I hate our holiday and want to go home

Ooh. Been there. In the second case on the way to Adelaide. Agree.

Yep, a day out in Woking isn’t going to dazzle.

The problem is, OP doesn’t want to do this annual trip anymore. They should just take the time they’ve spent on this thread to explain it to their husband instead of moaning to strangers.

So your idea of a great family holiday is killing things, riding fossil fuel powered vehicles through the "wilderness" and having loaded guns around your kids. Ooooookay then. I can see why you think the UK is "boring", but I have to say your idea of a good time would not be to everyone's taste.

I think you are getting quite a hard time on here. Having long distance elderly parents is difficult all round (for them and for you). Older folks often don't feel confident to travel (even in the UK) and may not have much money to do so. Many aren't willing and able to travel and their mental worlds can get very small indeed.

Her son and GK live thousands of miles away and it's likely she would feel very hurt if you came for two weeks and buggered off for most of it (as sone posters are suggesting) She has likely been looking forward to this for months. But so much housebound time doesn't make for a good holiday for you- and you can't really say so because then she will be so hurt, and so on. Even if you adore your MiL, constantly being on your best behaviour in that scenario is not fun or relaxing.

There might not be the obvious easy answer that many seem to think there is. If you marry someone whose parents live a long way away, this is what happens. It's hardest when the kids are little as that's pretty unrelenting in and of itself, and you can feel as if your whole life is a slog in service to others!

Little suggestions to make it easier - break up the trip a bit - could you take 2-3 days somewhere as a family? Could you take a day trip or two on your own? Could you ask if she wouldn't mind babysitting so you and DH could have a meal together? If you can give yourself a small thing to look forward to every few days or so, it really does help, so the trip doesn't feel like one big block. And remember your MiL won't be here one day, and you don't want your husband to feel guilty that he didn't spend time with her whilst he could. He could also take shorter trips on his own sometimes - maybe a week?

I’m out. Shooting’s for cunts.

Next year do five days with them and then go Greece or Italy or France for a week

Expensive duty visits would not be so hard if you had time/money to have a family holiday as well. I suspect it's the fact that this is it for another year, which is rankling so much. I would also encourage you to think through other ways of doing it as one day, MIL coming to you really won't be an option as folks get old. Being stuck in this pattern for decades is going to build resentment and for the sake of your own MH you need a holiday!

My guesses:

Moe
Shepparton/Seymour
Horsham/Ararat/Stawell

Your arrangements sound stupid.
Change the routine.
Options ..
Book MIL on a cruise to US to visit you one time.

Book for one week every eighteen months but hire a car and afford your own accommodation for the week.

Choose somewhere different to stay with MIL in the UK. The SIL can come up to visit for a day or two when school is not on.

Choose to stay at a holiday camp in France, The Netherlands, Spain etc and have MIL travel by train or invite SIL to join in and drive them from UK.

Organise it as your holiday and tweek it to include your MIL.

Woking? Did you go to Pizza Express?

Put some perspective. You are 0.0001% of the population, who can afford to live in another country and afford to come back to your place of birth (I assume). Appreciate what you have.

I worked in Farnham and it’s not as bad as you make it out to be plus it’s pretty much easy to get to London , Windsor , Oxford etc. Not sure why you are relying on your SIL to drive you around. There are trains and coaches you can use. Sorry but you sound a bit miserable so you don’t have my sympathy

Very outing.. but I live right next door to Sov Hill!! Can hear the gunfire from my garden 😀

I wonder where the PP was talking about in Victoria!?

sorry to OP and others for hijacking.

i do understand how the OP feels, however, even if you only hire a car for half the time it’s worth it for another £200 or so when you’re already spending £2000!

😂🤣 you miserable toad that cracked me up. Op how have you done this same thing for 10 years? I mean I get it must be awful so I wouldn't do it once never mind 10 years in a row. Would book a hotel/ cottage somewhere and plan stuff to do. I'd hate it in your sil's shoes even more bet she's counting down till you go.
I don't get it at all, kids are both under five as well so you did this same thing even before kids?

I just looked up "things to do with kids in Aldershot" and there were hundreds. Are you saying your MiL doesn't want to leave the house, OP? I can't think why else, unless it's been raining 24/7, you're all just sitting there.

Or have you found it too hard to return to driving on the left-hand side and haven't bothered to mention it? Have you any sort of UK license now? Not that its lack would stop you using public transport.

I used to be in a few of those!

I used to visit Ballarat every year! I was on first-name terms with the staff at Sovereign Hill. 😄

I don't know if I'd visit Geelong again - the city centre is not in a good way - but I definitely like living here.

I'm in a SE Melbourne suburb.

I’m Ballarat! But love Geelong 😊

Now I'm curious about which part of Victoria! (I live in Geelong, a very mixed bag, like most cities)

Me too! Churchill? Colac?

We left the UK in 2009 with our infants and I managed not to go back for a visit until 2014. We kept it going for a couple of years and then stopped after 2017. It is just so expensive and repetitive (and very boring), tiring and people expect you to travel great distances to do what they want, rather than what interested you, which means there's very little variation for you and the kids from trip to trip. All I can suggest is that you need to draw a line in the sand somehow. I found when the kids started getting older, having commitments like summer camps and learning experiences took priority. If your MIL makes a fuss, it's for your DH to manage. There are so many other places to visit.

Now I'm curious about which part of Victoria! (I live in Geelong, a very mixed bag, like most cities.)

And to add to this Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the lovely playground in St James’s Park or even a walk over to Kensington to go to the Diana Memorial playground.
Loads of free museums - Science and Natural History which the kids will love.
Cant believe you on staying in a place with direct trains into Waterloo and you havent travelled in!

Oh I see. It’s a shit holiday because there is no wildlife to kill.

Not me! Hampshire is beautiful, I think another poster said that!