To not "get" holidays

[tootsietoo]

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?

We don't really "do" holidays. With 2 boys with ASD, the thought of surviving in unfamiliar accommodation without our usual routine and stuff fills me with dread.

We do live in a lovely part of the country, so try to fit in days out, a few times a year. Even those tend to induce a day when we all have to pay for it, afterwards, so the pleasure is not without its costs.

I am in Spain at the moment. But I am staying with my mum, who lives here, so have all the home comforts I need! I love it here- it's hot, there is a pool and the beach is 2 minutes walk away. It is relaxing because I don't have all the general day to day stuff to do, but I also get a sense of what it is like to live here. I have been here at all different times of the year, and although summer is my favourite time, I do love it here at any time of year.

We drive to Europe or UK or Ireland so we can bring Ddog with us - couldn't leave him behind for 2 or 3 weeks.

Have to say that since having kids (2yo twins) it is kind of same shit, different location. After two weeks in France I have vowed never to eat out with them again until they are at least 6 years old.

I wouldn't give up the holidays though as live in south east London and I need a beach!

i love holidays,i love the excitement of waking up early and driving to the airport,i just love all of it,the kids do too,i do it for the weather mostly,i love the sun and the kids do too.I prefer to go somewhere thats not too english and touristy though.

I love holidays, they get me away from my shit town, shit extended family and add a glittery sparkle to the shitness of my life, if only for a few days. We go away at least once a month for a short break and one big holiday each year.

Jeez Louise, lay off Spain will you? There are plenty of other places Brits go to just lie on the beach for two weeks, burn to a crisp, drink cheap beer and eat British food. Is it too working class for you?

I live here, next to a natural beach with not a whiff of concrete, or toy donkeys. Some Brits camping, some German, Russian, lots of French, lots from northern Spain.

I would go stir fry crazy laying on a beach for two.weeks, wherever that beach may be: here, Caribbean, Capri, Bondi zzzzzzzzzzz

Just less of the Spain-bashing, it is lazy and cliched and sad.

Rant over.

I like holidays and over the years we have had many lovely experiences. My DD now age 11 still talks about the holidays we went on when she was younger. I only wish they did not cost so much and that we could afford to go away more than once a year.

One crucial and probably one of my most important aspects of holidaying are the memories they create for kids.

My DC are 15 and 12. They recall the finest details of holidays and weekends away from way way back. We were so skint when they were little we did 3 days camping in the summer. The first time went with them its was shite weather, grotty campsite and not a trip remember alot about - apart from the vile shower block. We dug some old photos out the other weekend and there were just a few dark damp pics of the tent in the rain and a few of locall tourist sights taken through a wet car window.

However, my kids started chatting away and recall the way the tent was pitched under the trees, how they play pooh sticks over a bridge and the tyre swing over the same stream. They recall making welly stands (inspired from my girl guiding days), eating chips in the tent because it was too wet for a BBQ, listening to the pitter patter of the rain on the tent for the first time and thinking it was wild animals climbing over the tent .

Our camping days (and equipment) have come a long way since then - not dissimilair to glamping if I am honest but - this trip away was was almost erased from my memory for its dullness yet my DC look back at it as something magical.

Its lovely to hear them chat about many of our holidays away (mostly camping and a few foreign ones)and listen to their perspective and what they recall from certain trips. Its so so different on the whole to the memories I have.

Anway - have waffled on far too much but the point I am trying to make is holidays stay in the memory a little bit more than some other childhood stuff and holidays is about creating memories for the future as well as having a blast (or trying to) whilst you are there.

Well we aren't far from spain at the moment. Today I have laid by the pool, had a swim, walked to the nearest small and very beautiful town for a mooch and a bowl of moules with dd. Yesterday we went to Gerona and came back on the coast road with the breathtaking views. Presently planning dinner and looking forward to a glass of wine.

Haven't seen any cheap beer or beer swilling brits in the last fortnight but have been outdoors all the time, have had wonderful walks with DH and generally relaxed.

A complete break from work and chores and phones and commitments in a beautiful part of the world, unsullied by package tours. What's not to like or to get? YABU.

I'm with many posters on this thread, but especially sparklingbrook.

In essence, I would love to be there, just hate all the palaver of getting there.

I am so of the OP's house, though. Sounds like my dream!

Yabu a week or two away from home will not stop you enjoying your home and surrounding amenities.
I think the experiences and memories you get from holidays are priceless

I struggle to understand how some people consider holidays with their kids to be a same crap different location scenario. Surely been on holidays means little or no house work or cooking, a break from work and extended family problem and a chance to spend uninterrupted time as a family
I don't see the travelling as a big deal, the waiting time in airports is a lot less than it was years ago.

Holidays with kids are a different kettle of fish and not nearly as restful as BC, but even if we go an hour down the road I bloody love them! Is it because I get away from looking after kids, washing up and cooking? Nope. We camp or self-cater. It's because we get away from the endless clutter, the guilt about those extra jobs that need doing round the house and we spend time in one room. Our home is lovely, in a great city, but the kids have their space and we have ours. In a grotty caravan we are sharing space and seeing each other properly. We're not always saying "yes dear lovely Lego but I am going to take the washing out now". We can really give our kids attention and make them the centre of our world for a week or so, rather than a distraction from our domestic duties... Worth the expense and hassle just for that. Also getting away from telly and wifi good for workaholic DH.

