How to plan a family holiday that's actually enjoyable?

[holidayplanningnewbie]

I've received a small windfall and I'd like to take the DC on holiday - we've struggled financially since having the DC for one reason and another and they've never left the country or been on a proper holiday (other than visiting relatives or friends). I'd like to spend about £1k on the booking plus spending money.

Or at least, I though I did till I started actually planning it! Please help Mumsnet! How can I make it a holiday that I actually enjoy and isn't just a bunch of stress?!

I'm guessing it needs to be UK-based given our tiny budget and the covid situation. We've done A LOT of it being just the 4 of us in the house under lockdown, and the kids are sick of each other's company! They bicker loads! I can just imagine we'll book somewhere, go stay in a lovely place and the kids will spend the time bickering and it'll be stressful and feel like a waste of money.

Do we need a holiday where there's a lot to do, to take the kids attention off each other?

We're not a sporty family. We like gentle walks, history, science, nature, wildlife, fossils, the kids love the beach but I'm not that fussed, music, festivals (I wish I could take them to a festival, really!). We'd prefer to be somewhere basic with great surroundings than somewhere slick in a crap area. DP and I love a good pub. DC are 7 and 11.

I want the kids to make nice memories AND for DP and me to enjoy it. It this actually possible?!

All I keep imagining is the stress of it all and it ending up being me trying to make sure the kids have fun, while they fight and it's just stress for me (story of my life at the moment!).

I would have jumped at the chance of a holiday pre-kids!

What would you do?

The gypsy vans are on an amazing very quiet, family friendly campsite

We usually camp but have booked a static caravan (South Coast). The DCs get a room each which should help with the bickering.

We need a mix of doing time and relaxed time so tend to alternate bigger, longer days out around the area with a quieter local day.

We went to a Eurocamp last summer and it was bloody brilliant! It's not fancy and you might be able to get some good deals at the moment. We went with a 1 and 3 year and our eldest just loved playing with other children - there are activities for older kids and the swimming pools were ace. We'll definitely be booking to go again. There are quite a few in Normandy/Brittany.

£1000 won’t necessarily get you a week and travel and food etc in France depends if you can find a site with availability etc. It’s worth a look though if you fancy France.

Otherwise I would keep it simple and try and find a cottage somewhere in this country close to a beach and other attractions such as small town to explore. Wales,Devon etc. You can be there and set up ready to enjoy your holiday.

When mine were that age beach days bodyboarding and exploring NT places with a picnic was fine with the odd meal out or trip to a little town to spend holiday money on tat.
We always kept some budget back to take a few new DVD’s for films and games and good food and treats for us for the evenings.
If you can find somewhere you can potter out in the evenings to a pub or beach even better evening beach walk or little BBQ can be great memories.

Also you do sort of have to commit to the fact it may not be that relaxing or the sort of thing you might want to do but that doesn’t mean you won’t get any enjoyment out of it. I just got stuck in with a wetsuit and body board in the end and it was great.
Hope you have a lovely time wherever you go.

We find the only holidays that don’t end in horrific fights are really action packed ones. Everyone is either too busy or too tired to pick fights.

For us, city breaks are much better to please everyone as there is so much more to do. This may not really be possible this year so I would hold off until next year if I was you. Incidentally, our happiest holidays are always the more expensive ones so another year to save wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Barcelona is a great mix of city and sea. So much to see and do, with a great cosmopolitan vibe. Beautiful beaches, fabulous shopping and plenty to visit. Casa Batllo by Gaudi is stunning and a must see!! Other places we’ve loved are Los Angeles, London, Edinburgh and Palma.

We find the only holidays that don’t end in horrific fights are really action packed ones. Everyone is either too busy or too tired to pick fights.

I agree with this so much. DH and I usually have a falling out at least once. We went skiing for the first time this year, everyone got on the best they ever had. This may have been because we WEREN'T together 24/7 (children in ski school) and everyone was happy to chill and then crash at the end of the day.

