School holiday fun and frugality

School holiday fun and frugality

By Frank and Muriel Newman

School holidays are a great opportunity for family fun time. Living off the smell on an oily rag is as much about fun as it is frugality so we thought we would have a look at ways to have fun with the kids without high cost. Here are some tips.

· Go take a hike! Take the family on bush walks. Encourage them to appreciate nature. Most cities have a number of bush walks. Make an adventure by climbing local landmarks. Why not add some fun by having a historical mystery tour of the city or town.

· Take a tour of local businesses. Some of the larger businesses and arty crafty places have free tours either as information service tours or in the hope that you will buy stuff while you are there. Other places to visit may include: vineyards, a dairy farm, horse stables, a chicken farm, the local dog pound, a paint and panel shop, the waste water treatment station(!), a local council meeting, the airport.

· Hiring a video is much cheaper than taking the family to the movies. A recent release hire costs half the price of a single admission ticket to the movies, and what’s more you can usually have it for a number of days. This gives you the chance to swap videos with your friends and invite a group around for a BYO in-house movie theater evening. Cook up some popcorn, or caramel corn or chocolate coated ice creams for something special, dim the lights, and action!

· Try back-yard camping. Pitch a tent on the lawn, have a campfire, open up a can of baked beans and sausages, and toast bread over the fire. And what’s even better, when nature calls you will have the convenience of using your own loo, and if the weather turns bad you can shelter in the house! Now that’s camping without inconvenience. One nameless oily rag family recalls they loaded up their camper van and set off on a grand adventure. They drove around the block, only to park back in their own driveway and camp the night. The kids still recall it as one of their most memorable holidays!

· Have a games evening. Board games are great family fun and they are cheap to buy at garage sales, or better still, cost nothing when borrowed from friends. There are lots of games that are educational and fun, so it’s a win-win. Why not set aside a regular games evening?

· If you do want to have a meal out with voracious teenagers (who happen to eat more than an adult) take them to an all-you-can-eat buffet. And don’t forget to tell them this is the only meal they are going to get this week! Imagine the look on the proprietor’s face if you were to turn up with a bus-load of hungry teenagers!

· How about giving a day to volunteer work. There’s no end of charities doing good work in the community that would welcome some assistance for the day.

· Visit your local library. Not only are there lots of books but many have interesting activities hosted by interesting people. Our local library in Whangarei has some fantastic activities that are greatly enjoyed by our grandkids (and their grandparents!).

· The Ministry of Education website has lots of ideas, including this one: get your kids to write a couple of ideas for things to do in the holidays and put them in a jar. Pull one out each day to do. These could be inexpensive activities, such as cooking, or having a friend over for an afternoon.

· Another of their suggestions is to have your kids find some music and make up a dance, or find a favourite story and make up a play. Maybe they can invite some family or friends over for the performance.

Do you have a favourite activity for children that you would like to share with readers? If so, please send it to us at www.oilyrag.co.nz or write to Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.

*Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Readers can submit their oily rag tips on-line at www.oilyrag.co.nz. The book is available from bookstores and online at www.oilyrag.co.nz.

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