Does anyone actually enjoy family holidays?!

[weekfour]

You can probably guess, but I'm currently on holiday with 3DC (aged 1, 3 and 6), DH and my parents. It's fucking hard work and I feel like I'm spinning bloody plates trying to keep everyone smiling.

I'm too hot. DC are too hot. There's too much traffic. Everything is expensive (I've got enough money but resent being ripped off). No one will sleep at the same time so I'm feeling the need to burn the candle at both ends. I just want to be at home, where I know where everything is and I don't have to police a fucking swimming pool.

There we go. I feel better already.

Apologies if I don't reply. The air on keeps knocking off the circuit board in our 'luxury' villa which takes the WiFi with it. Or somebody wants something. Again.

We go with DM and/or DPIL and it’s wonderful. But everyone gets stuck in and childcare is very shared. Last year was a villa in France and DSs were 4 and 1...four adults to two children is the right beach ratio. I have refused to consider a pool until they can both swim as I would be too worried but am looking forward to them being old enough!

This year I couldn’t have the time off and DH took them with DPIL for a week in the U.K. and they had a ball (I think they exhausted DPIL but nobody complained). And we’ve got a week AI just the four of us in October which I’m looking forward to enormously.

I won’t do the UK if I can avoid it as my idea of hell is being stuck in a holiday cottage in the rain (happened once, when DS2 was tiny, never again!).

I am in France with my DC aged 5 and 8. I like it but have to stop myself from stressing. First week it was really hot, kids couldn't sleep, couldn't go out and do much. We had a pool but youngest got an ear infection so couldn't swim, had to find a doctor etc. We don't eat out because of limited budget and one very fussy DC so sometimes feeding everyone is a chore.

Second week we are in a place where the weather is cooler which is much better for the kids, bigger house but no pool - kids have been just as happy playing in the garden. They drive me mad with their fighting but we've spent some lovely time together - building sandcastles, rock-pooling, eating nice ice-cream. When I get home I only remember the good things!

I haven't even set off on holiday with the 2 DDs aged 5 and 7 yet. Doing the final bits of packing, leaving this afternoon and I am dreading it already.

I always just do caravans, DC’s are 5 and 2. Hey drive me mad sometimes but we do have fun, we went to Cornwall this year, Filey last year, we don’t have loads of money to do it all but we make it work. When we went with in-laws we did separate caravans, they like to think of themselves as hands on grandparents but honestly they’re not too much, but that’s fine, they’re our kids so we just know we have them all week still, we meet after breakfast and we make plans the day before. Makes things easier.

I've just come back from 2 weeks in Spain with DH, DD11 and DD8. We had an amazing time but this was our first holiday abroad as a family. I would absolutely not have bothered trying to do a foreign holiday when the kids were younger. My youngest is very strong-willed and prone to tantrums and I couldn't have dealt with her in a hot climate when she was younger.

Yes, I do but I have just the one child and we have never been abroad. We stay in a lovely cottage, there’s a dishwasher (which we don’t have at home so it feels like less work) and it’s never too hot, it’s just right.

We shared your pain a few weeks ago so already booked a uk luxury cottage for next year 👏

too lazy

Sorry....

My DH and DC go on holiday to have a relaxing time. For me, when I go on "holiday", same job different location!

Hahaha same with me. We are going all inclusive this year so will be a change from not have to cook clean etc. DH has ai all year round so it won't be new to him.

I am in Menorca at the moment with sister, BIL, DM, step dad, DH, DD18 and DN 7.

Stunning villa should be totally relaxation, sadly dm keeps getting the arse but we don't know why. Dd is bored, sis and BIL keep bickering. We are going away just me and husband next time.

Ooh @BillThePony I'm coming to join you there next week! Is it super hot?

Its hot Feral but not humid, I prefer the breeze on the beach as a bit hot at the pool.

Currently on holiday abroad with my husband, 1 year old and 2 1/2 year old, had my parents with us for part of the holiday too. Totally get what you are saying, anything but relaxing! We are currently sat here trying to decide what to do today, I read a list out of "top things to do" from Google and we can't do any of them with the kids.

Our 2 1/2 year old is still trying to potty train and has pissed on basically everything!! We got a new car just before we came away, it stinks of piss 😆 (Several car seat accidents, seat been cleaned but the smell omg!!). The 2 1/2 year old is like a wild animal on the beach, she just runs off. The youngest is still breastfeeding and has for some reason started just feeding all night long so I'm dead on my feet. Family holidays are fun .

I was just saying to my husband "remember when we used to sit in little cafes on holiday relaxing having a drink people watching?" He said "yeah we used to watch other people wrestling with kids and think you poor things. We are those people now!"

On a family holiday right now - kids are high school age so easy peasy. Have always taken them away from a few months old and did likes of Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand when they were 2 and 5 ish. We did generally keep it simple and easy in a resort with family hotels when they were babies/tots though.

I always, without fail, dread them but I generally love them. We did the flying thing this year at May half term, DC are 9 and 7 and despite a total of 6 hours delay they were a dream. No electronics either, just novels and sticker books - I was SO proud!

