The holidays are coming! In a few short days, the school holidays will be upon on us. I literally can not wait! I'm one of those mums who love school holidays with her kids and want the holidays to linger for as long as possible. This term, for us, has been far bigger than the 10 weeks we have all just travelled. It stung, but here we are a couple of days away from the final day of term two.
It would be nice to go away over the holidays, and it would be lovely to have a holiday where we could throw money at a number of fun and crazy activities, but that is not the kind of holiday we are going to have this break.
Most families with more than one or two children find holiday times difficult because we don't have 'mad money' to splurge and go a little nuts with.
Guess what, though?!
Just because the finances are tight, doesn't mean you can't have fun, it means you get a chance to be creative, and find ways to enjoy the holidays.
Tight doesn't mean boring.
So here we go, Ready?
1. Family bike rides
2. Game night - don't buy games, go to the cupboard, swap with friends, borrow from the library, invite friends over!
3. Neighborhood walks - family walks around the block, on the beach, mix it up and walk in the evenings or early mornings
4. Family project - work on the yard, or make over a room. If there isn't any money, just take everything out of the room and clean the walls, thorough carpet cleaning, toss out rubbish, and clean the windows.
5. Sports training - Get some families together for a game of whatever you like. Most sporting grounds can be used for free during the week.
6. Baking Day - Make some yummy foods with ingredients you have in the cupboard. Challenge kids to come up with some ideas.
7. Laundry Day - Sounds boring, but lets face it everyone loves clean sheets and clean clothes.
8. Family movie night - Whether you love Disney movies, or you love Narnia , or Harry Potter, get together and watch it together. Put the phones down and be present with the kids. Talk about favourite and best bits!
9. Wash the Cars.
10. Take some fun photos in different locations - mountains, beach, urban spots
11. Slumber party - whether just with the family, or with the friends!
12. Create a scrapbook - pull out the family photos and get creative together. Use what you have, and just enjoy the process.
13. Have a garage sale - Holidays are a great time to organise a garage sale.....or a facebook marketplace sale.
14. Hang out with friends - meet at the park or the beach for a picnic
15. Attend church together
16. Go rollerblading
17. Hang out at the library for a few hours. most libraries have lots of activities on over the holidays.
18. Create a home version of a popular game show
19. Walk the dog or the neighbor's dog
20. Wander through Bunnings
21. Get creative for the afternoon - have a maker afternoon. Learn to knit or crotchet, sew!
22. Play flag football
23. Play Wii Fit or Xbox Kinect
24. Create homemade birthday or holiday cards
25. Take youtube classes - drawing, cooking, learn a new language etc
26. Create a family tree with the kids
27. Lie on a blanket and search for constellations/stars
28. Go on a family picnic
29. Have a family barbecue
30. Create emergency plans (fire escape)
31. Get comfy around a outdoor fire, and read a couple of chapters of a book you want to read to the kids. Think Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, The faraway Tree, etc
32. Create a history timeline
33. Create and practice a family play
34. Driving lessons with children who have their learners.
35. Go visit some Display houses
36. Create a family recipe book
37. Ask Seri to tell you jokes
38. Start a collection (coins, rocks, beads, etc.)
39. Create legacy videos with Grandparents. Invite grandparents over and ask them about what their lives were like when they were kids, ask if they wouldn't mind it being videoed
40. Go through family photos and make albums or some photo books.
41. Have a scavenger hunt
42. Go to the beach! Even in winter the beach is amazing!
43. Work on a puzzle
44. Climb a mountain
45. Create a list of local "kids eat free" locations and days and eat at one
46. Create a family handshake
47. Create a family mission statement
48. Have a fun science day - do a project
49. Label all the things in your house with a new language you want to learn
50. Have a push-up contest (dad has child on his back to level the playing field)
51. Go to all the Art Galleries on the Sunshine Coast or pick a couple of areas
52. Visit homeless shelters and give out meals
53. Playground crawl. Go to as many playgrounds as you can over the holidays
54. Have a home "professional" photo shoot (kids act as the "professionals")
55. Watch reruns of old shows that were popular when you were young
56. Go on a nature hike
57. Have a scavenger hunt
58. Play hide-and-seek
59. Create a time capsule and bury it in the backyard
60. Perform magic tricks
61. Collect and paint rocks
62. Have a Google hangout or Skype call to out of town family
63. Start a garden
64. Go op shopping
65. Take things to the ops hop
66. Have a formal dinner at home (complete with servers, menu, dressing up, etc.)
67. Collect seashells
68. Go fishing
69. Hang pictures in the house
70. Paint a bedroom
71. Listen to old school music (make the kids sing and dance along)
72. Have a family house party (kids play family DJ)
73. Watch old/classic movies
74. Fly kites at the beach
So here we are...74 ideas to make the holidays fun, and very little money will be spent! Fingers crossed!
Let me know what plans you have for the holidays...your ideas might help when my last options are cleaning the pantry or sorting out the garage.
