Holiday season. The phrase that makes working parents twitch involuntarily. It's like being handed a live grenade with a note that says, "Make it magical!"

And if you're a single parent juggling business, guilt, the silence between scheduled weekends, and a child who thinks arcade tickets are actual currency – welcome to the show. 

Business, Buildings & Minecraft Bribes

Raff, my seven-year-old son, recently accompanied me to a work event in London. My parenting strategy? Full digital licence for Minecraft and Roblox in exchange for impeccable behaviour. And it worked. He was an angel—the kind of behaviour you'd bottle if you could. I'm not saying I bribed my child, but… yeah, I did precisely that.

'You focus on the future of the business, I'll focus on slaying creepers.' – Raff, probably (credit: Leslie & Co).

To sweeten the deal, we ended the day at a rooftop bar near Kings Cross—purely to indulge Raff's love of tall buildings and sweeping views—the kid's got taste. St Pancras is my favourite building in London—beautiful, imposing, and utterly mad when you stop to think about it.

Who laid the first brick?

How did they move materials?

Who approved the budget?

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Did they have a project WhatsApp group?

I wonder about these things while Raff munches popcorn and gazes over the skyline like a tiny Bond villain plotting his next move.

 "One day this will all be... someone else's responsibility."

Raff enjoying the St Pancras International building (credit: Leslie & Co).

Paddington, Prizes & Preposterous Places

With some help from the team at work (thank you, legends), I managed to clock off for a few hours during the April half-term and embrace my role as Fun Dad™. First stop: The Paddington Bear Experience — and honestly, it was a ten out of ten.

Wholesome, heartwarming, and brilliantly British, it's a perfect day out for kids and grown-ups alike. Whether you're a lifelong fan of the marmalade-loving bear or just after something a bit magical and memory-making, it delivers in spades.

Highly recommend for any parents (or grandparents, aunties, uncles, honorary godparents...) looking to make the most of the holiday season.

Then came Butlins — and what a ride.

If you've never been, imagine a theme park had a baby with a 90s nightclub… and then let your child redecorate. It's full-throttle British seaside: arcades, silent discos, mid-tier burgers, and that magical blend of chaos and charm that somehow works.

The surprise highlight? The Masked Singer Live Show — and I say this with no irony: it was utterly mesmerising. The production values, the lighting, the drama… I genuinely thought I'd stumbled into the West End for a moment.

And then—the arcade. Dear reader, I watched these children burn through more money in three days than a mid-level government department. Raff and his cousins went full Wolf of Wall Street, burning about £50 each in pursuit of these paper snakes.

They were possessed, which are then fed into a hungry, ticket-devouring machine that spits out a receipt allowing you, after an hour in a queue behind other sugar-fuelled maniacs, to redeem said effort for… absolute tat.

All in the name of a plastic slinky and a stress ball shaped like a pizza slice. But do the kids care? Of course not. To them, it's gold. It's treasure. It's the holy grail. And watching their faces light up made it all (almost) worth it.

'This is better than gold, Dad. GOLD' (credit: Leslie & Co).

If you're looking for a break that's delightfully unpretentious, wonderfully nostalgic, and guaranteed to wear the kids out, Butlins just about delivers.

The Big Question: Is It Enough?

I came home from that half-term broken. Sleep-deprived. Slightly sticky. Noticeably poorer. And still quietly wondering — was it enough?

That's the thing about solo parenting. You give it everything you've got, but you're never quite sure if you're hitting the mark. There's no one to tag in, no halftime oranges — just you, powering through, hoping these moments land somewhere good in their memories.

Maybe it's impostor syndrome. Perhaps it's love. Probably both.

Our recent break was full of joy and chaos in equal measure — rooftops and marmalade-loving bears, neon lights and arcade tat. But as we head towards May half term and start eyeing up the summer holidays, I know that question will creep in again: What will I do this time? Will it be enough?

If you're feeling the same, whether you're solo parenting or simply trying to keep it all afloat, you're not alone. The juggle is real, and the pressure to create picture-perfect memories is relentless.

So… what's on the cards for your next break? Let me know, especially if it involved fewer paper tickets and a bit more actual rest.

Misery loves company. But so does laughter. And stories from other knackered parents. 

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