10 Easy Things to Do With Kids on School Holidays (Sane-Mum Cheats/Ideas)

Didn't we just have school holidays? I'm sure we did! If you're like me and starting to think about easy things to do on the school holidays that will keep the kids happy (and you sane), then this is just the blog post for you! Read on for 10 sane-mum cheats/ideas.

It can be hard to stay sane over the school holidays. Ours usually start well. The kids are happy to hang out with their friends, use screens, play games, walk to the shops, and make cakes, while I am happy to sleep in, potter around, and complain about how messy the house is. But, by the end of the holidays, we can all go a bit crazy with cabin fever. The kids are sick of Monopoly (and each other's faces), and get bratty because they're bored, so then we don't do much because they're bratty (feral) and it seems too hard to get them out anywhere without losing my mind.

You get it, right? Like, a family trip to the zoo seems waaay too hard (and expensive), and I just wouldn't have the energy to take them to the pool or the beach. So, here is a list of SANE-MUM cheats/ideas. What are sane-mum cheats/ideas? Ideas that are cheap and simple, and that don't take up too much non-existent energy. We've got this!

What to do on the School Holidays - 10 Sane-Mum Cheats/Ideas

1. The Library

The library is so underrated! There are books, of course, but there is also music, movies, puzzles, games, dress ups, electronic devices and all sorts of goodies to borrow, all for free. But, you know what else they have over the school holidays? Sessions for kids! Craft sessions, make-your-own zine sessions, Lego-building sessions, origami, all sorts of things. Our library is even running some sessions over Zoom, so you wouldn't even need to leave the house! Honestly, the library is the best. Get on it. Or in it. Whatever works for you.

2. The Botanic Gardens

Admittedly, 3/5 kids would groan at this one, but I bloody love the botanic gardens so they can suck it up. They'd probably complain on the way and love it afterwards anyway. It is just so beautiful! The kids can run around and expel some energy, bug hunt, learn to follow maps, treasure hunt (If the garden doesn't have activity sheets for kids, then you could easily make your own. Find a: Butterfly, purple flower, fluffy leaf, bee, etc), and collect nature pretties for craft projects or a memory jar. Our botanic gardens also have the odd school holiday workshop that you could book your little loves in for, like the Pollinators Garden Workshop for 2-5 year olds that my twinnies would LOVE (but it's happening on the Friday BEFORE the holidays start. Boo.)

3. The Local Playground

Spice it up with a picnic or fish n' chips (or a BBQ if you're feeling a bit organised). Take a frisbee, a footy, or a bucket to collect some bugs or flowers. Fill a thermos, take a hat and a book, and spend your time catching, pushing, watching, waving, following, and reading, all out in nature. Kids well and truly over the local playground? Challenge yourself to find the best closest playground and go on a playground crawl or do some research online. Some playgrounds are super cool and you probably won't have to travel too far to find one.

If it is wet or cold (or if one of your kids is a runner and you need them more confined), then I totally recommend an indoor play center. The kids can't get out, and you get to stay warm and comfortable. Last time I took my kiddos to an indoor play center, I even took my laptop and got some work done. Freakin' sane-mum WIN!!

4. Bunnings

Okay, stick with me here. Bunnings is a great sane-Mum activity for Aussie mums. There is a toilet, a cafe, and a gated playground so that the kids can play and you get to leave the house in your trakkie pants, drink coffee, and call it a Mum-win! Now, here's the cherry on top: Bunnings also runs sessions for kids over the holidays! Art and craft, woodwork, painting, and colouring competitions. Last holidays, I even saw some kids making fairy gardens (but my kids couldn't because we hadn't booked them in. So, hot tip, check out what's on ahead of time and book your kiddos in). Now, if you don't make a holiday session, that's okay, because Bunnings is a bit like a wonderland, so you can find craft kits, D.I.Y. sheets, soil and seeds, paint, and all sorts of supplies to keep your kiddies occupied all holidays long.

