With the last day of school falling on Nov 16, the long holidays beckon, a prospect that may cause some parents to quail inwardly.

How to keep their offspring occupied during the six-week-long vacation, and how much it would cost to do so, are questions that cross the minds of some parents interviewed by The Sunday Times.

There are a plethora of enrichment camps and workshops available during the school holidays, but these can cost a few hundred dollars.

Doing crafts, baking together, going on nature walks, and arranging play dates and outings are common, budget-conscious ways to keep the children occupied and not glued to their screens and computer games, the parents say.

Some families go a step further in organising creative holiday activities that are free or eminently affordable.

During the long break in June, for instance, Nicole Teo and her family made a Snitch.

Nicole, 12, is a Harry Potter fan. A Snitch - whose official name is a Golden Snitch - is a quick-moving ball with wings used in Quidditch, a game played on broomsticks in Potter's world of wizardry.

To make the Snitch, her family of four transformed a ceiling lamp from Ikea, which they had previously fashioned, with the help of YouTube videos, into the shape of a Death Star, the iconic space station in Star Wars.

The Teo family did not spend much money on the Snitch, which still doubles up as a lamp in Nicole's bedroom.

The project involved masking tape, spray paint and plastic cardboard for the wings.

Nicole and her seven-year-old sister, Natalie, often spend their holidays on such budget-friendly upcycling projects, where unwanted or discarded materials are reused to create something new.

Also in June, the family converted an old loft bed set into a modified tree house for Natalie.

Using $2.50 planks of plywood, the frame of the "treehouse" cost about $100, a fraction of the price of a customised, full-sized treehouse, which might cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.

With dad Jason Teo, 44, a director at the ArtScience Museum, doing the heavier work such as drilling, the girls helped with tasks such as painting.

Their mother, 45-year-old Chan Sue Li, who runs outreach programmes at the Science Centre, says such holiday activities help her daughters learn the value of working for something worthwhile, as well as respecting the value of the everyday things they use.

"The bonding and teamwork involved helps us understand one another better," she adds.

For stay-home mother Lau Swee Yean, 49, surviving the long school holidays has involved heading outdoors to "keep up with the energy" of her four sons, aged 20, 18, 17 and 10.

Among the budget-conscious strategies she employs to engage her youngest, 10-year-old David, are outings, often with his friends, to parks and playgrounds, such as the Admiralty Park Playground, which has 26 slides and a climbing and obstacle course on a slope.

"It's not difficult to keep them occupied on a budget. It's just that you have to bear with the sweat and the heat or rain," says Mrs Lau, who is also a freelance storyteller with the Storytelling Association (Singapore).

She also involves David in household chores that he does not have time for during term time, such as going to the wet market , as part of sharing responsibility for the household.

For Ms June Yong, 38, a part-time writer and educational therapist, a little boredom can be a good thing for children.

The mother-of-three, whose husband, 38, is a wealth adviser in a bank, says the school holidays with all the kids indoors can be tiring for her, especially since she works mostly from home.

She says: "School holidays are a time to relax, catch up with friends and explore their interests.

"But it's not like they have to be 100 per cent entertained all the time.

"It's good for them to be bored sometimes. They learn to deal with that uncomfortable feeling, and learn that it's okay to be quiet and retreat into their own space."

Her children - Vera, nine; Javier, seven; and Joshua, five - often play together and she has noticed the boys, for instance, occupying themselves by reading books and drawing characters from them.

Vera is interested in art; she designs and paints on affordable cloth bags that her mother buys from Daiso and paints on pebbles that she finds.

Some parents are themselves looking forward to the school holidays.

Ms Rosemary Richard Sam's four-year-old daughter is in full-day childcare, so the hours the girl spends in preschool are unchanged.

But Ms Richard Sam, a senior events executive at the non-profit I Love Children, is looking forward to spending time bonding with her girl, Ariel Tijani.

There are many free activities in shopping malls, which bring in cartoon characters or which have water playgrounds for young children such as Ariel, says Ms Richard Sam, 29, who is married to a 34-year-old businessman.

She says: "It's less busy at work for me at this time of the year and it's almost the festive season. It's an excuse for me to take leave to spend time with Ariel. My mind is more settled, more free."

