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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to expect my sister and niece to share things they brought on holiday

32 replies

pingu2209 · 29/07/2011 21:59

The whole family have gone on holiday abroad but by car. There are 13 of us: mother, father, sister, brother in law, niece, brother, sister in law, nephew, husband and my 3 children.

It is a self catering holiday. We all brought stuff for the kitchen/loos - for example, I brought washing up liquid, bin bags, t-towels, 18 bottles of beer, various alcoloholic spirits, 72 jaffa cakes(!), 3 packets of Cadburys fingers, 3 large bags of Kettle chips, 6 bottles of squash, 2 loaves of bread etc.

My sister brought a large selection pack of Haribo sweets (a big bags with loads of little bags in it), 4 Cadburys family sized swiss rolls and a large bag of pasta.

My niece is very very picky on 'main' meal food and savoury food. However, she eats loads of 'junk' food such as cakes and crisps and sweets. As such she would help herself to the 'junk' food without offering anyone else anything but would eat readily of the other food I brought.

In fact my sister wouldn't share any of the food she bought on the holiday - even bread, but would accept all food offered her from others.

On the 7 days on the beach my sister and brother in law spent exactly £0, but my brother, father and I bought cofee, tea, hot chocolate and ice creams everyday - which they accepted.

Would I be unreasonable to say to her directly I am unhappy with her attitude and behaviour?

My father wants to go away next year but my husband has said no as the final straw for him was at the last meal on the last night, my brother in law ate one of the cakes my husband had bought and offered round the table and brought squirty cream (from his room!) but did not offer it to anyone else at the table.

OP posts:
FakePlasticTrees · 31/07/2011 10:50

Just to add to this, most people I know don't go on whole family holidays when they are grown ups, I don't think I've been on holiday with my brother since he was 15 and he stopped coming on the main family trip. It would be better for your relationship with your sister to just not do this again.

fedupofnamechanging · 31/07/2011 11:49

I think you need to get a bit tougher with your sister and BIL at the time, rather than stewing about it later. Because you didn't speak up when this was happening, you now feel resentful and wish you'd handled it differently.

I would still go on holiday with my family, if that was what I wanted to do, and I would still buy an ice cream for my niece (because she is a child), but I would stop buying for my sister and BIL. If they question it, then say it's because you are fed up with subbing them. When your BIL wouldn't share his bread with your dad, that was the time to point out, quietly and politely, that your dad had paid for his holiday.

I think they are shameless and probably won't change, but the rest of your family enables them to be so, by not challenging them. Perhaps your dad will have second thoughts about inviting them again.

If it's still really bugging you, perhaps have a quiet word with your sister. And stop inviting them over so much.

kevlarbrassiere · 31/07/2011 12:10

Why shouldn't the OP go on family holidays as a solution to dealing with the meanness of her sister and bil?

I think that its lovely that your dad has made the effort to get ye all together, and that its worth keeping up as a tradition, as long as ye can get the spending sorted.

I have a bil who is a bit like yours. Whenever we have an outing, and I suggest buying treats/food, he will always say that they just ate! However, if we then sit down with said treats, he will cadge as much as possible for his children. It would drive me nuts, until my dh started to consistently say 'I don't think so, unless you want to give Kevlar two quid'. He is incredibly mean, and we know it, so just cut him out of group picnic food, etc (not the actual outing, just the food/drink). Obviously if the neices/nephews want to have some, they are welcome.

You need to say this to your sister. I do understand you getting hyperaware of every morsel of food (being able to itemize!), its what happens when you put up with something for a long while, and not because you are necessarily 'odd'.

LikeACandleButNotQuite · 31/07/2011 12:12

I second karma - either address it at the time, or let it pass now you are back. BUT I wouldnt avoid going with them in future, just use this as a learning experience.

We go on a family holiday, self catering like you did, every year and have the following rules which really really help with the smooth running:
*Meal plan for breakfasts and dinners before we go - agree a main meal each evening that suits everyone - big shop done when we get there, usually by me as I am not a good cook, so this is my 'contribution'
*Costs of big shop is split between all adults, with kids paying half adult costs
*We sort our own lunches
*Snacks, treats, nibbles are brought by everyone, and we put our names on anything we DONT want to share, meaning anything else is 'Team Food'
*Every household going brings one teatowel, a handfull of dishwasher tablets and as a loo roll per person
*Every adult chucks a fiver in to a Kitty for milk, eggs, tea coffee, bread etc as they need replenishing often

The above may seem like very strict guidelines, but after 13 years, we've sort of 'honed' it to a T. Not saying we dont get squabbles and the odd bit of 'in-fiting' but this is just par for the course.

Try again, its a big thing going on a large family holiday, but it really can work well.

BabyDubsEverywhere · 31/07/2011 12:16

I think you all have serious issues with food tbh

moomaa · 31/07/2011 12:26

This thread is just like the one you wrote before you went, and lots of people gave you excellent advice then but it seems like you ignored it all. This gets to the point where you say something AT THE TIME or understand that you are allowing it to happen.

How hard would it to have said 'your turn to buy this time sis', or failing that 'I'll leave you to get yours this time as it looks like you don't like doing rounds'.

FabbyChic · 31/07/2011 12:34

You are a mug, seriously if it bothers you that much which clearly it does you say something, you don't just let it simmer under the surface. Your BIL and Sister are tight wads, they treat you with disrespect yet you let it happen.

Continue to let something happen and it will continue.

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