I would go crazy if I didn't have a change of scenery and routine every so often.

Even with children, I like that I don't do washing, ironing and cooking all the time while on holiday, so while you still have to parent, the boring stuff doesn't happen while on holiday.

If we stay at home I'd still have all that to do, plus we'd be making mess that I'd have to clear up.

Holidays are the best.

I never had any holidays as a child and lived in a field in the middle of nowhere. I reckon that is why i absolutely adore the whole holiday ethos of "we're out of here".

I love the travel boat,car,plane whatever.I love the whole way different countries smell and look and feel. I also love that you have your money and can only spend it on stuff that is fun for a week or two.

I'm not a backpacker type though.I can't imagine slumming it for weeks on end having "real" experiences. I like seeing the sights, eating good food anddrinking the local tipple.

Yabu. If we (me and my little family) didn't have the stereotypical holidays you "don't get" once or twice a year, then we would barely travel outside of London.

How fucking boring!

I didn't really 'go on holiday' for several years - going to visit a mate in a different city for the weekend was about all I did, partly because I was skint. And when DS was little, I just used to take him camping, either when going on a folky weekend with my team or a LARP event my friend and I would go to in order to sell things. But the past couple of years we have actually Gone On Holiday and really enjoyed it. For me (and I worry on a daily basis that I am in fact turning into my own mum) one of the best things has been not having to cook meals. (Even when camping, I don't cook, we get takeaways or sandwiches).
I do think some of the anti-holiday people are basically unimaginative and smug, though. Bully for you if you have a nice house in a nice area; not everyone does.

I love holidays. I love the change of scenery and dynamic. Sleep a lot, eat out or buy takeaways/deli meals etc. I always do self catering though, so dd can have her own room be it apartment, mobile home, gite etc, like to be able to stick a load of washing on, and not have to get up at 7am to get a sunbed. AI is my worst nightmare. We are very lucky being in mainland Europe though so no ferry cost, and Dh gets a tank of free diesel. We just pack the car and drive.

And we have had some lovely trips back to UK too. I like to rent a cottage in a new area and fit in family visits as and when. And shop.

I like holidays because going on one is like pressing the reset button on my life.

I always come home feeling emotionally and spiritually refreshed.

And that's true of all my holidays, even the ones I don't actually enjoy that much at the time because they're hard work (camping with children in bad weather).

I actively like missing home and looking forward to getting back.

Good to know there are a few of you out there same as me! I don't think it's a judgey judgey thing, or not liking a particular stereotype of a holiday, I think it's just a personality thing - familiarity making you feel happy, or being a "homebody"

I don't think that where we live is particularly unique. We're an hour's drive from beaches and from mountains - I reckon most people in the UK can reach one or the other in that drive time. Maybe not from Birmingham....?

We've been to the beach today. DH cooked chipolatas on a disposable barbie and I lay still in the sun nearly asleep for probably an hour while the children dug holes. And now we've washed the sand off in our own bath and I'm about to go to sleep in my own comfy bed. Total change of routine, total heaven!

Holidays at home rule

We are hiring a narrow boat for the day on Thursday. That's plenty for me.

Holidays are what you want to to or get away from.

My DH has 2 businesses and I work FT as a teacher so holidays are getting away from piles of marking and paperwork and turning off that bloody mobile phone.

Holidays are spending uninterrupted time with the dcs (and each other). Drinking wine by our tent not distracted by tvs, phones, etc. Trying new food and exploring new areas (we're off to the Pyrenees for the first time in 2 days).

Before children we went on 3-4 holidays a year to a different place each time as that was what we wanted. Now holidays are about the children and letting them run around naked without cares. If your holiday is to spend time in your own home without the morning alarm or the school run and dping day trips with your OH then that sounds lovely - enjoy!

Like you say, it's a lifestyle thing. I love holidays. Before DD, we would go for 2-3 overseas/UK holidays a year. From what you just say We're an hour's drive from beaches and from mountains - I reckon most people in the UK can reach one or the other in that drive time. I don't think you get why others love to travel at all. You don't have mountains in the UK. They are at most hills. Have you been to the Grand Canyon? Or like my DH's hometown in NZ, you can ski and surf on the same day? They aren't the same as the UK at all. As for the beach, it's never warm here. Have you been to a beach where the sea water is 30C? Also the food is totally different. My last foreign trip without DD was Tokyo to Kyoto in Japan (I was pregnant). I've always loved Japanese food, but being there is just so different.

2yo DD have been on the planes quite a few times already. But I don't think she remembered it at all. Other than she knew you could sit on a plane. She would say moooooa, and then me sits. Travelling with a toddler is a bit of a challenge, but I still enjoy it.

YANBU to not want to holiday, but YABU to be confused about why other people like them. Your home set up sounds lovely, but few people have such a set up.

Me for instance, I live in a fairly built up town, commute into London 5 days a week, spending 12 hours a day out fo the house. I love being able to get away from that for a bit and not be on a tight schedule, with crowds of people all around.