Free fun this Easter

Money too tight to mention? Don’t worry, done properly, a staycation can be as life-changing and inspirational as an upscale holiday, writes Margot Bertelsmann

NOT EVERY HOLIDAY has to be on an exotic beach- front to be memorable. Implement these 10 mostly free activities into every day of your Easter holiday, and you’ll see the benefits in your stress levels and general life satisfaction as well as your relationships with your children. We promise! 1 LEARN A HOLIDAY CHORE

There comes that cranky part of every holiday where you’re all cross with each other – crammed together at home, among the mess, clutter, unmade beds and dirty dishes. You’re resentful, thinking, “I took leave from work, so my kids can lie about at home like indulged kings?” Nip that nonsense in the bud!

Every child, even the younger ones, is capable of learning to help clean up after themselves. Get into a routine where the day’s screen time (for instance) doesn’t start until the chores are done. Making beds, packing the dishwasher, feeding pets and wiping surfaces or dusting are chores even the under- three crowd can start learning. Work first, play later. You’ll all feel better.

2 MAKE SPACE FOR SANITY

Take a day and focus on one child’s room. Take everything – yes, we mean everything – out of shelves, under beds, out of cupboards and boxes. Ignore the mess for now. Meander through it, playing with long- forgotten toys, replacing batteries or repairing broken ones. Discard toys that your children have outgrown to pass on to others. Throw away unsalvageable items. Repack. At the end of the day, you will have had a wonderful time consisting of a little hard work, a lot of play, some reminiscing, and some good deeds in your regifting.

3 A BOOK A DAY

Holidays are “time off”, so nobody is suggesting you do homework with your children. But it’s been proven that the best thing you can do for their school marks is read to them every day. And – bonus – it’s fun! And if you join your local library and walk there together, it’s also free. You could also come to an agreement with your school to borrow more books than usual over the holidays, or download (and print, or read on screen) any of 100 original South African stories for under- fives completely for free on the Book Dash app in Google Play (Android only, for now).

4 MOVE

Half an hour of exercise a day, every day. That’s what doctors recommend to gain disproportionate health benefits such as combating depression and osteoporosis (for parents) and obesity (for children). It’s great for your heart and will help you live longer, and be happier, so you can be a better parent. So whether it’s half an hour of kicking a soccer ball around, taking a class together or that walk to the library we mentioned, get your 30 minutes in a day. Don’t “just” slob around. You’ll all have a happier holiday.

5 COOK TOGETHER

So on that “healthy living” note… Holidays do not have to be a junk food festival. There is such pleasure to be had in teaching your children to cook family and traditional favourites. You have to eat every day, so you may as well use it

as an opportunity to spend time together passing on cultural capital. For adventurous cooks, try something that extends you both – such as experimenting with making sushi, or baking a rainbow cake.

6 CONNECT

So you’ve cleaned, read, exercised, and cooked. And it’s only 10 am! What now? Higher up on the hierarchy of human needs is our need for positive connections with others. So trawl through that contacts list, and call up your children’s cousins, their best friends, your neglected friends, grandma, or the friend you know is going through a hard time and could use a long, unhurried chat with a good listener. Set up a play date. Let your children punch the numbers into your phone – the little ones will love it. Fiveyear- olds might be able to dial Gogo from the home phone all by themselves, which can be a huge thrill.

7 BATHTIME: THE ANTI-HUSTLE

A lot of having a staycation is about savouring the moments and not rushing anything. Unstructured time at home is so rare, so if you can, consciously try to enjoy it. So when it comes to the daily “must- dos”, such as bathtime, let the chore become the fun activity. Let the kids stay in the bath as long as they like. Holiday time is when you don’t have to be the monster disciplinarian, so surprise your children with your lesser- spotted fun side. Squirt food colouring into their bath when they’re not expecting it. Buy bubble blowers, and transform your bathroom into a bubble wetroom. Use a lot of bubble bath and shaving foam. Make crazy hairstyles. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.

8 WRITE DOWN ONE A DAY

You may not have had money to go away this Easter, but you do have a home, a child, a job… The thing about starting to list the things for which you are grateful is that you keep remembering more things – which makes you feel even happier, in a virtuous cycle. So keep a gratitude journal and spend just a few minutes writing (or typing) in it every day. Result? A happy holiday.

9 LET BOREDOM IN

You know what else is a great life lesson? Allowing your children to experience getting solidly bored. Resist the urge to intervene and find solutions. Just carry on reading your book, perhaps looking up to empathise – “You’re bored? Oh, I’m sorry.” Now sit back and wait to see what they do. Provided there’s no screen nearby, they’ll surprise you…

10 GET THE EASTER FEELING

Attend a church service, or ask Christian friends to invite you to theirs, where you can learn more about this season of rebirth and celebration, and some of its odd traditions.

Whether you’re Christian or not, have a traditional Easteregg hunt, with real hard- boiled eggs that you have dyed in water the old- school way. Craft an Easter bunny. Learn to make Greek Easter biscuits or hot cross buns. Here’s an idea – take a leaf from Hindus over Diwali and Muslims over Eid, and visit your neighbours to drop off Easter eggs. Just nudge yourself out of that comfort zone and into the unfamiliar. It’s always worth it.