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

lilly81

Hi Guys,

This morning I said to my DS would you like to do a teddy bears picnic in the living room one day in the holidays, he thinks its such a great idea that he wants to do it friday afternoon as soon as he leaves school!

Today I bought a christmas TV guide, there r some good films on.I'm planning to do HM popcorn and a movie a few times in the hols.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Sorry to hear about your job loss ,I hope things pick up soon.

The ideas so far are great, my kids love to go round the charity shops even if they don't spend anything its fun to see what there is.

have you tried your local church for carol services? I don't know if it is your religion but they are free, its xmassy and everyone knows the carols! Where I live we have 'carols round the square' and the whole neighbourhood turns up, sometimes there ar 1,000+ people there, dogs etc, its got the feel of a football match and great fun! You could meet up with his pals from school and other parents.

Hope you find a job soon

fizzel81

Hi Lilly im a single mum of 3 so sending you a hug, i know many have been suggested but here are a few things i do wih mine

one of the things my boys love most is a dvd/pyjama day:embarasse (not to evreyones taste) we snuggle up on sofa under a duvet with a selection of dvd's to watch

we go to the park (just wrap up well when cold) visit the library aftewards to warm up

i have a nice selection of board games that mine have just started to play with many were either brought as gifts or local charity shops

when its raining they have waterproof suits and wellys and we go puddle splashing then come home and have a hot chocolate to warm up again

teddys lunch as we call it, they help me make sandwichs which we then eat

goodluck with the job hunting x

Prudent

Your post took me right back. Six years ago, I had my first Christmas as a single mum. I had just moved into a new home- which was in a shocking state of disrepair. I had so many costs involved in the move that I ran out of money and work messed up my pay. They offered to pay the December's pay at the end of January. On 28th december my dd got a high temperature and I had no money to buy calpol! Thankfully a kind neighbour helped out by giving us some

From what I remember we unpacked, visited friends, had friends to visit and did lots of artwork, stories and played silly games.

I hope you get a new job soon and have a really special Christmas

pennypinchingmum

hi, Sorry to hear you are struggling. It is such a diffilcult time of year if your on a tight budget. I have 3 children and i seem to be spending endless amounts of money this christmas but reading this thread has reminded me of how much fun christmas can be with no money at all.
i have a few suggestions to help with passing the time.
I enjoy playing games that we make up. Spend a bit of time making score cards with a number from 1 to 10 on each. They form the basis for so many games with kiddies.
Then ask your litle one to pretend to be an elephant (for example) with out making a noise and see what he comes up with. Then hold up a score.

Continue on with a dance, a song ,more animals and even some obscure ones like the wind or the sky. It gets there imaginations going and will have you in stitches.
When he starts to get bored swap. Then he'll get to score you.

My 3 adore this sort of game though i wouldnt do it before bed as it tends to get them a little hyper (not that that takes much with mine :-))

Have a fab xmas.

Primrose

Are you a member of your local library if you have one nearby? Libraries are free to join and have a selection of books you can borrow. They also sometimes run activity sessions for children in the school holidays, and have noticeboards advertising local activities which might be of interest.
Local "Observation" walks can be fun if the weather isn't too cold. Write down a list to things to look out for, and tick them off as you see them, i.e. A black dog, a red car. A robin. A particular flower.
After Christmas, you can cut up Christmas cards and make little tags of them to save for hanging on your Christmas tree next year.
You can also bake simple cheesy pastry shapes by using jar jar lids or other shapes.

dronid

Gosh, everyone’s come up with some good ideas! One of the best things you can do – and it’s free and something you can do is spend time together. Trust me, he’ll remember this as the best Christmas if you can do that. Make sure he’s involved in the food and making decorations and it’ll stick in his head far more than one’s he gets to just spectate because of lack of time.

A couple of suggestions. My mother used to harvest ivy and holly from some we have in the garden as decorations – everyone used to comment on it and the main reason she started because it was free. If you have any in your garden etc it’s a good thing to use – sometimes people are keen to get rid of ivy as it damages their trees.

How about swapping DVD’s and books between yourself and the parents of your son’s friends. It’s likely you’ll have different ones and means none of you have to buy any.

Also speak to your local council – often they’ll have or know of events on in the area – often rather poorly publicised. Also check the council website – they have an events page at http://www.oxford.gov.uk/news/events.cfm.

Finally, if you have reasonable internet access there’s lots of stuff on there for children. Most friends’ children are fascinated by Google Earth where you can virtually travel across the world and see distant places.

Best of luck on looking for work!

sweetnskint

-how about scrapbooking!
-a winter wildlife diary might be good!- you could go out hunting for wildlife and counting bugs and learning about them and how they live!
-painting stones is good too!
-flower or leaf pressing always good (can make things with them).
- i would visit the library lots leaflets of things to do in ours.
-good time to make pompoms,knit or sew!

-but whatever you decide...have fun-they grow up so fast!
merry christmas to everyone and hope you all make the most of the school holidays!

lilly81

Today s the first day of the holiday, this is what we have done so far:

*Gave DS 2 cardboard rolls, he has coloured them in as light saber and we have had a battle!
*Made teddy bear shaped biscuits for teddy bear picnic 2moz

we are going to watch miracle on 34th on more4 at 1:30pm with HM popcorn
Going to a friends house tonight for dinner :j

pigpen

I have a whole brood of children so doing anything that requires money is a no-no

I find over the christmas holidays there is less need to spend money or go places mine are more than happy to spend hours and hours playing with their new stuff.

We go to the pantomime but that is saved for all year. We have a family gathering on boxing day .. my parents and siblings and their other halves etc all descend on my hovel, we do a 'party' (sandwiches salad and help yourself style) but on the whole I don't think children NEED to be entertained they find their own entertainment. Children who are able to find enjoyment from the things they have and their own imagination are a credit to the parents who have taught them to be independant and self sufficient.

For extra stimulation maybe invite a school friend round, or a bit of baking, paper chains with strips of wrapping paper etc.. A lot of local galleries and museums are free as is the library.