Small budget, big fun

THE ARTS

Parent-Child Workshop - Basic Indian Dance By Sreedevy Sivarajasingam Parents and their children will learn animal and bird postures and hand gestures representing the elements of nature, as well as how to create a simple Indian dance sequence. Where: Esplanade Rehearsal Studio When: Nov 25, 11am and 2pm Admission: $24 for a parent-and-child ticket. Recommended for kids aged five and older. Info: Learn more or purchase tickets at www.esplanade.com

Paper Puppet Making And Wood Block Printing By Strokearts Studio Make elephants, fish and peacocks inspired by shadow puppets. Try wood-block printing in the style of kalamkari textiles in India. Kalamkari means "work done with a pen". Where: Esplanade Festival Corner When: Nov 17 and 18. Come any time between 4.30 and 7.30pm. Admission: Free Info: www.esplanade.com 398.2 Storytelling Festival This festival features 22 local and 14 international storytellers, a puppet show by puppeteer Frankie Malachi, face painting and costumed characters walking around. There are sessions dedicated to preschoolers, family audiences and adults. Where: Central Public Library When: Nov 25, 10.30am to 6.30pm Admission: Free Info: www.facebook.com/ 398.2StorytellingFestival/ Awang Batil By Teater Kami Evoking the padi fields of Kedah and Kelantan, ancient Malay folklore, known for their satire and values, is brought to life. The performance, involving narration, dialogue and choral singing, is in Malay with English surtitles. Where: Bedok Town Square When:Saturday, 2 and 5pm Admission: Free Info: www.facebook.com/ TeaterKami The Rubbish Prince By 3Pumpkins The Rubbish Prince, a 3.5m-tall puppet made of recyclables, stumbles upon a child lying beneath a heap of junk. This outdoor performance is billed as a modern fable about our relationship with the things we consume and discard. Where: Admiralty Park and various locations in Woodlands When:Saturday to Nov 25, at different times Admission: Free Info: www.facebook.com/ therubbishprince

FITNESS

KpopX Family Bonding Parents and their kids can groove to their favourite K-pop songs in a fitness session that combines K-pop dance moves, aerobics and body-toning exercises. Where: Choa Chu Kang Dance Studio When: Dec 19, 11am to noon Admission: $12 Info: Sign up via the ActiveSG app or online at myactivesg.com/ Programmes

Flippa Ball Camp This three-hour camp teaches children how to play flippa ball, or modified water polo. Even children just learning to swim can take part as it is played in shallow water. Where: Various locations including Jurong West Swimming Complex and Jalan Besar Swimming Complex. When: Nov 19 to Dec 20, 9am to noon Admission: $21.40 Info: Sign up via the ActiveSG app or online at myactivesg.com/ Programmes, where more details can be found

HERITAGE

Building History: Monuments In Bricks & Blocks This travelling exhibition features eight models of national monuments, constructed using more than 110,000 Lego bricks. The Sultan Mosque model is the heaviest, weighing more than 40kg. Where and when: Seng Kang Public Library: till Nov 30; Choa Chu Kang Public Library: Dec 1 to 31 Admission: Free Info: E-mail ian_lee@nhb.gov.sg The Little Prince In The Dark As part of an ongoing exhibition celebrating the 75th anniversary of French classic The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) by writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a special dark room displays five sculptures depicting characters from the book. Visitors, including the visually-impaired, will get a tactile experience of the story. Where: Singapore Philatelic Museum When: Saturdays from Nov 17 till Dec 22; various times Admission: Free for Singaporeans and PRs Info: www.spm.org.sg Between The Lines - The Chinese Cartoon Revolution This exhibition examines the links between the 1911 revolution in China and the emergence of Chinese cartoons in Singapore. Cartoonists in China depicted a declining nation in the late 19th century. This influenced the Chinese diaspora in Singapore, where the first such cartoons appeared in local newspapers as a form of political and social commentary. Where: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall When: Till July 7 next year; 10am to 5pm Admission: Free for Singaporeans and permanent residents Info: Go to www.sysnmh.org.sg or call 6256-7377

NATURE

Evening Chorus At Kranji Marshes Learn about different species in these marsh, woodland and grass habitats. Participants will be guided on a 3km walk through an ecologically-sensitive conservation area not usually open to the public. It is not recommended for young children without supervision. Where: Kranji Gate, 11 Neo Tiew Lane 2 When: Dec 8, 4.30 to 6.30pm Admission: Free Info: Registration is compulsory and visitors who turn up without registering will be turned away. E-mail nparks_sbwr@ nparks.gov.sg or call 6794-1401. For more details, go to www.nparks.gov.sg

Fish And Prawn Harvesting DemonstrationWhere: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Wetland Centre, Prawn Pond. Meet at the information counter. When: Nov 24, 4 to 5.30pm Admission: Free Info: Registration opens on Nov 16. Contact Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 6794-1401 or e-mail nparks_sbwr@nparks.gov.sg. For more information, go to www.nparks.gov.sg