MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry reveals how parents can save money this December with cheap and free activities
December is filled with activities thanks to Christmas, but that also means it’s the most expensive school holiday break for many people every year.
Not only do parents have to handle the costs of Christmas gifts, activities, travel, and food, but they also have to manage the costs of having children at home and needing entertainment for at least two weeks.
These cheap and free things to do in December will help keep activity costs low for parents this Christmas.
Have an open house
One of the most time-consuming and financially draining parts of the Christmas school holidays is having to always be on the go, visiting friends and family.
If you have the space at home, consider holding an open house day where people come to you by dropping in as they wish across the day. This means you’ll need to supply food and drink, but can get most of your festive socialising done in one go. Hosting does cost some money, but there are lots of budget options and great deals on party food at this time of year – and you won’t need to spend on attending lots of different parties and their associated gifts.
If you don’t have the space for an open house or this sounds like an utter nightmare to you, consider a parenting swap club. Arrange playdates with younger kids for one morning or afternoon with a friend, and then have your friend return the favour. This saves money on babysitting fees, tires kids out, and gives you a few hours of free time.
Make your decorations
Christmas crafts are a great way to stay entertained even on cold, rainy December days. It’s even better if the end result is a decoration to add to your festive décor.
Craft kits don’t have to be expensive: The Works, Flying Tiger, and B&M all offer budget-friendly options. But making your own festive decorations doesn’t have to cost anything at all. Use cardboard from your recycling stash to cut out and paint festive scenes; use toilet rolls to make your own Christmas crackers; or cut up magazines or leftover wallpaper for paper chains. If you’ve got a stash of yarn from a forgotten knitting habit, make fun pompoms and string them together for festive bunting.
If you have rolls of brown parcel paper, this is easily turned into homemade wrapping paper, to. Go on a walk with the kids to find interesting shapes like leaves and pine cones, and use them to stamp patterns on the brown paper to wrap gifts in.
Sign up to subscription free trials
The school holidays are a great time to try new streaming subscriptions with free trials. Most are for at least two weeks if not 30 days, so check the free trial period before you sign up to make sure you have the freebie across the holidays.
Everything from Bookbeat for audiobooks, Kindle and Kobo for ebooks, and Readly for magazines, as well as streamers like Disney+ and Paramount offer free trials. Sign up and set reminders on your phone to cancel the trial before you’re charged!
Look for a YouTube Premium free trial to skip adverts. You can also search on YouTube for online classes, family workouts, and interactive things to do together for free. Vlogmas is a big deal too, which means lots of creators put out a new video every day of December – so there’s always something new to view each day.
Have a Christmas danceathon
Get rid of that buzzy energy by getting into the spirit with Christmas music! Get together with your kids to learn a new TikTok dance or make up your own. There are loads of Christmas playlists to choose from on YouTube for free, or simply tune in to the radio as you’re guaranteed to have some festive music on at this time of year.
You can make it more challenging with dance games, such as not being able to repeat the same move twice for an entire song. If you want to really get into the spirit, give each other festive makeovers before you film your dance together to keep as a memory forever!
Have a hot chocolate and movie afternoon
Set up a hot chocolate station and let everyone pick a Christmas film for a marathon – or for each night in the run-up to Christmas, if more than one movie isn’t in your attention spans.
Hot chocolate is a super cosy winter drink that is easily customised with little extras like whipped cream, marshmallows, mini candy canes and the like. It can be budget thanks to instant hot chocolate options, or luxury like Knoops chocolate flakes.
Try a new restaurant
Eating out with the family can rack up the bills but there are ways to save money. During the school holidays, lots of places will run offers that mean kids eat free or cheap when the adult buys a meal – significantly cutting the cost. Or, they have ‘feed the family’ deals which keep the cost down, too.
You can also try discount cards to save money on eating at a restaurant, too. People who sign up to the Lidl Plus app (which is free) can then claim a 90-day free Tastecard membership, which gives you 50% off or two-for-one deals on hundreds of chain and independent restaurants, cafes and now even takeaways.
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