In fairness, my DH hates getting up early. DS1 and I in particular are morning people, so actually skiing worked well for us as the DC and I went out early to ski school (them) and a couple of hours skiing (me). Then DH met us for lunch and joined me for the afternoon. It meant that we all got what we wanted from the holiday.

It's about managing expectations. As much as I'd love DH to be up at 8am and raring to go like the rest of us, my insistence that he does that just causes conflict. So I'll do something with the DC early on and DH joins us later, at which point I get the opportunity for some time to myself if I want it.

Think about dividing and conquering on holiday. We sometimes do this too, allowing them a break from each other and some quality time for us. If for example you went to the site I linked to, one of you could bowl or play pool or air hockey with your 11 year old and the other could take the 7 year old to the bungee trampolines, or the pool or just for a local walk.

There are lots of deals at that site at the moment which means you could bring it in under £1k. Consider too doing a shorter holiday. Last year when we went there, we reduced our nights from 7 to 5 because of summer holiday inflation. It actually worked really well as we were sad to leave rather then having holiday fatigue.

www.cheznous.com/237751/le-pommier-orne.aspx?propertyType=1&startDate=25/7/2020&flexibleDate=true&duration=7&partySize=4&sleeps1=0&sleeps2=0&sleeps3Plus=0&lat=45.17&long=5.45&zoom=7&criteria=fg7&orderBy=SleepsASC&tab=list&page=1&type=list&rand=162148&region=159&ListRegion=159
This works out £850 for the week. Euro tunnel about £150 return. Plenty of space for kids to play without annoying one another, plus a pool for them.

Just saw your dh doesn’t swim. There’s lots cheaper (around £600pw) if you don’t want a pool. I’d definitely recommend lots of outdoor space for the dc though!

Have you looked at Feather Down Farms? They're all over the country, lovely safari style tents with real beds, all on working farms. Lots are near beaches etc.
We went to the one in Alton in Hampshire and had an amazing break!

OP, I'd look for an airbnb cottage with 3 bedrooms in Northumberland. Or a luxury caravan somewhere like Cresswell Towers.
Northumberland has stunning beaches, nature reserves, seals and puffins on sea boat trips, loads of castles and beautiful stately homes, gorgeous inland and coastal walks, quirky things like the Poison Garden in the grounds of Alnwick castle or the gorgeous barter Books second hand bookshop in Alnwick's old railway station. There's an observatory at Kielder reservoir (lots of lakes and reservoirs too) You can hire kayaks, go pony riding, head into Newcastle for a day's shopping art and theatre if you like.
Local food includes fish and chips, lobster, Craster kippers, stotty bread (soft flat white bread).

Airbnbs can be really cheap, and as they are self catering that brings the cost down.

For a very cheap family-friendly festival, other end of the country, I really recommend Portsmouth Victorious. It's a fraction of the cost of other festivals. We got early bird tickets for a single day one year and paid about £50 in total, as DC get in very cheaply.

I have found that the best memories for kids come from spending time with other kids (not just the siblings)
during the holidays.

It doesn’t matter how cheap or expensive the holiday, as long as they have other kids to play with they will have a great time.

Not exactly the kind of holiday you would expect under COVID-19 though, honestly at this time I would rather get a big pool for the garden, declare the week a holiday, feed them pizza every night, popcorn in front of TV and organise some days out to break the monotony before you get back to your usual routine.

... and save the money for some nicer expensive holiday next year.

Go to France!
Lille on the eurostar?

Or eurotunnel to calais

We've just booked the eurotunnel today. Not as cheap as other years mind. But we've paid for refundable.

Look at Castels et Camping website. Most French sites have mobile homes to rent.

Really recommend Etang De La Breche,
Chateaux Les Eaux
Domaine Des Ormes
La Garengoire ( amazing)
Chateux Le Galinee (loads to do in the area)

Feel free to ask if you need more info.