To think all this forward planning has taken the fun out of life?

[tootiredtobeinspired]

Abu to think that the pressure to research and book everything (restaurants/ theatre/ cinema/ holidays) months in advance takes all of the fun and spontaneity out of life?
I'm sick of it. You have to book a trip to see father Christmas in July because if you wait until December then you have no chance as everything is fully booked! I don't want to think about bloody Christmas in July.
You can't just decide to go to the cinema or theatre at the weekend because it will be fully booked unless you book it a week in advance.
Don't get me started on holidays, you can't just turn up and see where it takes you. You have to spend months researching online and booking every minute of your break or you get left with shit restaurants and no good experiences.
It's driving me insane!
We're currently planning a trip to USA and it's making me want to weep how much planning and research I should have done (lots is already fully booked and we're not even going for a few weeks)
I work full time I don't want to spend every spare minute thinking about what I might want to do next week/ month/ year. Whatever happened to spontaneity? [cry]

But yy to the endless requests for feedback mentioned by a pp

My friend has got engaged and booked her wedding after extensive research of venues for 2021. Three years from now, anything could happen in three years, they could break up, have affairs, die or anything. Why not take advantage of the moment and get married sooner. It's the obsession with the celebrity A list type wedding that everyone wants to replicate which is behind these extended engagements.

One of the best holidays we've had is just booking a flight and nothing else. Not done it for many years though, I remember getting a one way ticket to Athens and then asking a taxi to go to a nearby hotel. We then got on a fast boat to islands and sorted accomodation as we went. Easier to do before having a family, although we did similar in Tenerife with a toddler. Was out of peak season, not sure if it would be possible in school holidays.

I agree, I can't remember all this faff growing up.
maybe it's because consumerism is so high now, people are greedy too, what used to be just for a few is available to everyone, whether they can afford it or not.

YANBU!
It's especially shit for people who work shifts and don't always know what they're working until fairly short notice, so are not able to book in advance.

I also think people seem to get tickets for stuff even if they're not sure they can go.

I would prefer it if places left some space for late bookings.

So gillybeanz Father christmas visits cinema trips, dinner out and holidays should just be for the few?

No, but they are a luxury that many didn't used to be able to afford.
So there were fewer going, so less demand and hence people didn't have to book in July.
No booking when I went to things when a child, but as I said alot couldn't afford it. I had friends who never did anything like this, I didn't do much of it myself.

I would prefer it if places left some space for late bookings. - yes absolutely "places" should do that. I'm sure they'd be happy to sacrifice confirmed takings to ensure that free spirits don't have to be bogged down with forward planning .

This reminds me of an argument I had with people at work about holidays. They thought it was really unfair that I booked my weeks a year in advance when we were first allowed to - just in case they wanted to go away in July or August (no school aged children) and they found it annoying that my dates were already in. But they didn't also want to put the dates in when they could - they wanted me to wait until April/May to book my holiday ( by which point a family holiday is unaffordable) to allow them the freedom to do the same

I'm a pre-planner and whilst yes it's sometimes irksome to miss out on things if you're not in quickly, I love having things to look forward to in the diary. There's always some stuff available to do last minute anyway - you just have to accept that if somethings popular then people will ensure they get the opportunity to do/go/see it.

Yes I agree with you op its insane. I live in a fairly grim Midlands city, but to get tickets for a show at our local theatre you have to book months in advance. For Christmas DH got me tickets for an event in December 2018.

It makes me laugh when people on MN say how the economy is going to the dogs and we are all living on the poverty line. It seems to me that there are still lots of people around with money to book all of this stuff.

People booking early would show that they can afford it if they save up for it.
Excluding designer brands most businesses don't want their experiences to be enjoyed by the few they want as many people in as possible in order to turn a profit otherwise they will close down and you would have nothing to go to.

I posted about having to book Santa so early just before Christmas and got my arse handed to me and told I was being too picky and responsible for the problem! If you want to do nice things you have to book!

Where are you living re Santa thing? Our local garden centres have great ones and you just turn up.

Tickets for shows you buy in advance but then have something to look forward to and I've never had an issue with an impromptu night out. Holidays I do book in advance but I love the anticipation. Mind you I'm a bit of a planner so my spontaneous side tends to be to pick a holiday destination then spend the year planning. Meal out is fine round here with lots of choices and even in London with dc we had lots of options for dinner round Covent Garden area.

I've been trying to go to the local cinema to see 'Darkest Hour' for two Sunday afternoons in a row with no joy. It had a happy outcome as I checked the cinema near to work and Gary Oldman is doing a Q+A there later this week- had two of the last seats available.

Only on mn would someone relate this to brexit....

I'm a national trust volunteer. Last year Santa was turn up and go. Trouble is Santa is also a volunteer and despite clearly advertised times, people would turn up late and then scream when he had gone home. So now Santa is pre booked.

Fortunately most adult things are just turn up, which makes sense when weather is involved. Pre booking is OK for indoors London types I suppose,but if somewhere is booked out then I do without it.

Spontaneity is now only doable if you can afford it. Thanks consumerism.

I don't get this at all. We never 'book Santa' and yet our dc met him three times this year.

1. At the garden centre, no booking required and no queues or anything.
2. He turned up on his sleigh outside our house, complete with disco music, lasers and bubble machine.
3. Filling up his sleigh with petrol at asda - yes really.

I think it works both ways, those people who book everything tend to overschedule and would be more likely to miss out on the spontaneous opportunities.

But vino the only Santa meet we paid for was the garden centre which cost £5. Admittedly it won't have been as flashy as the bookable ones but I really disagree that spontaneity always costs more.

The only things I’ve had to book recently is dinner reservation right before Xmas and various gig tickets.
Never booked for the cinema. Never booked in a bar. Usually don’t book restaurants.
You can choose to be spontaneous.
I’m going on a long haul holiday soon. Will do what we fancy when there. I won’t book things to do before we even get there!