Well, half term is upon us, and it doesn’t seem 5 minutes since my little boy was going back to school in September.  Like most working parents out there yet again I have the headache of covering childcare whilst continuing to work full time.

Fortunately for us, we have the Grandparents close by, and a holiday club that my little boy really enjoys going to.  However, after having survived the summer holidays without the help of Grandparents due to my mum having an operation, I really got thinking about how lucky we are to have them around!

So, what I want to know is, how do those of you without Grandparents who are willing or able to help out do it?  With everyone feeling the pinch of the current economic climate it is a challenge to find firstly, childcare solutions that don’t break the bank if you don’t have holiday available to take.

Here are my 5 top tips for managing the Half Term Headache…

1.  When working out how much to take in Childcare Vouchers, allow for the holidays in the calculation.  You can save your vouchers until they are needed so try to calculate your costs for the whole year (looking at both term time and holidays) and divide by 12 so as you are spreading the cost equally month by month.  Your vouchers will build up in your account until you are ready to use them for school holidays etc

2.  Arrange all day playdates on an exchange basis.  If the other parent also works then they too will be sure to appreciate the help.  For example, “Yes, Ben would love to come and play.  I work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so if he could come for a play date on one of those days, then we would love to have Jamie over on Thursday or Friday to play with us.

3.  Careful scheduling of holidays throughout the year.  It is a sad reality, but gone are the days of hubby and I taking holidays together to spend some quality time together.  Since Ben came along we have to schedule at least some of our holidays separately to cut down on the amount of school holiday childcare that we are paying for.

4.  Booking holiday activites ahead of time.  My local holiday club offers a 10% discount for booking places in the school holidays early.  Over a 2 week holiday this is the equivalent of getting one day free, just for being organised.

5.  Family – Where would we be without them!

Which bring me back to the begining.  How do those of you who aren’t lucky enough to have family close by do it?  Please share your tips for making the school holidays less of a drain on the bank….