School holidays start next week for us. I don’t know about you, but I always find school holidays a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, we don’t have to worry about packing lunches and rushed, chaotic mornings. On the other hand, there’s the constant, “Muuuuum, I’m booooored” or “Muuuuum, what are we doing today?” – sometimes before you’ve even had your first coffee of the day!

If you’re anything like me though, you struggle with wanting to make the school holidays feel memorable, but without burning yourself out or breaking the bank. So I decided to make a list of some easy, low-prep but high-joy ideas that you can use to help make your school holidays magic without the mayhem (well…maybe a little mayhem)! 😅

Create A “Holiday Fun” Jar

At the start of the holidays, sit down with your kids and brainstorm 20-30 activities (some big, some small). Write them down on bits of paper and pop them into a jar. Then each morning (or when boredom strikes), let them pick out one activity to do! Some fun ideas for activities could include a backyard picnic, boardgame tournament, building a pillow/blanket fort, etc.

Paint & Sip

They paint, you sip! 😉 But seriously, do a paint & sip session at home! You can buy cheap, easy paint-by-number kits that you can do together, and some juices or easy mocktails (juice and sparkling water) for them to sip – and nobody would fault you if you sipped something a little harder or caffeinated yourself! Otherwise, just have a mini art session at home – lay out the paints, crayons, stickers, whatever you have on hand, and let the mess and magic happen! If you want to encourage their creativity, then try themed sessions like nature painting (using leaves, sticks, or vegetables as your brushes) or making collages out of old magazines and scrap paper.

DIY Snack Station

Turn morning and/or afternoon tea into a fun activity:

• Build-your-own fruit skewers – make it even more fun by using different shaped cutters to cut the fruit

• Make-your-own “toast art” – jam, peanut butter, fruit slices, sprinkles/chocolate chips

• Juice/Smoothie “lab” – experiment with different fruits and yoghurt and find the winning combo

Bonus: takes away the guess work of the usual “What do you want to eat?”

Another bonus: encourages some independence, plus they’re usually more likely to eat it if they made it themselves!

Baking

This is one of our favourite holiday activities! The only thing is, you’d think with my caking history that we’d be baking and decorating cupcakes, but no…our oldest likes baking cookies, which is my least favourite thing to bake! Regardless of what you decide to bake, baking with your kids is actually a great bonding but also learning experience for them (I might even do a separate blog post on this in the future)! And this is also an activity that just keeps giving – not only is the process super fun, but then you get to eat the finished products too! I’d say that just about makes up for the mess! 😉

Backyard (Or Lounge Room) Camping

Remember my pillow/blanket fort idea from earlier? Turn it into a whole camping experience. You don’t need a tent or perfect weather – it’s usually the idea of camping that they love, not the location! So build a fort, bring out the sleeping bags, tell stories by torchlight, and – the best part of camping – toast some marshmallows over the stove or make some s’mores in the microwave!

Movie Marathon

No, you won’t be a bad mum if you just give them screen time! Some days, it’s not only understandable, it’s encouraged! A pyjama and movie marathon day is a perfectly acceptable activity for the school holidays when you’re feeling low-energy and just need a break. If you want to take it up a notch from regular screen time, you can pick a theme like Disney, animals, or old school classics. Make it even more fun by letting the kids make movie tickets, and throw in some popcorn or a snack bar. Then add blankets, dim the lights, and voila – you have your own home cinema!

Free Holiday Activities/Programs

Have a look online at council/community places as there are often holiday activities or programs planned, some of which are even free (you just need to book early to get a spot)! Your local library is always a good one with lots of free activities for kids of different ages, otherwise you can check local parks and shopping centres as well. During the last school holidays, we attended a free Geckoes Wildlife Show at Redlands IndigiScapes Centre that gave us some beautiful memories to cherish. So jump online – you’ll be amazed what you’ll find!

I know I’ve given you quite a few ideas, but the most important thing is to remember that you don’t have to do it all – it’s about doing what fits your energy and season. You don’t have to schedule every hour, and you can definitely have chill days with nothing planned! At the end of the day, your kids won’t remember or care if the holiday activities you planned were Instagram-worthy; they’ll remember how you made them feel! The magic is in the little moments, and the mayhem will become memories. So mama, here’s your permission slip: take the pressure off, keep it simple, and just have fun!