Family holiday to suit 4-70 year olds

[Noomininoo]

Next year my MiL & FiL will be celebrating their 70th birthdays and 50th wedding anniversary so we decided that we would all go on a family holiday together. In total there will be 8 adults & 6 children ranging in ages from 4yo-16yo.

Center parks had been suggested but I'm not convinced for the following reasons :

a) both the MiL & FiL have mobility issues and can't walk very far without suffering so will not be able to join in on many of the activities on offer at CP

b) the activities on offer all seem to be age banded so the younger 2 children (which happens to be my 2 DDs aged 4yo & 7yo) will not be able to join in with the same activities as their older cousins (aged 11-16yo) which means the group is going to be split up a lot of the time (which kind of defeats the object of going away together as a family)

c) I'm not particularly sporty or outdoorsy so I'm worried I'm not going to be able to keep up with my more active in-laws

d) it's a lot of money (which we can't really afford) to do something which I don't think is going to work for us as a family.

Saying that, I've never been to CP so I'm willing to be corrected on any of the above from any CP veterans out there. Do you think there will be enough to do there altogether as a family (given the wide range in kids ages 4-16yo and the ILs mobility issues?

Alternatively, does anyone have any other ideas/suggestions of places we could go (preferably in the UK) that may be more suitable. Maybe somewhere we could do more as a whole family...?

[bookishandblondish]

Honestly, a cruise.

We did Guernsey for a similar holiday but it would have been much easier to do a cruise.

[rallytog1]

Have a look at Clydey Cottages in Pembrokeshire. I'm here at the moment and it's utter heaven, with something for everyone. There are several families here with similar demographic and spread to yours, and they all seem to be having a great time.

[rallytog1]

Hmmmm, I misread your 16yo as 6 - possibly less here for teenagers. Although Bluestone might be a good alternative to CP - that's also in Pembrokeshire.

[cestlavielife]

you cannot expect to do everything together anyway. young kids will need/want to run around a playground - the oldies are not going to do more than watch anyway..... family holiday with old to young - young need to go off and run around while oldies sit drink coffee and cake. maybe short walk to a tea room. reconvene for lunch or dinner. so a place which has options for diff age groups/ability groups to go off then reconvene for dinner is ideal. at cp every one who is a bit active can go to the pool. or a high ropes or tennis. oldies can sit and watch or stay in lodge or sit in cafes .

you can all go out to the restaurant and/or cook and eat at the lodge.

or get a place near a town centre so some can go on short walks to nearby café while other trek for longer.

I don't think realistically a mixed age family holiday means you spend 24/7 together all doing the same thing.. you wont. evenings yes maybe but not during day. grandma wont go on swing but might watch the toddler doing so. the older kids will want to go off for an hour to do something different or you will get the I am bored... so in a way somewhere like cp with options for diff groups to go off for one or two hours and come back to join the group is ideal. think about what the oldies will realistically do - short walk to cafe, sit and read paper play cards ; watch toddler on the swing? or ???

and work around that. adding in some short bursts of activity for the young and old kids.

[mummymeister]

we stay Here often. it is in the near part of Cornwall about 20 mins from Plymouth. they have a cottage for wheelchair users, a swimming pool, Games room and farm animals. we have often stayed with extended family and friends. a lot cheaper than Centerparcs.