Tuesday 17 January 2012

Frugal school holiday ideas..

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Who’s New Years resolution was to save money in 2012? Then this is the blog for you. My (growing) family and I have been living frugally for almost 4 months now. There have been a few stumbles and hiccups along the way, but hey, nobody’s perfect. The point is, we are doing our very best to use our money wisely and save where we can, and the results are beginning to show! I am excited to see what 2012 brings, especially as this is the year our family expands from three to four. A new baby will no doubt bring more financial pressures, so our living frugally experiment is sure to be very helpful.



Over the Christmas/ New Year period Little Lady and I spent two weeks at our church camp at Freshwater Creek, at the gateway to Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Hubby was working, but came up to join us when he could, and we all enjoyed some beautiful weather and much needed relaxation time. The day after arriving home however, Melbourne turned on it’s best performance and we were shrouded in a week of winter-like conditions. This meant no outside play, no beach, no walks, no playground, and also meant that Little Lady and I caught horrible chesty colds. After two days of this, the weather took an even further turn for the worse, which resulted in a 6am trip to the emergency room with a very sick little girl who ended up getting croup. So, with a sick toddler in the house, that also meant no more visitors. Little Lady perked up after 24 hours, but, still being under house arrest meant that I had to get creative with activities suitable for entertaining my very active almost-two-year-old.

This got me thinking about all those other mothers out there suffering through the schools holidays, trying to keep their children entertained and busy. Going to the movies, bowling, aquatic centres and the zoo are all great activities, but the cost adds up. Fast. And thus was born my latest list; Holiday Entertaining for The Frugal Family.

1.       Visit your local library. Remember books? At the library you can borrow them for a whole month. For FREE! They also have DVDs and audio books available. For FREE! Just make sure you return them on time.



2.       Get online and check out what’s happening at your local shopping centres. Over school holidays, most shopping centres run activities for kids at a minimal cost. Some of them are even (here’s the magic word again) FREE! These could be craft activities, shows featuring popular TV characters, petting zoos, interactive dance demonstrations and gardening workshops.



3.       Cook. With the evolution of shows like Masterchef, every kid wants to cook right? And there are so many child friendly recipes available now. You don’t even have to buy them! Everything’s available online. So put on aprons and start cooking. The ingredients don’t have to be expensive, no matter what you make, I guarantee the kids will love it.



4.       Make popcorn, close all the blinds, get comfy and have a movie day at home. Borrow DVDs from the library for free, or for a minimal cost from your local rental place. Again, make sure you return them on time.



5.       Have a water fight. Gone are the days where we could run under the sprinklers, but a few buckets, some water pistols and some water balloons can be just as fun.



6.       Build a cubby. Indoor or outdoor, it doesn’t matter. Some chairs, a table, some old blankets, or a big tree in the backyard are all you need. Bring the dolls and teddies and have a picnic. Or, bring out the water pistols and nerf guns, and the cubby becomes a fort. Hours of fun!



7.       Make playdoh. Cheap and simple, I have a fool proof recipe that I have been using for years. Some rolling pins, cookie cutters and plastic cutlery, and your littlies will be happy for ages.



8.       Craft. Paint, draw, glue, make pasta jewellery, sew, knit, make puppets, paper mache, clay, beads, stickers, the options are endless! My personal favourite is emptying the recycle bin and constructing various things with masking tape and glue.



9.       Visit the local playground, kick a ball and play hide and seek.



10.   Visit your local botanic gardens, have a picnic, go for a walk and feed the ducks.



11.   The beach. Always a winner.



12.   Lego. I bet nearly everyone has a box of lego lying around somewhere. Combine it all and build a mega city.



13.   Ride bikes. There are safe bike tracks everywhere. Take a picnic.



14.   Invite some friends over and play board games.



15.   Sensory play. Rice, shaving cream, sand, “slime” or coloured water. One for the littlies, but I bet a lot of bigger kids will love it too.



School holidays need not be expensive. These are just a few ideas that I have come up with. There are so many cheap things to do if you get a bit creative. Just remember, parental involvement is mandatory for most activities. So, embrace your inner child and enjoy yourself!



PLAYDOH RECIPE:

2 cups plain flour

4 tablespoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 cup salt

2 cups boiling water

Food colouring

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If necessary, add extra flour until you reach desired consistency. Store in a plastic bag.

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