbours for dvds .....i bet u someone will have copy discs they will loan you.

can u cash generate any of the stuff you were intending to sell?

Make 'soup' or 'magic potions' while clearing the garden. Just need a container, stirring stick, water and garden bits: leaves, flowers, earth, pebbles etc

I prefer soup because I get to sit down to drink it whereas potions invariably turn me into a creature that has to chase them.

Try your nearest leisure centres that are organised and managed by your local council. They sometimes offer free sessions, especially during holidays period, of some sports like football, swimming etc for under 16s.

The thing is with these 'free' sessions kids need drinks and snacks and if other kids are having stuff out of the vending machines its awkward to produce yours from your bag.

I was thinking about this a bit today and what Id suggest is ....this is the last skint holiday you are going to have!!!

From here on in you can buy bits in the £1 shop- craft activities,water guns etc,shop around the charity shops for cheap books and puzzles,dressing up clothes etc etc,see if your leisure centre offers free swimming and apply for the passes...investigate all the museums and keep a checklist theres bound to be some you dont know about.

Next holiday your dc will be glad to be back at school for a rest!!!

Netmums has a good planner thing and loads of suggestions I've used. I do find being prepared is best when broke, tied to the house etc

Kids Craft Weekly,Crafty Crow and Activity Village are all good for craft,sheets etc.