How do I cope with the school holidays and no money?

Dobie

Sorry to hear your news. Good luck in finding another job.

Some fab. ideas here. You can always depend on Oldstylers in a crisis!

Not much to add but you could try your local charity shops for cheap toys, games, books etc.

You could also 'go on holiday at home'. Pretend that you're just visiting the area you live in whilst on holiday. Where would you go? What would you do? What are the unmissable sights locally? Sit down with your son & plan a day out as if you were in a strange place. Take a picnic for lunch or you could come home for lunch but make it special by setting the table & having a menu as if you were in a restaurant. Prepare some of his favourite foods before you go out to save time then off you go again for the afternoon adventures.

kippers

I once made a paper-machie hill/tunnel with my DD1 & DD2. They spent hours making it out of a cardboard box and papermachie. They moulded it so it was a tunnel to run their train set thru it. They painted it and made lego houses and fields with their farm animals....it was hugh...table sized. They spent days doing it. Maybe you could use it as a xmas holiday project?

What about making paper chains for you Ds1 to decorate his bedroom...just colour old paper and cut into strips and link together.

Take a walk in the park and collect pine cones and put some glue on and sprinkle with glitter then hang on the tree...cheap but a lovely activity.

We have an advent calender with pockets. I put a riddle in each day (googled 'riddles' on the internet) and the girls get a choccy if they get the answer (i do help sometimes so they don't miss out on a daily choccy). When they were younger i would hide a chocolate and put a 'clue' in the pocket and they would have to find it. If you already have a calender then turn it into a xmas holiday game...you don't even have to use choccies...you can hide anything.

Have you got a pressy for your DS1? Do you need help meal planning? Are you sorted for xmas dinner? We can give you loads of advice on this board.

DianneB

Hi, how about waiting till it's dark and having a walk round your neighbourhood looking at all the decorations? Talk about them and choose the 'best'. Look for a christingle carol service where the children get a candle to carry. Do you have any relatives who might add the price of a couple of cinema tickets to your christmas present? Buy a bar of cheap chocolate and make rice krispie cakes, simple, fun and messy!! Enjoy the two weeks of not having to get up early and rush to school.

Merry christmas to you both and good luck with the job hunting in the new year.

purpleivy

What about looking out for donations on Freecycle, or putting out a request for suitable items. At this time of year a lot of people are making room for the stuff their kids will get at Christmas.

lilly81

Thanks for all the response guys!

I had an unexpected giro arrive in the post this morning, apparently when you stop working they give you 4 weeks extra working tax, which is such a relief!
I still don't want to spend much money as I have a debt and will be totally relient on benefits until I find work, I have been looking DAILY for three weeks but have only found 4 jobs to apply for
I live n a town in south Oxfordshire, have been for a wonder today, we have a free museum that we have never been to, and a bookshop that does story time. The local library does nothing for school aged kids.
Kids DVD are actually cheaper in blockbusters than the library.
DS1 is having 2 friends to sleep over new years eve, as I dont go out and dont mind helping others. We will have a special evening with xmas crackers at dinner time.
Thinking about it he has another friend that I could invite for a different time for a sleep over.
The cinema do have a saturday morning junior movie, £1 a ticket so that would be worth checking out.
Another idea I have had is a board game day, as he loves them.
I also have a literacy pack I got from th freebies board.
How do I make the salt n flour decorations????
Definatly will do some baking, I try and do this with him once a week :j
Thanks for all the tips, if anybody has anymore please feel free to add

Lilly X

freebiequennie

if you look on your local council website it should have local walks on there we did one this weekend with family who came to stay was a 5mile walk took us 2 and half hrs with the children (8,12,14) and then came home and had home made veg soup and a pk 12 tesco value rolls between us so very cheap day!!

are there any christmasy things going on in your area that are free look on www.netmums.com

maybe contact your local care home and ask if you can take him to visit some of the old people there who dont have relatives visit over the xmas period perhaps he could make them a card or some biscuits to take along. (we used to do this as kids and loved it)

do you have a neighbour/friend who has a child the same age perhaps they could come to play for a day and then your child can goes to theirs for a day.

do you have bikes? maybe go for a cycle ride

remember even if it is wet and muddy and cold you can wrap up warm and walk/cycle anyway and if things get dirty they can always be washed.

picklepick

heres a link for a saltdough recipe
have fun!

http://www.yourfamily.org.uk/family_fun/days_in/make_it/make_your_own_salt_dough

SunnyGirl

Here is the play dough recipe that I was given 14yrs ago when my daughter was in nursery! My 3 have all loved it & I've cooked up batches many times for school and various friends. My 14 yr old son will still sit and play with this as long as nobody notices him partaking in such an uncool activity

I use a standard coffee mug for the measurements.

1 Cup plain flour
1/2 Cup Salt (normal cooking stuff not the sea/rock salt)
1 Cup water mixed with food colouring of your choice
1 Tablespoon cooking oil
2 Teaspoons of cream of tartar

Put the flour, salt, cream of tartar into a pan. Add the water, food colouring & oil and turn the heat on. Keep stirring until the mixture has become a big blob - only a couple of minutes. Remove from the pan & knead briefly.

This keeps for a good 2 - 3 months in an old ice cream tub or similar. You can make as many lurid mixtures of colours as you want. Bright reds, blues, yellows & lime greens seemed to be popular with my boys.

Good luck finding a new job & enjoy the time together in the meantime.

carebabe

1. menu plan and batch cook

2. use coupons to eek out your budget

3. go through clothes books & toys with a view to ebaying them after xmas

4. each make a wish list of 5 things you would like to do next year

5. make photo calendars together as gifts for grandmas?aunts

QueenBeruthiel

Check out any activities going on in your local community hall/church hall - both for now and for the future.

Any parks in the area you haven't yet visited which might have something different: bouncy castle; boating lake - check your local authority website.

It's panto season! Are your local am dram group putting on a show? They are usually inexpensive - and fun!

Local cinema - already mentioned.

Record the family films on TV this Xmas to watch with his pals after a kick around in the park.

Good luck!