The summer holidays are closer than ever and keeping the kids entertained for a whole 6 weeks can be a tricky task, but more importantly very, very expensive.
Parenting on Female First
British parents will spend a whopping £1.56 billion during the summer holidays, according to a new survey, splashing out on expensive day trips, visits to theme parks, and meals in restaurants to keep their children entertained.
Vouchercodes.co.uk have revealed that many parents will be relying on their credit cards to fund the lavish lifestyle during the summer. 1 in 10 parents will rack up debts in order to fund the expensive trips.
However, many parents have admitted to having sleepless nights, as 51% revealed they are worried about the cost to keep their kids entertained. A further 33% confessed that they don’t know whether they’re going to afford to keep the children entertained over the long break.
The city set to splash the most cash during the school summer holidays is Wrexham but residents are also the savviest with 43% of people surveyed stating they’ll use vouchers to make trips more affordable.
Second on the list of big spenders are families from Liverpool with Londoners in third place. Those from the capital are also the most likely to turn to credit cards to enable them to afford the school holidays. Swansea families are fourth on the list when it comes to a summer holiday splurge and York parents take the fifth spot.
The research also quizzed kids about their favourite activities to take part in this summer. Although visiting theme parks and going to the cinema remain firm favourites, parents don’t have to splash the cash as kids also rate cheap and cheerful activities highly, with day trips to the beach or park and fun with arts and crafts also making the top five.
Activity Cost (in millions)
- Days trips: beach/parks etc. - £393m
- Visits to attractions such as theme parks- £343m
- Meals out- £304m
- The cinema- £206m
- Sporting activities- £183m
- The theatre/shows- £138m
Anita Naik, lifestyle editor of VoucherCodes.co.uk, commented: “Move over Christmas, the school summer holidays are now proving just as costly for British families with an estimated £1.56bn to be spent keeping the kids entertained. It’s encouraging to see a quarter of families are making the most of discount deals to enjoy special days out together while keeping tabs on the pennies.”
She added: “It’s worth checking out the range of discounts available before days out as there are always a number of money-off deals on offer, from family theme park and cinema discounts to reduced travel fares, so parents can enjoy quality time with the kids without breaking the bank.’’