To want to eat at a restaurant?

[CeliaFate]

We've hired a cottage with 3 other families for a long weekend. We get on well but I find their dc a little over-whelming and stressful.

They play fight, charge round, don't respect boundaries (eg will go into my bedroom when they're at my house after I've asked them not to) and my dc generally end up getting hurt. Not all the time, but in a confined setting it's too much for me.

The other 2 families have said to save money on the first night we should all make something and have a meal together in the cottage.

I don't want to cook when I'm only away for 3 nights and I don't want our first night there to be stressful with me cooking and the kids running around.

I've said Oh we'd like to go to a restaurant as we're only there for 3 nights. This hasn't gone down well and now I feel like I'm being a mardy arse and should suck it up and do as they suggested.

So AIBU?

Three words.

Fish And Chips.

Every family pays for their own.
No cooking, barely any washing up. Sociable.

opt out the whole evening meal thing, stop on the way and have a nice big lunch somewhere, then just have sandwich's and salad for dinner, I don't see anything wrong with going out for dinner if you want to. Suggest the adults cant take it in turns to have a night out if they want and the others can babysit, that's what we have always done on group holidays works well.

Can you throw money at the problem? The only big evening meal I cooked on our holiday recently was a curry, for which I bought ready-diced onions, 'lazy' ginger and garlic (sharp intake of breath at the cost of that convenience shit), cubed lamb and some curry powder I'd made earlier (non-stealth boast) so it was super quick.

Can you throw money at the problem

I like your style (and starting to wonder if you aren't in fact my sister - hows the window replacement coming along btw?)

I was going to suggest similar. On my recent hen do where a big group of us rented a holiday cottage we had a catering company recommended by the cottage owners to come in and do a massive thai, it was incredible, no one had to lift a finger from start to finish and it was cheaper than had we eaten out. (And probs cheaper than cooking it ourselves too, knowing DH's propensity for selecting ridiculously expensive ingredients)

No YABU. The last thing I want to do on holiday is cook. I would eat out or buy takeaways every night.

We go away with other families. It's alwqys take away and disposable plates and utterly the first night.

If the kitchen is small I'd cook something at home (or buy it ready cooked from the supermarket) and have it cold-

A couple of chickens, a big piece of ham or maybe a buffet- pork pies, ham, cold sausages to make hot dogs with, etc. Take a couple of packets of salad, some tomatoes and some crusty bread to serve it with. Easy

We had a similar problem as we recently went on holiday with my family. There were 19 of us and one family wanted to eat out every night. Some others couldn't afford it so we said everyone do their own thing in the evening. Well that didn't happen thankfully as we all compromised. We ate in, ate out and had fish and chips one night, so everyone was happy.

I cannot imagine anything worse than this scenario and would have to be bound and gagged and dragged there to endure it.

I would eat out and do what I wanted and I wouldn't care if anyone else chose to do that either.

Get in quick, volunteer to do pud, then buy cakes/tarts/ice cream. Done.

Get in line, woman, get in line....

There are 21 of us, not 23 sorry, in one house. It's like this but not that actual one! So kitchen is the same size as normal kitchen.

Okay. Ready cooked chickens, salad and bread is do-able.
I will do it and steel myself get pissed.

You asked abs ago what would I think if you and your husband went out and left me in with my kids.

I'd be really jealous. And try and sneak out to come with you. :O Just because you're my friend it doesn't mean you have to do what I have to do.

It'll be a laugh. There's enough folk that you can kind of get lost among everyone. Just make sure your kindle's fully loaded and you've a secret stash of wine & stilton for disappearing off down the garden times.

You said your DH is happy to muck in - why don't you just sit back and let him do the catering so? (have seen so many instances where it happens the other way around ;-)

where will you all sit?

God knows. Kids round the table and adults in lounge with plates on laps I guess.

I thought the house would just be a base for us to sleep and have breakfast, so booked it on that basis. But their idea of hiring a cottage is very different to ours! As I said, lesson learned!

Dh is happy to do the cooking, but that would make me feel worse, as other mums are domestic goddesses. GAH!

23 people???

Is it a cottage or a stately home

celia - will be coming to tell us all about the weekend on monday?

I will update you after the event - it's not this weekend though.

Honestly, what's the point of going? If you're cross and don't want to be there and are having to steel yourself, everyone else is going to pick up on it. I think you need to choose to change your attitude and enjoy it, or drop out. Otherwise, you're likely to be the turd in the pool.