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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not "get" holidays

99 replies

tootsietoo · 10/08/2013 21:28

So all anyone is talking about now is where they have been or where they are going on holiday. The discussions started at about Easter - "have you booked your holiday yet?" And, feeling like a complete freak, I say, no, we haven't got a clue what we're doing in August.

Every year it's the same - around June we feel that we really should do something for a holiday, start looking into it, get staggered at the amount it will cost us even to go somewhere basic that we don't really fancy and give up.

We are lucky, we live in a nice old house in the middle of nowhere and I love it. I don't want to leave it and the dog. DH works away a lot and so it's a novelty being here all together. We have loads of stuff round here we like doing. DH is on holiday for 2 weeks now, and we're staying here. We've got loads of things we want to do (day trips to climb a mountain, go to beach, bike rides and so on) and really looking forward to it.

But the children (5 & 6) have started asking why we don't go to Spain and telling us that ALL their friends have been on a plane and they haven't. So then we start to think we're weird.

Are we? Is anyone else a conscientious holiday objector?

OP posts:
missmapp · 10/08/2013 21:31

We do enjoy our holiday, but think what you are doing sounds lovely. Our dcs also ask when we are going on a plane as we always holiday in the uk, so don't worry about that!

Do whatever gives you an enjoyable break

Sirzy · 10/08/2013 21:32

I think the best thing with holidays is a complete change of scenery, getting away from the normal day to day routine and being able to do different things. You don't need to go abroad to do that.

I love holiday and generally have one week and a couple of weekends away each year generally in the UK but with the odd overseas aswell.

If you don't like it don't go but perhaps consider some sort of holiday if it is something the children want and your in a position to do so?

TheFallenNinja · 10/08/2013 21:33

I know loads of people who gear their entire year around 2 weeks in some piss soaked, rip off, dysentery ridden hell hole and call it a holiday.

They go to the same places, drink the same beer, eat the same food and do the same things.

I find this unfathomable, particularly when they come back and piss and moan about some minor detail.

Nothing wrong with going abroad but the beaten track isn't for me.

Spain is just a long way to go to drink overpriced Guinness and watch sky sports.

Nombrechanger · 10/08/2013 21:34

Holidays abroad are overrated she says sitting on a large garden swing under a million stars overlooking the Aegean Sea Grin stealth boast alert

diddl · 10/08/2013 21:35

I don't like the heat, so the thought of a holiday somewhere like Spain at this time of year would be a nightmare to me.

We're happier to go away Easter/Autumn.

We are away from family though, so holidays are often visits to family in UK.

Otherwise I think that day trips w/ends, couple of nights here & there would do us tbh.

Thurlow · 10/08/2013 21:39

I'm very 'meh' on holidays. Our week in Norfolk last year was the first holiday I'd had in about 8 years! We'll probably go there again next imaginative, us.

A fortnight somewhere hot like Spain would be an absolute nightmare for me, just not my cup of tea at all.

If someone presented me with the tickets to a fully organised three week jaunt around China I'd be more than happy, but I just don't care enough about holidays to either organise them or save for them.

Joiningthegang · 10/08/2013 21:44

I love a holiday - exploring a new place. Before dc we could relax and chill. These days there are definite elements of same shite different place!

ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs · 10/08/2013 21:44

I love my holidays! In some ways I define my life by them ("that was the year we went to xxx..") Great memories that somehow feel more vivid than the rest of the year. maybe because I work really hard, and that 2 weeks out that I can spend just enjoying my family, somewhere different, is such a pleasure.

For me, now that I have my own business, it's even more expensive, but to me the memories it gives are priceless

JADS · 10/08/2013 21:45

Yanbu

Don't getme wrong. I used to be all about holidays, dh and I went everywhere pre ds. Now we have him, going anywhere seems a massive hassle. Coupled with the fact that we move around a lot (forces) and the fact I have very long commute, staying at home just seems the way forward. We have to take holidays during school hols too which makes them even less appealing.

I didn't goon plane until I was 14 so they will live!

manateeinflorida · 10/08/2013 21:46

YANBU :)

I have had one holiday in over a decade.

Methe · 10/08/2013 21:49

I always miss my house and especially my garden and guinea pigs when we are away. It does seem that summer holidays if you are british are daft as it is so beautiful here in the summer and we get so little time to enjoy our gardens in full bloom.

That said, I've just got back from camping in the south of France and loved but it not not exactly relaxing with the children.

Holidays aren't compulsory!

GW297 · 10/08/2013 21:51

YANBU I don't even have a passport anymore!

Sparklingbrook · 10/08/2013 21:53

I have never understood holidays and could quite gladly not bother TBH. Can't wait to get home usually.

Travelled a lot with DH prior to DC though.