DH always turn our phones off and have no internet and the sole focus is the kids so they're happy, we're happy. I hate anything other than self-catering, I hate having to rush round to be at a certain place and then eat "communally" - yuck. We go out for the odd meal. I even enjoyed our camping trip this year (UK) which I was certain I'd hate.

But yes, with parents or in-laws or children under the age of 5, it's horrendous.

Had some bad holidays with my two boys and this year OH took two weeks off work and we just stayed home, but went on day trips- had some lazy days at the local park, staying at home watching film days. It’s been SO much better. We could all enjoy each other’s company, have fun days out but get back home have an easy bedtime routine and full night sleep.
I think we are going to try holidays again in a couple of years when they will be 7 and 5.

Yes. Hugely.

But then my chikdren weren’t ever nightmares when little and were quite happy chappys.

Yes. I love them. BUT I am a single parent and not having to take into account another adult is blissful. Ex needdd pub stops every hour or so and if there was an "important" football match on we would have to revolve the day around making sure he watched that. He never wanted the same food the kids wanted "boring". In Spain he wanted to stop for tapas and wine all day long, which the kids hated. If we went to a theme park we'd be marched round it as quickly as possible with him huffing and puffing and moaning all the while. He also wanted "a night to myself!" which meant him disappearing at about 6 pm and returning pissed up in the early hours at least once every holiday.

All holidays and days out are wonderful now I don't have to deal with that.

I usually have a shit time on holidays. My dh likes to relax and tends to forget that it's my holiday too and we have 3 kids to referee entertain!

In spite of this I still look forward to them with hope!!

Currently on once in a lifetime style holiday made possible as we're staying with DHs bro and sil (she's native). They are lovely but planned itinerary which involves lots of sitting in the car and the first 3 days have been changed each time as their kids are sick( not their fault!) I'd happily do our own thing but they're determined to host us. So far we've done nothing we wouldn't usually do on a uk holiday other than see a temple but sil wasn't able to come so we'd no idea what we were looking at!!

My kids are bored. The tablets are out (we don't usually bring them on holiday...so glad we did) and it's all currently feeling like a huge waste of money!!

Plus I'm bored and my dh is having the time of his life catching up with his bro.

On the upside the food is amazing (my kids wont eat it )

I really want to enjoy it but there's all these negatives hanging over the experience and I feel like we're still waiting to start having been here 4 days!!

Oops turned into full rant!! Sorry

But yes I usually have not enough sleep, spend most of my time rolling my eyes at my ungrateful kids and kicking my husband (or making pa comments if we're with people) and end up feeling like I need a holiday by myself straight afterwards!

BUT I am a single parent and not having to take into account another adult is blissful.

I was going to say exactly this! It took me until DC1 was four before I braved a holiday (alone) with him, partly because of the v difficult experience of an AI Mediterranean holiday with him at eighteen months along with my mum and sister - it was harder than being at home, and while obv 18mo is harder than 4yo in general I only realised much later that it was the additional adults that made it harder than being at home.

Fully anticipate that DC2 will make holidaying more complicated for a bit (5mo, so have done a couple of UK hols which were easy, but I know once she's on the move it'll be trickier), but I don't think that'll be to the point of no longer enjoying it. I love getting away for a change of scenery. I do have fantasies of solitary holidays where all I need to do is lie on the beach reading a book and only thinking about my own needs, but I'm also very comfortable knowing that's a 15 year wait away.

Yes...if its all inclusive with kids club. Expensive but actually a holiday for everyone

Loving the fact that us single parents united enjoying our holidays!

We've taken DSD away quite a few times but never abroad and she was pretty exhausting - too hot, too tired, doing things is too exhausting, not doing things is boring. She was very good fun at times but other times she just seemed to find it all a bit much.

At what point (if ever) do you have more of the fun?

We had a 'golden period' between the ages of 7 and 14 when family holidays were great. Now my dc are 14 and 16 respectively they have firm opinions of their own and the amount of whingeing when we went to Quebec province recently was unreal. We stayed in Montreal, Quebec City and in the lakes and mountains in between. They enjoyed the lakes and mountains - paddle boarding, white water rafting etc but boy did they moan when staying in the city (Montreal and Quebec City)...we didn't try and make them tour endless dusty museums but still they found the whole thing unutterably tedious, so in the end we left them in their hotel room with the free wifi whilst we went off to explore.

I do think you have to have an idea of what you want and what’s realistic before you go.
I love going away with the kids (ds1 is 11, ds2 is 3). I’ve just done one holiday abroad visiting family on my own with them, and now we’re off on our actual family holiday together with dh.
I’ve learnt to go along with things and not stress or worry so much, but also say “we’re doing this now” rather than get into endless discussions.
I find that if I’m more relaxed, the kids are too, and then we all have a better time.
I also love self catering as I like to go to the local markets and foreign supermarkets, and I genuinely enjoy cooking. We eat out too, and lunch might well be chips and ice cream.
I’m getting all excited now as we leave on Sunday and I’m already packing!