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Original poster

The pros and cons of telling your kids about holiday months in advance?

18 replies

sheepsheep · 12/01/2019 02:01

We have booked to go to Disneyland Paris in August. Its a pretty big deal for us, as its our first holiday in years and obviously its Disney...not everyone's cup of tea I know, but out of us all only DH has been before.

Our DC are 10 and 6. We really want to tell them, and will find it so hard to not say anything until nearer the time. But its too far away for our 6 year old to really grasp so maybe we should wait?

Really I was just hoping to hear from others who have done similar and when did you tell the DC about the trip?

OP posts:

TellMeItsNotTrue · 12/01/2019 02:09

I'd tell them around a month before, gives them time to get excited without the excitement wearing off and being disappointed that it's not yet. I'd also get a countdown to Disney chart, so they can change how many days left until you go.

MrsTerryPratcett · 12/01/2019 02:10

DD is really good at looking forward to things without freaking out. We bought her a calendar to put things on and that worked really well. But some DC just get utterly worked up and by the time the holiday rolls around, they are ruining it. And the expectations are too big.

I kid you not, friends of mine got divorced and the start of that was taking their two to Disneyland. Too much expectation, awful, stressful holiday.

Original poster

sheepsheep · 12/01/2019 02:32

A month before would coincide with the start of our summer hols here in NI. So that might not work out too well in terms of them being off school with more time to work themselves up.

Its so hard. Part of me thinks that having longer to get excited, get used to the idea, kind of forget about it, get excited in the week or two leading up to it might be better than a month of agony before going. But I truly have no idea how they will react because we have never done anything like this before.

We aren't really the stressy type. We know August is going to be busy and that is why we have added an extra night so we can take our time and not be rushed. I will plan a lot before we go but I can also deal with changes to plans and go with the flow. Fingers crossed though. I think Disney is capable of breaking the best of us.

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itstrue · 12/01/2019 03:03

We told our kids that we were going to Disneyland as soon as our flights were confirmed. We wanted the surprise of telling them rather than overhearing as a lot of people knew our plans. My 10 year old was very excited but our 6 year old really didn't comprehend it.

For us it was fine. Everyone got excited and they understood that we had tickets for xx months away and we had to wait.

MrsTerryPratcett · 12/01/2019 03:41

I do also think it's really important not to put too much into Disneyland.

It's probably the third best family holiday we've had. I think the adults spend so much and imagine so much that it can't be that good.

Crappy apartment on Lake Garda with as much pizza and ice cream as DD could eat? Much better.

Justagirlwholovesaboy · 12/01/2019 03:44

Tell them now, start a countdown, don’t understand why the anticipation will kill them

brizzledrizzle · 12/01/2019 04:41

Half the fun of a holiday is the anticipation so I'd tell them now.

MeetOnTheledge · 12/01/2019 07:44

I can't imagine not telling our DCs, in fact we always discuss holiday plans before booking. So I'd tell them now.

PeaQiwiComHequo · 12/01/2019 07:56

10 days beforehand is plenty IMO.

StandUpForYourRights · 12/01/2019 08:02

I'd tell them now so you can share in their excitement. We plan things together, have a countdown and importantly the DC save their pocket money. Relatives also give them spending money for birthdays. It helps you and they love being able to spend on whatever they want (and Disney is expensive).

NorthernRunner · 12/01/2019 08:09

Tell them when you want!!

We went to Tokyo and visited the DisneySea there, we told our daughter all about it probably about 4months in advance, as that’s when we booked flights. We thought she wouldn’t get so overwhelmed that way and it wouldn’t be loads of pressure.
It’s totally amazing, but needed a few days rest afterwards 😂

Willbeatjanuaryblues · 12/01/2019 08:26

I'd say 10 days in advance too. Also don't be too exited about as you'll need strategic planning once there because it will be so busy.

UserMe18 · 12/01/2019 08:28

For me one of the best parts of a holiday is the excitement and build up before it, the downside to surprising right before is it can be overwhelming and feels like it is over on a flash. We chose to tell our children in April last year going in October, my husband was working away over summer so it was something for them to look forward to, explain where his extra wages were going etc etc. Mine are younger than yours and it worked well.

We are going to Florida next year and including the children in the booking process, looking at hotels etc, I think it's fun to include them.

UserMe18 · 12/01/2019 08:32

And just to counteract the people unnecessarily telling you not to get excited after you have stated it's your first holiday in years, get excited, we went in October, first time taking kids to Disneyland and it was brilliant, everything I wanted it to be and more. The kids were in heaven, DH and I loved it, and that's why we cancelled our family holiday for this year to save to go to Florida next year. You'll have an amazing time, get as excited as you want otherwise why bother booking a holiday!!!

CountFosco · 12/01/2019 08:38

Treat it like any other holiday. We have a 6 year old, we went to a festival last year when he was 5 which he (and our 9&10 year olds) loved and he knows we're going this year again and he seems to be able to cope with the excitement. I don't think Disneyland is that special that it should be treated any differently. Of course, we took the kids to Paris last year and went nowhere near Disneyland so maybe I'm the wrong person to ask!

CountFosco · 12/01/2019 08:45

Just realised it's your first holiday in years. Paris was our foreign holiday with the kids (only gone to visit family before for holidays), they knew for months before we were planning to go but DH sent off their passport applications late so we didn't actually book anything until they arrived a week before we were planning to go. DH was wary of saying too much in case they didn't arrive in time but the kids seemed to cope OK with the uncertainty (we'd have done something in October instead).

Peopleplease · 12/01/2019 09:10

We’ve done both. For our DisneyWorld holiday we told DD (she was 4 when we went) well in advance. So we had a lovely build up watching YouTube videos of all the rides and what we were going to do so she wasn’t overwhelmed when we got there.

When we went to Disneyland Paris we told her the day before for the surprise!

For your first holiday I’d tell them. It’s a great holiday. We loved it.

Original poster

sheepsheep · 12/01/2019 09:26

Thanks everyone. So nice to hear that telling them early worked out and I think we are going to tell them this weekend. It will be useful for them to know so they can save and can understand why we will be saving (good point made by a couple of posters) and also so they can help us plan what things to do.

Will definitely get a calendar or some kind of count down chart for them.

I know that Disney needs planning, and also that it really isn't a holiday in the traditional sense of the word. Our DC would be just as happy with whatever holiday we took them on, but Disney is just something I would love to experience with them, especially while the youngest is young enough for it to be maximum magic. My DH has so many brilliant memories of Disney as a child and it was only recently that we realised taking them was even possible for us, so I can't help but be ridiculously excited.

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