My friend has just come come back from a week All inclusive that cost £3000. Shock

teacherandguideleader · 10/08/2013 21:53

I used to feel the same but now I love my holidays. I am away a lot with school and Guides, then when I'm at home I feel I should be doing stuff for school or Guides. If I'm not doing that, I'm helping DP to do a house up. DP works insane hours, and when he is home, he feels like he should be doing the house up. Our paths rarely cross except meal times.

We have a week in the sun and it is the type of holiday I always thought I'd hate. We mostly lounge around the pool or beach. DP sleeps. I read, listen to my ipod or do a puzzle book. In the evening we find somewhere nice for dinner. I come home feeling relaxed and ready to face the next year!

sweetestcup · 10/08/2013 21:58

YABU, I look forward to my holiday every year, we work hard so its great to get some time on the sun. We usually hire a cottage in the middle of nowhere with its own pool, just bliss, relaxation and lots of wine..perfect. I to wouldn't now go a package holiday to Spain but I wouldn't be as rude as some people here about it either, we all like different things!

Bonsoir · 10/08/2013 21:59

Holidays can take lots of different shapes and forms and staying at home can be lovely too.

I have had two holidays this summer and while both were lovely, neither of them were to new or exciting destinations as we were very tired this year and needed a rest. I am indeed rested - and now raring to go for some novelty rather than the fortnight with my parents we have lined up!

sweetestcup · 10/08/2013 22:00

In France.

Sparklingbrook · 10/08/2013 22:02

I find the travelling awful. The packing. The airport fiasco at check in, travelling for hours in close confinement with other people on the plane who are inconsiderate at best. Then the luggage carousel, the car hire, the finding the hotel. Where's the relaxation?
Then a week later do it all again in reverse. Sad

Too much trouble.

Naoko · 10/08/2013 22:08

I love holidays, but it has to be the right kind of holiday. You couldn't pay me to go to some kind of resort with 'entertainment' where all you're supposed to do is sit by the pool and drink because it's in a cultural wasteland miles from anywhere. I'd hate it, I'd be miserable and it'd be an enormous waste of money for me, other people like that kind of holiday and would hate the kind of holiday I enjoy. If you don't want to go to Spain and do whatever it is people around you are doing, don't!

That said, surely there are other kinds of holiday out there that you'd enjoy, and that your DC would also enjoy. Not for the hell of it because you feel like you should, but for the experience. (and maybe there isn't, and that's ok too, and then you should stay home and enjoy your two week break and your trips and have a great time :) ) But just think about what you would enjoy. There are many kinds of holiday. Earlier this year DP and I went to Iceland, we saw whales and rode Icelandic horses and fell completely in love with this weird alien volcanic landscape. It was brilliant and I'm so glad I went, I feel richer for the experience. That's why I go on holiday.

Original poster
tootsietoo · 10/08/2013 22:09

Bah humbug to holidays! Couldn't agree more fallen ninja! And children definitely do make it a bit " same shit different place" ie no lie ins and there is always someone yelling muuumaaaaaaaay. God, for a holiday from that.

OP posts:
BoozyBear · 10/08/2013 22:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sparklingbrook · 10/08/2013 22:14

I live in the Midlands and don't want to go on holiday Boozy. Grin

pointythings · 10/08/2013 22:14

I agree that holidays are about being away from your natural surroundings. My DH is in a horrible stressful job that he won't can't jack in for something lower paid and less wearing. He dreads going to work, it is that bad, and weekends only remind him that work is just round the corner.

For him, not being in the house is what is therapeutic. He is a different person within 48 hours of departure and even a weekend away makes a difference. In April we had our first Norfolk coast/caravan weekend. It was cold and very windy, but we walked along the beach, the insane DDs paddled, we got takeaway fish and chips and had it with proper champagne because it was DH's birthday and it was amazing - of such things great memories are made.

We're now going to try and get away for weekends every 6 weeks or so - and yes, we are lucky that we can afford to do this.

A holiday doesn't have to be abroad. Our best holidays are in Devon, in a holiday cottage that I first went to when I was nearly 18 (I am now 45). We watched the owner's children grow up, and now they are watching my children grow up. There's no entertainment, though there is an indoor badminton court and lots of animals. The owners are lovely. It is quiet. None of the crockery matches and all the electrics are rescues off the local tip repaired by the owner because that's one of the things he does for a living. Nearby there are beaches, walks, the local zoo. And nothing is compulsory. We can't wait to go again next year, it's heavenly. Most of all, it's AWAY!

Sparklingbrook · 10/08/2013 22:15

Someone on here said a self catering holiday is just washing up with a different view......

And camping. No way is that a holiday. Unless you want a holiday from home comforts that is.

Original poster
tootsietoo · 10/08/2013 22:18

Naoko - yes. Iceland sounds cool. We want to take the children to India when they are a bit older. Also I have a dream of doing a riding holiday, just me and my girls, an African safari or Mongolia or somewhere like that when they are teenagers. But those are once in a lifetime trips, something to plan and save for for years. And for when they are older.

OP posts:
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