How do you afford it!!

Hi i have a 6 year old and we take him on hoilday every year.

We go to first choice hoilday villages as there great for children however i week costs £600 allinclusive so how do you do it if you have 3!!!

I always wounder do you still take your children to lego land etc, swimming or do you try and adoid it as you have to pay for lots if you have 3.

I have afford it as i have 1 but 3 i def couldnt!!!

I've got three and used to take them to places like Legoland, and that sort of thing but realised that it was costing a small fortune, probably more than I should have been spending but wanted to give them the best.
I tend to still take them out but to do smaller things such as going to soft play places, or going 10 pin bowling etc.
Hoidays become more difficult becuase most places cater for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) not 3 kids (and in my case 1 adult).
At the end of the day it all comes down to money and how much is available at the time.

If someone can't afford to take all their children out at the same time, they probably can't afford them at all, unless you are taking them to expensive places a few days a week, like alton towers or going somewhere that requires a hefty train fare. Here Borth Animalarium a mini zoo is free for those three and under, then £2.50 per child. We don't go abroad, it would be too much hassle, plus three of ours have to sit on a knee on an aeroplane, Jamie is past the age but he is too short and too light, obviously we only have two knee's.

When we last went on holiday we went to Devon, a three bed cottage was £550 a week, Jamie and Mike's both have swimming lessons as there isn't a pool here that schools can use, they are £3 an hour, so it isn't expensive.

We don't waste money on things we don't need though, like buying multiple push chairs when the one you have is still okay, Pippa is in ours at the moment and Ashdon will be carried everywhere for a few months. Or like when you see a new born baby in expensive trainers, one they cost a lot of money and will last a couple of weeks, two they shouldn't be wearing them at all in the first place. The really bad one though a couple I know do this, they have three children, they can't afford day outs very often, so they only go in the summer, dad smokes 20+ fags a day and mum spends £50 a month on her finger nails, I find that very selfish.

i have 2 kids (3 on a saturday) we struggle with days out. but i dont see that as a problem, it makes it that bit more special when we do go. were also very lucky in that the grandparents take them out too.
i dont think you should feel bad if you cant afford to pay to take the kids somewhere as the kids will love the local park.

as for holidays, the most we do is camping in devon/cornwall. again we share our holiday with his parents it reduces our costs alot as we can share a camper. (also give us babysitters lol)

We have a caravan, in which we go away at weekends when the weather is good. We go to organised rallies as it can cost less than £15 to pitch for the weekend, usually as the rallies are organised by district associations there are some youth activities arranged. We are going away at easter weekend and there's duck races with rubber ducks, easter competions such as bonnets and decorate an egg and a small sports afternoon where the kids can win prizes. It is something I was brought up on, and we get out into the countryside , plenty of fresh air and walking with our dog

We went on a holiday to centre Parcs last week which we loved but we don't do a lot of activities because it is expensive otherwise, but the swimming was free and we took our own bikes and did a lot of cycling.

I've not been abroad since I was 16 lol, and my husband has never been abroad, non of us have passports which also would be a huge expense on top of a holiday.

Have you looked into other sort of holidays rather than all inclusives/resorts? Like cottages or a caravan by the coast? As a child I loved going to Bridlington on the East coast and we would go for 2 weeks and mostly be on the beach which was free!

We have 2 (soon to be 3) and in general I find (regardless of the number of children we have) that we try and save the more expensive things for special occasions such as birthday celebrations; or a certain number of 'big outings' in school holidays etc.

There are the cheaper things as already said such as soft play, and the bigger days out such as Zoos or theme parks would be a rare treat for us. But then to be honest I find having more than one child means they amuse each other alot and so they are not so desperate to go out places for entertainment as they have fun together.

I used to love my camping holidays as a kid too. Used to go to West Wales or down to Devon or Cornwall. I have access to the old family tent, but it is too big to manage sensibly by myself otherwise I'd love to take the kids camping. I don't have anywhere to store a caravan but prefer camping anyway. Perhaps I'll have to get a smaller tent to go on holiday with this year as I didn't manage to take the kids away at all last year.

What ever happened to a good old fashioned picnic in the park with bats, balls and some face paints? Cheap, great fun...and "simple"

It doesn't always HAVE to be a great expense, when I was a kid I stayed in a grotty (and I mean grotty) caravan and a meal out was a bag of chips! lol BUT I tell you what, some of the best holidays ever ever!! Very very fond memories