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5 cheap holiday activities to do at home

School holidays are upon us! This can generally mean an expensive time of year for many families. We've put together 5 of the cheapest activities your kids can do at home these holidays to help you out.

Mother and daughter taking selfies with phone

Holidays can be an expensive time for parents, so to help you out, we've shortlisted 5 super cheap (and fun) activities to do with the kids these school holidays. 

1. Buy a notebook and have the kids write a holiday diary

This activity is a good one for any age and is a great way to get your kids to think creatively and practice their literacy and art skills while on holidays! Depending on the age of your child you might like to sit with them each day to draw a picture or write a sentence or two about what they did that day. Younger children may want to tell you the story to write while older children will be able to write it themselves. It’s a great quiet activity and kids will love having input into deciding when and how they will fill it out.

Cost: $2.50 for a notebook

2. Visit your local library and hire books to read

Libraries are a great way for kids to get interested in reading without breaking the budget. Local council libraries are free to join and will let you hire a number of books at once. It is also a great way to teach children about looking after property and remembering to return the books or renew them when they are due.

Cost: Free!

3. Make sock puppets

Got a few pairs of socks that have seen better days? Making sock puppets is a great indoor or outdoor activity and is a fun way to learn about recycling objects around the house. With a bit of glue (or thread), some googly eyes (or buttons) and wool your kids will be on the track to making their very own sock puppet. Why not work on writing a story to act out with their sock puppets at the same time?

Cost: Maximum of $10 for a bag of googly eyes, glue/thread and some wool for hair

4. Have an outdoor picnic

Come up with a menu everybody agrees on and get preparing – by lunch time you’ll have everything you need ready for an outdoor picnic. Put out a rug and spend some time watching clouds and looking out for birds and other wildlife in the garden.

Cost: The cost of a lunch at home

5. Go for a walk

We all know there’s plenty of health benefits to going for a walk – from clearing your mind to getting some cardio exercise. You could walk to your local playground and look out for certain object along the way. Why not create a list of things to look out for before leaving the house and get your child to tick them off as you find them.

Cost: Free!

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