Parenting News: Keeping the Kids Entertained This Easter will Boost the Economy by £2billion

30 March 2013

Family day out

This Easter break, the British economy will receive a welcome boost of just over £2 billion pounds as parents across the country dig deep into their pockets to keep their children entertained during the school holidays, according to a new consumer study by Travelodge.

Keeping school age children entertained over two weeks is no easy task, therefore in order to keep their little darlings out of mischief and completely entertained, British parents will be forking out on average £306.22 on a short break, several day trips and on traditional handy crafts and home baking.

A multiple location short break is a great way of seeing more of the UK within one trip; it also offers great value and makes children think they have had a longer holiday

The research conducted with 2,000 British families by Travelodge also revealed that parents are reliving their childhood holiday memories this Easter by taking their children on inexpensive trips to the countryside, the seaside, to museums and to visit family, rather than taking a foreign holiday.

Mums and dads are also opting for fun daycations to avoid their children from sitting in front of the TV watching DVDs and playing games for hours on end.

The report revealed that a third of British families have booked a UK coastal break this Easter with the top destinations being Blackpool, Brighton, Devon and Cornwall.

Travelodge Spokeswoman, Shakila Ahmed, said: “Keeping the children entertained over the Easter school holidays is no easy task.

“Interestingly for the forthcoming Easter break our bookings data has shown a spike in multiple singular night family bookings.

“Savvy parents are splitting a traditional two night short stay in one location to a single night stay in two different areas to help maximise their trip.

“Popular destinations include central and Greater London, Liverpool and Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow and also, Blackpool and the Lake District.”

Nearly a quarter of British households is planning to explore the lush British countryside during the Easter school holidays with the top destinations being the Lake District, North & South Wales, the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District.

A fifth of parents reported they are planning to take their children on a UK city tour this Easter, with the UK’s capital cities - London, Edinburgha and Cardiff - being the most popular destinations, in addition to Bath, Liverpool and Manchester.

The research also found that just 11 per cent of parents reported they are taking their children to a theme park over the Easter holidays and 14 per cent of families stated they are taking a foreign holiday this Easter.

British parents will treat their children to three Daycation trips during the holidays, with each day costing on average £37.50.

Furthermore, over half of parents are using their working holiday entitlement to take time off work to look after their children rather than forking out on expensive childcare and holiday clubs.

In a bid to save some money over the Easter school holidays a third of parents are planning to replicate popular cooking TV programmes at home, which their children enjoy watching such as: ‘The Great British Bake Off’, ‘MasterChef’, ‘Cupcake Wars’ and ‘Come Dine with Me’.

In addition a quarter of parents will be reliving their memories of watching ‘Blue Peter’ when they were a child and will be making arts and crafts with their children out of household items such as old washing up bottles, kitchen roll and cereal boxes.

The study also revealed in a bid to add extra value to their household budget, four out of ten British families over the last couple of months have been sourcing newspapers and websites for money off coupons to make their pennies go further during the Easter school holidays.

A third of parents surveyed stated they heavily rely on money off vouchers to help manage their finances and will invest around two hours per week in searching for coupons. A fifth of mums stated they regularly swap money off coupons with other mums at the school gates.

Shakila added: “A multiple location short break is a great way of seeing more of the UK within one trip; it also offers great value and makes children think they have had a longer holiday.”

Despite going to this effort, further findings revealed a fifth of parents find it very stressful keeping their children entertained during the Easter holidays and one in ten parents stated they wished school holidays were shorter.

Listed below are the top activities parents will be doing with their children during the Easter school holidays, according to the Travelodge research:

1. Going to the cinema
2. Visiting family and friends
3. Baking at home
4. Going on a picnic
5. Going to the beach
6. Taking a trip to the countryside
7. Going to a museum
8. Doing crafts at home
9. Visiting a farm
10. Going bowling