To holiday in the UK?

I see you want all inclusive. I think if you can afford it to go ahead and do it, or maybe book it for next year so instead of paying back the credit card after you pay to travel co in instalments. If you weren’t looking at all inclusive I would say look at Sun Holidays, they are just about to start up again and whilst self catering and basic will come in cheaper & its the memories you are making that will matter and be remembered not the basic accom

That's alot of money for a holiday tbh

I'm glad you like this idea OP. I started doing it after having bought a car on H.P. years ago. When I finally made the last payment, I figured it would make sense to keep paying that amount each month, only into a savings account. By the time I needed to replace the first car, I had enough saved to buy the next one outright. We also did this after paying off the mortgage, which has left us quite comfortable now we are older, and the great thing is, that as you've been used to not having that money, you don't miss it. It also feels good when you realise that your savings pot is growing due to earning interest, so definitely worth a try in my opinion.

Everyone prioritises different things but for me I drive a rusty banger of a car, dress myself from charity shops and go on lots of cheap holidays. That's what I think my kids will remember the most.
It's well worth shopping around too- Jet2 holidays are brilliant. Put your non-negotiables in the search filters (number of passengers, all inclusive etc) and then sort it price low to high. You might well surprise yourself with a cheaper deal. I always think if you're going All Inclusive then the destination doesn't really matter as much.
Good luck OP, these are the days.

Do it, OP. It sounds like you both work really hard to give your children opportunities you maybe didn’t have yourselves, and the holiday clearly brought you all a lot of joy - and the joy isn’t just in the seven days you’re away, but the anticipation beforehand and the memories afterwards. There’s something extremely relaxing about an AI holiday, I agree, and if you’re paying it off interest-free over a year then you can afford it. In another three years your eldest will probably do his own thing during the summers and you’ll be able to book accommodation for four instead. Book it now, and enjoy!

Lots of places have January sales on holidays now, maybe look at October half term options rather than the summer holidays, places like the Canaries are still hot then, some companies also offer holiday payment plans, so you could pay for the next however months in instalments then use the savings to pay off the balance closer to the time, also look for places that offer free child places, this isn’t something that’s offered on last minute deals

I’m always one who will save and be careful but your children are only this young once and you clearly really enjoyed it.
Im sure other posters will have tips for making it cheaper but how about cutting back between now and then?

Fucking hell - Centre Parcs is shit!

I wouldn’t book anything yet but keep saving and look for a last minute deal that will hopefully be cheaper. If it’s AI and somewhere sunny you can be quite flexible about the location and it could be a cruise.
Another possibility it a shorter city break
You do have to do somethings whilst children are the right age to do them, before they grow up.

@HoneyPie12 a week in a forest lodge in August with a hot tub at Uk centre parks costs 4.5k for the week. I’d go abroad.

I would book another holiday yolo . Compare all the holiday sites i was comparing yesterday £1000 difference between tui and jet2.

Personally I would say go for it, if your eldest is 15 then you'll have limited opportunities for full family holidays in the future x

Buying it using a credit card and paying it off immediately, yes, that makes sense. But OP describes paying off the last one over a period of months.

I'm a YOLO person. I'm also a grab your chances while you can person. With your DC growing fast, there may not be many years left for you all to enjoy the same holiday at the same time.
If £5k seems a bit on the steep side, have you checked out all your options, cheaper countries, cheaper weeks etc? Looked at the budget online deals from love holidays and similar? Or considered getting cheap flights to anywhere nice and an air b&b?

I get why you would enjoy an all inclusive so much more as it's relaxing for you. But if you are justifying this on a 'making memories ' basis with your kids then do you think they care about that part?

You won't have many years when they all want to go away with you I know, but when they are too old to want to travel with you then you can afford more luxurious and restful holidays without them as a consolation 🤣

People holiday differently, but generally I find holidays abroad to work out cheaper then similar accommodation standard in the UK. (Cheeper food, accommodation and attractions usually ofsets the cost of flights/ferries).

Are you comparing like for like, or is it either 5* all inclusive abroad or butlins in the uk

I couldn't bear to go into that kind of debt for a one week break tbh. But if would depend for me how big your 'dire situation ' fund is tbh.
How long could you last if one or the other if you lost your job? Or was unable to work for whatever reason for a few months ? Or if your boiler breaks or you need to replace a car? If you have enough of a buffer that you wouldn't be risking you ability to be housed and fed if one of you had a car accident or sth then sure.
But if you are only secure as long as absolutely nothing bad happens then no, not for me.

So not “really bad with money for years” at all