School holiday survival kit

Savings when you need them most

Article: Calm in the Chaos

Date published: February 2025

Hello school holidays! While kids dream of endless days off, parents often feel like circus jugglers. If you're worried about stretching your money across the school holidays, you're not alone. Over half of British families (52%) fear they can't afford a short break or daily activities for their children during the holidays.

Help is here! This money-saving school holiday survival kit offers pocket-friendly tips and tricks to keep kids entertained without breaking the bank.

Making childcare costs manageable

Working parents now face an average bill of £175 per child per week for school holiday childcare – over £1,000 for the six-week break per child1. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed at those numbers. Let's try to get that four-figure sum down to three.

First grab the calendar and work out how much plate spinning you can do. Few working parents can take the full time off, even if they split annual leave with a partner over the school holidays to reduce childcare time. It comes down to covering the other weeks. Typically, parents have to use a combination of friends, family and formal childcare.

For example:

Local friendly parents often do childcare swaps – maybe they take your kids on Monday, you take theirs on Tuesday, and you both juggle work around that.

Grandparents, friends and family could be willing to do a day a week (or more if you’re lucky).

Then there might be a couple of weeks where you have to pay for formal childcare – a school holiday club or childminder.

Paid-for activities are run by the day or week across the country, often in school facilities. These cover sports, cookery, science and outdoor skills, and vary greatly in price, usually from £100 - £250 per week, per child, so it’s worth shopping around. 

Even with you absolutely bossing time management, you’ll probably still need to pay for some childcare days to cover the gaps. Our Upcoming Payments tool can help you keep on top of what’s due to go out of your account - along with standing orders, Direct Debits and any authorised regular payments – so you stay in control and can plan ahead to avoid any surprises. 

Prepping with regular savings

We all feel more in control with a bit of planning. Term times are locked in at the start of the school year so it’s good to use this to your advantage. Saving little and often ahead of time can be a game changer. Putting away £50 a month over the course of a year will give you an extra £600 to play with across the school holidays – plus a little extra if you put the cash into a savings account paying interest.

To really see the power of saving little and often, you can try our calculator on the Save & Invest tab on in our app.

And don’t forget to turn on Everyday Offers in the app. It’s free to use and you get up to 15% cashback on your everyday spending. Just pay with your Lloyds debit or credit card or by Direct Debit. Your cashback is paid directly into your account at the end of the following month – helping stretch your finances that little bit further in the school holidays. Retailer offers and cashback amounts vary.

Cheap days out are totally achievable

Planning a budget-friendly day out requires some preparation. Next, plan your day in advance. Being organised and thinking ahead can help you avoid unexpected costs and make the most of your outing.

One way of saving money is flipping the script on what makes a fun day. If you splurge on an activity one day, balance it with a free one the next. A park, a ball, and a few homemade sandwiches can make great memories without breaking the bank.

And you could take advantage of any free classes or events at your local community space, library, museums and galleries too.

There’s also a range of activities for children and young adults (and ideal support for parents) laid on by most local councils. These include Sure Start, Family Hub and Start for Life centres for younger children, but some councils also have links to local youth groups for older kids. Check out your council’s website for details. 

And if you do want to find somewhere to save so you can splash out on something a bit fancy, consider making a trade-off. Pausing one of your more rarely-used subscription services for three months, maybe. The money you save could go towards a trip to something fun - the seaside for fish and chips, and some funfair rides? 

Subscription Manager in the app gives you a handy view of all your debit card subscriptions. The ones you definitely need to keep (a lot of parents might say some streaming services are an essential spend with kids). And the ones you could probably live without (for a little while at least). Check out Subscription Manager to see where your money is really going, and how to claw some back.

Feed your kids for free

As we feel the impact of increased food prices, lots of parents fight back by making the most of free mealtimes. Every year loads of businesses step up to help parents during the holidays by offering ‘kids eat free’ (or very cheaply) deals. 

  • Some supermarkets with cafes regularly run deals where kids eat for free. Millions of meals have been enjoyed this way2 so you definitely won’t be the only one asking.
  • High street restaurants have also previously run ‘kids eat free’ offers. And sometimes shops with a cafe attached like to help parents out with special deals. Just search ‘kids eat free school holidays’ in your local area.
  • As the end of term nears, look out for the best offers near you. Money saving websites, like Money Saving Expert, update regularly with school holiday meal deals from big name brands.

Another potential tool in parents’ toolbox is the Government’s holiday activities and food (HAF) programme. Kids get healthy meals, fun activities, and free childcare places during the Easter, summer and Christmas school holidays. Get in touch with your local council to see if you're eligible and what’s available in your area.

Master your family finances

Pressure on parents to get it all 'right' is greater than ever. Kids are probably ready to catapult themselves through the school holidays at full speed but before the elastic snaps, keeping your finances in check can really help. And with a few money tricks up your sleeve, it’s easier to stay in control. So, when the end of term rolls around again, why not try some of the tips above? Enjoy family time, not emptying your bank account. 

 

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1 Families facing holiday childcare costs of up to £1,000 this summer, whilst shortages continue to grow - Coram Group : Coram Group

2 Asda’s popular £1 kids café meal deal extends all year round as it hits over 3 million meals ahead of Easter

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This information is correct as of February 2025 and is relevant to Lloyds Bank products and services only.