15 Free or low cost things to do on school holidays

With the school holidays just around the corner and trying to save for our next holiday I have been looking at free or cheap ways to keep the brood busy for two weeks. Because the worst thing on school holidays to hear as a parent is I’m bored.

 This can be challenging enough but having a teen and a toddler (not a toddler anymore but he isn’t a big kid yet either) and everything in between finding activities that they can all enjoy can be dificult. I am lucky my children like similar things.

So don’t break the bank these school holidays, keep the kids entertained and keep mummy sain.

I have come up with a list of activities with the help of the children to keep them from driving me mad for two weeks.

* Movie afternoon/ night -Chantelle who loves her movies would like to have a movie afternoon at home, with popcorn. Can watch a favourite movie that you already own or most libraries you can hire movies out with just your library card.

*Board games – anything from monopoly to connect four card games like uno or go fish games are fun for everyone

*Cooking treats- cookies, cake and chocolate slice all easy for the children to make

 Moist Chocolate Cake – All Seven of Us

*Go to the local park- Walking if close enough to do so. Take a ball or a Frisbee so you have other options than just the play equipment.

*Art and craft- this can be as simple as drawing picture; collage is always a hit with a large age range just need glue paper and items to stick down. Scrap paper, scrap material, cut up straws, cupcake cases, pasta and rice anything you have laying around. Painting.

Liam’s Leaf Collage – All Seven of Us

*Telling stories around the kitchen table – just like you do at the campfire tell made up stories. Can always do the memory game starts like this when I went shopping, I brought a banana the second person would say when I went shopping, I brought a banana and a …. they choose next item everyone else follows on.

*Make a fort in the toy room (bedroom if you don’t have a toy room) and sleep in it. Some items you can make a fort from blankets, doonas pillows foam matrices cardboard boxes.

*Nurf war. Shooting each other with nurf guns. We usually rearrange the lounge room and hide behind the couches and shoot each other. I know another family who chase each other around the house and yard.

*Lego building challenge. Write on little bits of paper different objects. Pull out a piece of paper from a bowl and everyone has to build that out of the Lego a judge chooses the best one.

*Ride bikes as a family great bonding activity and get out into the fresh air and exercising at the same time.

*Colouring in. I enjoy this it’s quite relaxing we have colour in book and posters there is also great pictures you can print off the internet.

*Box construction. Making items out of recycled materials and sticky tape. So, keep hold of your cereal boxes and any other boxes from the kitchen when you empty them.

*Scavenger hunt- make a list of things to collect either around the house or out and about

Scavenger Hunt – All Seven of Us

*Check out the local Library they normally have activities to do on school holidays ours has craft making a lot one school holidays they made masks. These were free sometimes there is a small charge for consumables.

*Local shopping centres have activities on during school holidays also. We have done biscuit decorating. Superhero cape decorating these were all free

Next thing to do is to make your plan for the school holidays so you can get your activities organised. Set it up for morning and afternoon and there will be days where the activity can be done over morning and afternoon.

Have fun and enjoy these boredom busters. Hopefully there are less off the I’m bored I have nothing to do these school holidays and futu