5. Maccas

McDonald's totally counts. Food, playground, caffeine, toilets. Happy kids. Getting outside the house. Winning. Message someone to meet you there and talk crap while the kids eat crap and play. Sanity in a Happy Meal.

NO MUM SHAMING! Going to Maccas is fine, just don't do it every day.

6. Shopping Centre Events

Shopping centres often run events for children over the school holidays to attract more people to do more shopping. My kids have made rainbow bath salt bags and patted a snake in different shopping centre events, creating cool memories and useful things to take home that are usually free. My only warning here is that these events can get pretty busy and you usually need to wait in a line for a while. Make sure you pack snacks, toys, and water.

7. Markets

Markets usually have food, free live music, and things for kids to do, perhaps a craft table, a petting zoo, or maybe a giant Connect Four. One market we went to, the kids were able to make their own free smoothie with fruit, milk, and yogurt by peddling on a bike connected to a blender. At another market, the kids came home with fresh fruit and packets of seeds. At a third, they brought home free popcorn and drink bottles. It could just be that we live in a great shire with a particularly fantastic monthly farmer's market, but I tend to think that you'll find these sorts of things at other markets around.

8. Shire-run Activities

Now, again, I'm going to assume that this isn't just our shire, and that other places do this too. Ours runs free activities for youth throughout the school holidays. I have booked one of my kids to go paintballing next week, and another to go on a guided asylum tour. There are also gaming competitions, bike workshops, and even White Card and first aid training classes. The shire also facilitates a free physical activities program for all ages, where you can find everything from Mini Movers for 3-6 year olds, Learn to Skate classes, Adult Beginner Ballet Classes, and Soft Tennis for over 50s. Check out what your shire has on offer. You might be surprised.

9. Use Pinterest

Pinterest is a fantastic sane-mum hack. Go and try it. Type in 'school holiday activities at home', or 'free things to do with kids', and you will have hundreds upon hundreds of ideas. You could even make it an activity with the kids to create a 'school holiday activity' board and save all of the ideas you want to do together. This is how we ended up bobbing for apples in a bucket one holiday. Random, cheap, easy, and fun.

10. Playdough

This last suggestion is for those days when anyone looking at anyone else starts something, your blood runs cold every time you hear 'Mum', and you really. Really. Just. Can't.

Playdough is not just for toddlers. I have five children, and my eldest is now fourteen. They all love playdough. I love playdough. I use THIS recipe from ThermoBliss (it starts off warm!) and give each kid their own colour. Pull a whole heap of random kitchen items out of that second drawer, and let them go to town. Make food, people, cities, houses, animals, patterns, have competitions - who can make the silliest face or the best old man, or just use it as a sensory item to squish, roll and poke.

Want to level up? Try slime. At least two of my children try to make their own slime with random ingredients found in the house every holidays anyway. You may as well roll with it.

11. Give The Perfect Gift

Surprise! Here's a bonus suggestion for you. There's a book, created by this really cool mum of 5 (aka. me) called, 'The Perfect Gift'. It's a fill-in-the-blank, all-occasion gift book. Cheap to buy, fun to fill in, and makes the perfect gift. School holiday ideas:

• Buy a copy for each member of your family. Put all names in a hat, draw a name each, and fill in a book for that family member.

• Get the kids to fill in a book for their grandparents.

• Get the kids to fill in a book for each other.

• Get a head start on Christmas gifts or the next birthdays. You could get a single child to fill in a book for one person, or make it a family activity to complete a book together.

There is a spot at the back where you could stick in photos, so you could also take some happy snaps as part of the family activity. Whether you make it a nice family portrait, or something staged and silly, is up to you.

The Perfect Gift - Aust - $13.99AUD

The Perfect Gift - US - $8.31USD

Keep the kids occupied for a while, get organised, and look like you're one of the got-it-all-together mums. Sane-mum win!

What other things would you add to the list of sane-mum school holiday cheats/ideas?

Let me know how you go over the holidays and what you end up getting up to.

Much love,

Marley