To not bother booking a staycation this year

In that case are they old enough to leave behind (with supervision from grandparents or whatever) and go on a holiday just you and a friend/DH? Thatl certainly make it cheaper!

As for staycations we have done it for school holidays. I draw up an itinerary and share it with the kids. I do book things because popular places get sold out. For us it can be a big day trip to London or visit theme parks. Look around your area for where visitors will go. Book tickets and go to them. Eat out like your are on holiday. If you aren’t paying for accommodation and transport to get to your holiday location, you probably can pay for a quite a few meals out.

Assuming you mean a UK holiday rather than a staycation? If you don't enjoy it then don't do it.

This I think. Holidaying in the UK is quite expensive. DC loved our summer holidays to Pembrokeshire, Cornwall and the Isle of Wight as much as going overseas. We were lucky to have lovely weather for all of our Uk holidays.

Really? I know a Caitlyn pronounced Kate-Lyn.

There's thousands of them. But it's an Irish name, Cáitlín, pronounced approximately coitch-leen.

Like I say, the battle is lost. But I don't like it.

Really? I know a Caitlyn pronounced Kate-Lyn.

Holidays in the UK are too weather dependant OP, I'm with you. If I'm going somewhere in the UK I book it the week before when i can see what the weather is going to be like - and if a weekend is long enough then all the better as it can be done outside school hols.

You don't book a staycation

You just stay at home and act like you're on holiday.
Sounds like you're opting for a staycation this year OP, and that your wording is a bit off.

No, YANBU to decide not to book a UK holiday and to have a staycation instead

Take the kids out of school for a holiday to Spain! It won’t kill them and if they’ve never been abroad it’s worth missing school for.

@WhereYouLeftIt I can't believe I've never thought about having both lunch and dinner out while staying at home for a holiday 🙈. What a great idea, I'm definitely going to do this!

As others have said, an actual staycation is where you stay in your own home but behave as if you're on holiday. We did it a few years ago and had a marvellous time!

On holiday, I do not cook. Tea and toast at a push. So, you go out for lunch. Got a favourite cafe, or are there any you've always meant to go to? Then go to them for lunch. Evening meals were to our local Pizza Express, and other 'casual dining' restaurants. Yes it sounds like a lot, but basically the money you'd have spent on accommodation isn't getting spent, so use it to make your staycation a proper vacation. We even went out for breakfast a couple of times, a local cafe did coffee and a croissant for £5, money well spent. We went to the cinema. We went to nearby towns to play in their parks. We looked up what tourist attractions our town boasted and went to them (every town has something ...). It was all very relaxing because we were sleeping in our own beds, had all our 'stuff' (books, consoles, TV) right there - I really can recommend a real staying-in-your-own-home-vacation.

Just avoid camping! Going anywhere different, new sights, the feeling of being away on holiday is worth it! That excitement when you see a bit of sunshine 🌞 is the best, lol 😆 xx

I might get this on my tombstone.

Along with "Caitlin is not pronounced Kate-lynn".

I know the battle has been lost on both fronts but I can't accept it.

OP, book the holiday. Make suitable plans. You might get lucky with the weather but plan for the worst. It's always worth getting away.

You don't book a staycation, you literally stay at home and do day trips or whatever.

We are doing this, this summer, because all the holidays we might like to do in the UK look really shit now they're twice the price. So we've made a list of the things we've always meant to get around to seeing here. Quite looking forward to it if I'm honest.

I'm not sure that's it. After all, many abroad holidays are cheaper than holidaying in the UK.

Compare the cost of driving to Cornwall to stay in a naice cottage, eat out in gastro pubs and pay to enter places like the Eden Project to get out of the rain with flying somewhere sunny in Europe where you can just relax in the sun and swim on the beach for free then eat and drink in seafront restaurants for half the cost.

Maybe if people don't want to risk the UK weather but don't want to go abroad each year, a staycation, ie staying at home in holiday mode alternated with going abroad is a good compromise. I don't know about others but I'm perfectly capable of ignoring 'jobs' and doing what I feel like if I'm supposed to be on holiday.

I think it's been exacerbated by covid/brexit/cost of living crisis - suddenly loads of comparatively wealthy people who've always holidayed abroad have had to make do with uk holidays, but don't think they're real holidays.

Staycation means stay at home. Some people have only had holidays in the U.K., it’s still a holiday!

Honestly we don’t know what the weather will be like. It’s always a bit of a gamble but it can pay off when the weather is good. Sometimes it’s just nice to be away from home.

But OP you are not unreasonable doing whatever you want.

I would rather be wet and cold by the sea then at home though.

Thank you to those who have already said a UK holiday is a holiday; a staycation is when you are at home and do day trips. This drives me potty. I blame the BBC and other media for this misuse of the word.

Can you compromise and book a long weekend somewhere instead of a full week? And not anywhere in Wales if the kids are sick of going there! Somewhere that appeals to everyone.

Yes, if you leave home you are on holiday, you stay at home on a staycation.

This. By that reckoning I wouldn't have had a holiday since 2018, when in reality I've stayed away from home each Spring (excepting 2020) and Summer since then, for a week to ten days in Spring, and a fortnight in Summer. Plus numerous two and three night hotel breaks all over the country. I certainly don't feel deprived of holidays, or that I've only been having "staycations" all this time.