59 sleeps till holiday...

[SummerHouse]

Whitby here we come! stealth boast post. My family are so patient and kind and beautiful not at all like me. And we are beyond excited. I just want to make it extra special and maximize the excited holiday feeling. So far, I am thinking...

Holiday fund (I.e. saving all spare change in a big jar for the slots)

Researching lots of things to do and letting DSs take turns in choosing what we do each day, maybe printing out pictures for a scrap book.

Secretly buying happy meals so I can save the classic mini toys they are doing for rainy days (things like connect 4 and cluedo)

Holiday count down calendar to cross off the days.

So yes, I know iabu to ask a non aibu in aibu... But I love the odd nice thread in here.... So aibu to ask for your ideas to make a lovely holiday?

I absolutely adore holiday planning. My DC's are a little older now, but when they were small I'd buy those cotton bags from Primark and search for little bits and pieces from poundshops to fill them up for the journey.

I would get them to write a diary each day. Of course it would tail off after a couple of days but those excited... 'we're in the car' 'Daddy is putting petrol in the car' 'mummy has given us fruit pastilles' 'We've just stopped to go to the toilet' 'We've had our cheese sandwiches'... entries are priceless!

Oh that has made me smile! I did not think of diaries. They are 3 and 5 but can tell us what to write and we can save postcards and stuff to stick in. Brilliant idea. I will also do a travel pack. I think the journey and build up is as fun as the holiday itself!

We send postcards (regular and touchnote) home and they're great to read the week after.

Whitby is lovely so I'm sure you'll have a great time anyway. Maybe get them a disposable camera each for the journey and time there. You'll probably get a load of blurred pics or hand pics once developed but it'll add to their excitement

Buy a few new clothes for the DC? T-shirt/shorts set and flip-flops? Tu at Sainsbury have some lovely stuff, even better if they are doing 25% off. Or Primark?

I love Whitby! Have a wonderful holiday .

We have a competition on wild art that we find out and about each holiday then we photograph it and we are slowly lining the hall wall with them. We are also working through the rest of national trusts 50 things. We pick a few each holiday.
I have just been and asked dd what she likes best about our holidays and she said being allowed a bacon sandwich for breakfast. So there you go. Then she came back in and said using her binoculars and insect and bird books to spot things. We got her those when she was 4 and she loves standing outside lodges or cottages when we chill at the end of the day. It means we all get a sit down too while she is reading up and gazing around!

Whitby is an amazing place.
How long are you going and have you been before?
Which side of the harbour are you staying? Is it self catering?

There is the Steam train, RNLI museum, arcades, enough tat shops to keep them amused. An old fashioned sweet shop, a really good book shop that sells cheap kids books. Plenty of nice places to eat. A mini/crazy golf course. Sandsend is a nice walk away on the beach, with plenty of opportunity to rock pool - if not, Robin Hoods Bay is really good for rock pooling.

If you are self catering, there is a co-op in the centre of Whitby, but also a massive Tesco (or is it Sainsburys??) on the outskirts heading out towards RHB.

The build up to a holiday is absolutely part of the fun of the holiday! DS has a back pack and I have been collecting little things as a surprise for the day. I absolutely loathe the Daily Mail but obsessively bought it each day last week for the free lego sets, 2 of which have been set aside for the holiday for me DS to make up.

OP you sound like a really fun mum and these little touches are the things your children will remember as much as the holiday itself.

I've got 68 more sleeps til we sail to France. Yay.

Do some online research together for ... best fish and chip shop in Whitby; exactly how many steps down from the abbey to the town (still exhausted just thinking about them); join English Heritage because that part of the world is castle-tastic; plan fossil hunting on Filey beach; plan trips to Flamborough Head lighthouse and to Robin Hood ' s Bay. Dalby Forest?
We went to the area this time last year and LOVED it. Dd cried all the way home.

I LOVE these suggestions! Love the camera, the postcard home, the new cloths, the research, the bacon sandwich, the binoculars, mini golf, the Lego, the planning what to eat, the holiday food shop, the fish and chips...

I am so happy and lucky to be a mum!

I am going to make notes on each and every suggestion. God I am more excited than ever.

We have been last year. We are self catering on the west cliff. Near the museum (and fantastic play park). We have been to many of the suggested places but some I don't know.

Oh thank you mumsnetters!

Happy, happy holidays!

Oooh just remembered those mini cereal selection packs....

sparky I want to come on holiday with you.

I would cry on the way home too...

Oooo. The mini cereal packs ....