The only Summer Holiday Planner you need this year is BACK!
The key to a successful Summer Holiday is in the planning. Nobody, that’s parents, children and clients,  will react well to overwhelm and boredom! But I have you covered, with tips on how to prepare your business for the summer, how to juggle the children AND a colourful Summer Holiday Planner thrown in for good measure!

Preparing Your Small Business for the Summer Holiday: 

• Organise Your Inbox: Staying on top of and keeping your inbox organised is a good start pointing, stick to the 4D technique daily to reduce overwhelm (Do It – Delete It – Defer It – Delegate It). Use an email autoresponder too, this takes the pressure off you and gives a clear directive to anyone who emails you.
• Be Honest And Transparent: Honesty is the best policy, especially with your clients when it comes to children and childcare. Jane, from  With You Virtually suggests “There’s no point committing to things and then only giving it half of ‘your all’ rather than your total focus.  Your client won’t appreciate it and you won’t feel good not doing your best for your client.“
• Mass Email System: There are so many automation processes you can set up so that your small business runs smoothly even though you are taking a well-earned break.  A mass mailing list is simple to set up, individuals can opt-out if they wish at any time and most platforms provide insights into who has interacted with your email. A mailing list drives traffic to your products/services and helps increase sales. GMass allows you to send mail merge campaigns with an automatic follow-up, keeping your customers up to date with any news/availability/services/promotions throughout the Summer Holiday.
• Start A Fresh In September: July is a great time to audit your to-do list. Are you really going to do it? Have you moved items from list to list, month to month then the answer is more than likely no. The summer holiday is also a great time to reboot and clarify your small business goals.  I always find once I stop “working in” my business the magic suddenly happens.  I feel inspired, invigorated, and raring to go in September.
• Schedule: A simple but key time management tool, which helps you to;
  Free up headspace
  Free up time
  Keep your content consistent
  Work smarter – not harder
  Schedule content for Facebook, your blog, and populate your Twitter feed keeping your social media active and driving traffic to your blog/website by keeping things ticking over nicely. It also means you can spend a small amount of time (5/10 minutes a day) responding to comments rather than getting sucked into a social media black hole. The Summer Holiday Planner contains content/awareness days throughout July – September to help make scheduling that little bit easier.

A Working Parents Summer Holiday Planner:

Why do I create these planners? Having a Summer Holiday Planner provides everyone (parents and children alike) with a clear understanding of how each day/week is going to pan out. By planning in advance you can fill up your Summer Holiday Planner with something to do each day this, in turn, limits the chance of unnecessary spending and/or feeling at a loose end.  It’s a tried and tested method that I’ve been doing since my children were little and even though they are grotty teens having a visual planner still helps keep us all on track. During activities/days out, try to provide the children with 100% of Mum, I call it a trade-off others refer to it as “filling their cup”. If you give the children quality time where it’s just about them no phones you will find them much happier to provide you in return with time where they entertain themselves enabling you a chance to work.  If like me your children are older now and planning their own social lives use these days to catch up on work and the days they are around are all about them. Rebbeca Hogan recommends agreeing on a routine and setting expectations for both you and your child/children during the summer holidays also helps things run smoothly. 

So What Do You Get?:

• The whole summer is nicely laid out on one A3 poster.
• Dated from Monday, July 17th to Sunday, 10th September 2023.
• Colour coded months make the planner easier to navigate and use; July – Pink, August – Yellow, September – Blue.
• Contains content/awareness days to make scheduling your social media easier.
• 6 inexpensive and fun activities to tick off and inspire.
• In collaboration with Lemur Landings, Biscuits By Sarah B and With You Virtually.

Grab your FREE download here or purchase a gorgeous A3 printed Summer Holiday Poster for £4.50 (posted to your front door) via my shop.
BUY NOW

Activity Suggestions:

There are 6 activity suggestions on the planner to give you a few ideas for things to do that are not only fun and inexpensive but also rewarding for both children and parents.

• Networking Playdate: Get together with your small business friends and children somewhere they can play and you guys can talk. Having like-minded people to discuss business with will help keep you calm and reduce overwhelm from trying to do too many things at the same time.  If you are Dorset based we are Netwalking on Wednesday 9th August. We meet at Potterne Park (free parking) and walk to Moors Valley for a play and picnic.  Walking we know is good for health and wellbeing, add talking to your friends plus the children and everyone is getting a handy dose of fresh air, exercise, socialisation, and brain space.
• Visit A Soft Play Centre: This is always one of my go-to winning situations. See the great thing about soft play is the children are thoroughly entertained for hours without the need for Mum (or Dad)! Take Lemur Landings for example not only is there a soft play frame but digital climbing walls and a role play area, something to suit everyone.  There’s usually free WiFi and somewhere to get a drink, plus plenty of seating, which makes soft play the perfect remote working office this summer holiday! (Love this picture of Megan aged 7 now part of the Lemur Landings marketing material!)
• Have A Picnic: Who doesn’t love a picnic, whether you go for a walk first or just hang out in your garden there’s something special about eating outside. Get the children to help prepare the food – Olive loves a cucumber sandwich with the crusts cut off in little rectangles! You could even include a baking session beforehand because can you even call it a picnic without cake?
• Biscuit Decorating: Struggling for ideas to keep the children occupied, especially on those days when *cough* it’s bound to rain (sorry but it’s the UK you know!)  how about one of these DIY Biscuit Decorating Kits from Biscuits By Sarah B,
  a selection of baked biscuits (with a range of designs and shapes there’s something to suit everyone.)
  bags of ready-made royal icing (colours depend on the chosen theme)
  a packet of sprinkles
  a cocktail stick to use as a scribe
  full instructions

  Once decorated and the sun comes out you might need something yummy to take on your picnic!

• Go On A Rainbow Walk: Make a list of all the colours of the rainbow, supply your child with a bag to collect items in or s sheet to make notes of everything you find for each colour. It’s such a nice free activity but one which will make your child think, really look at their surroundings, and also lengthen a short walk!
• Go Fishing: Over the Jubilee Weekend we took Charlie and Olive for a spot of fishing, the weather was gorgeous and David selected somewhere he knew we’d get a couple of bites. The wait between catches was short enough to keep the children engaged but long enough to build up anticipation and excitement. I always think of fishing as an equipment heavy activity, which it can be but if you are rocking up to the lake for an hour or 2 with the children you don’t need much. We literally took 2 rods, a landing net, a picnic & blanket, and the best boilies for carp fishing.  Of course, the best part of fishing is taking a photograph with your prize catch after battling to reel him in.

Don’t forget to share this post with any working parents and small business owners, working from home or juggling the summer holiday. I’ve really enjoyed producing this content and just want to say “Thank You” for all your continued support.
We’ve got this!

This post complies with my Disclosure Policy.