Saying absolutely no way to a short Australian trip

It's really cheap to fly on Christmas day!

Your DH is being ridiculous though the jet lag would be immense! The best Christmas I ever had was in New Zealand it was amazing to be warm, go to the beach and to have a bbq!

I have done shorter trips to Aus - not ideal, but worth it for me to be able to see certain people.

But that's not what is happening here. They are presumably going to have a nice time, not endure it.

You must admit going twelve thousand miles with a small child for five days isn't the norm. Especially when you have two weeks available to you.

Either go for the maximum stretch of the school holiday, or go in the schooo summer break.
why would you bother going for 5 days. what a waste of flights.

Honestly, he's hardly suggesting you all hike up Everest. You're perfectly entitled to say it doesn't work for you, but it isn't actually impossible. I have done shorter trips to Aus - not ideal, but worth it for me to be able to see certain people.

He's off his rocker. If you are going in December you need to go the day he breaks up, whether it's going to feel Christmassy or not.

Christmas isn't awful in Australia, it's just different.

I'll add that it depends a lot on the school terms too. If he's finishing on the 21st and not back at school until the 9th January which has been the case for us, then flying on the 26th might be ok, whereas on other years they are back on the 3rd.

It's totally do-able. You'll be slightly nocturnal for much of the trip, but that doesn't really matter. My shortest ever trip back was 6 nights.

WRT it not feeling Christmassy, I completely disagree ... and my husband and I often have this argument! I don't think it feels at ALL christmassy in the UK. Christmas is about BBQs, friends hanging out, theatre in the botanic gardens, picnics, long walks and beach cricket. In England, it feels so cold and miserable, and it's all about shopping and stress instead.

When my DD went to Aus it took her about a week to get over the jet lag from the flight and time difference both ends, when she got there and when she got home

Rude and insulting to a whole nation to say their experience of Christmas isn't good enough for him. Maybe he should try it and see before he judges it.

It's not fair on the 4 year old to put them through such an unnecessary experience just because their father doesn't want to miss out on a proper Xmas.

We flew to Australia last year to visit family, flew economy there but upgraded to business class for the return flights.
Absolutely brutal flights, jetlag, adjustment to completely opposite weather, it's a lot for a short trip.

@CapaciousMug I’ve that trip with my DD and it’s not Christmassy at all for my DS and her family.
We spent three weeks there, but spending 10 days your DH must be mad! You’ll spend 2 to 3 days getting over the jetlag. The flight cost rocket so much in that time Christmas/New Year’s Eve period!
Happy Christmas🎉

A relative does brutal short trips uk to Oz - however I think they handle disruption of sleep much better than average and it is to see their own child, so pretty essential.
I can't see any of you enjoying it, let alone your daughter, and - for me at least - it would distract from the loved 'traditional' Xmas Day just due to wondering if all was ready to go, and how much I had to get through before flying.
I would refuse, but if it's got to happen my guess is it will only happen once when your husband has lived the experience and returned to work exhausted.

I wouldn't go at all at Christmas but bickering over a couple days here or there seems silly. I'm the one who 'fucked off overseas' - my husband and I are immigrants and both of our extended families are overseas. We are going back for our second Christmas next year - the first was 8 years ago. I see no reason to do that every year. The heat will be brutal and everyone will be exhausted.

I would set a different tradition from the start as I hate travelling over Christmas - everyone is in a terrible mood, it's crowded everywhere and it's silly money (I saw you aren't paying but it's still silly).

I don't however see any reason to think a couple extra days means anything. It's his family and his family's money so thats more on him really.

As an Australian who lives in Brisbane (about 1hr drive away from the Gold Coast) why would you want to visit in the heat and humidity of summer? It sucks. That Reddit link from @TheSandgroper is accurate. Saps the will to live. Come when the weather is nicer.

However if you do come then a lot of people like having a lot of fresh seafood for Christmas, or a BBQ, followed by pavlova. Others do a traditional roast meal and plum pudding. Lots of cold ham and salads too. Plenty of alcohol of course.

I do not understand the horror some.people.feel about a "different" Christmas. I am from South Africa. Christmas in yhe sun is lovely. Christmas i England is great. I have spent Christmas in other European countries... all great (better than england to be frank- more snow!). We have various family from European countries who have come to SA and loved it.

I dint see why your dh can't have Christmas in Australia sometimes. I also think having all the Christmas madness then getting on a 24 hour flight?! Even without the jet lag... exhausting and stressful.

Then let them cover over for a traditional drizzle and mild British Christmas.

It Sounds like a quick turnaround to me. I found the jet lag crippling so I’d want a decent chunk of time to make it worthwhile.

Won't feel Christmasy? Oh come on, that's pathetic! I think it sounds a lovely thing to do but go for the whole of the holidays for goodness sake.

I just googled to see what flights might cost. For two adults flying from London to Sydney, with a three-year-old on your laps for 21+ hours, you're looking at around £5k flying with a decent airline (Qantas, Air Malaysia, Emirates) from London and arriving under 24 hours after take off. I've flown on cheaper airlines and always regretted it. If you were hoping to fly from Manchester or Glasgow it'll be more. You're only there for 10 days, but I imagine you'll need to allow another £1k for airport parking, travel expenses, car hire, meals out and activities with your family and thank-you gifts for your hosts. So your husband is proposing burning through £6k and planning to go back to work with jet lag.

No an option I would choose — but then I'm not sure I'd have actually got together with someone who had such rigid ideas about Christmas (and presumably other things).

I was once offered a free all expenses paid trip to Melbourne accompanying a colleague to a conference. The catch was that it was for two days. He was a bit surprised when I said thanks, but no thanks.

I wouldn't want to travel that far for such a short trip personally. But went to NZ over easter this year and we ended up landing back in the UK around 11am on the Sunday and all went back to school/work on the Monday morning. That it went fine. We were tired from the journey but managed to last until 8pm for bed, had a decent night's sleep and were all okay on Monday, just needed an early night for the first few days until the jetlag settled. Personally I've never found the jet lag so bad coming back to the UK. So just that part of his plan might not be entirely insane. But the length of trip..... No thanks!

School is closed over Easter. Usually two weeks in a state school, three or even four weeks at a private school.

This is what I was saying. ^ The idea of going for a week - especially with a toddler - is farcical.

At 3 your daughter doesn’t know which day is really Christmas - have a faux Christmas in the uk just after school breaks up and another one in Oz.

That sounds absolutely awful.

How different we all are!