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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to hate the getting ready to go on holiday?

50 replies

Justmuddlingalong · 04/07/2018 20:27

Just over a week before we're off, but I'm already dreading the faff. My nether regions have been left uncultivated since last summer's holiday, my toes resemble hobbit feet and I'm still trying to sort out my scaly shins. These are my least favourite 'getting ready' things to do. What are yours? And can we make suggestions as to how to make them less of a chore?

OP posts:

The80sweregreat · 05/07/2018 06:49

Its the getting to places / home again, that really puts me off ( the packing is a pain too) getting up early to avoid the traffic / getting to the airport way too early as there wasn't a 20 mile hold up, but there could have been one.
trying to find somewhere to park and work out where to get the tickets from for the car park - then miles of travel to get to the terminal building in order to spend more money on ' stuff' you've forgotten to pack/ overpriced tea and ' killing time' till the flight.. maybe i am old and boring but the thought of it all puts me off.
Not to mention customs and passport control getting home again to the piles of washing. The house is clean when you get back. thats an upside.

Amanduh · 05/07/2018 06:49

I love it. Buying this, beauty prep, lists, packing. All of it!

Mulberry72 · 05/07/2018 06:52

We always fly on an evening flight the day we go away so I have the cases packed the day before, I book my grooming appointments for the 8.30 slot and get my hair, nails, feet and eyebrows done all in one go.

We have a pet sitter for the cats and our cleaner comes in the day after we’ve gone and does a deep clean and strips the beds, then she comes in early the day we get back and makes the beds, has a wipe round and gets us bread and milk etc in, she’s a star.

I love going away and the build up to it all.

IfyouseeRitaMoreno · 05/07/2018 08:01

It’s the coming home that kills me! Unpacking, dirty washing etc. Especially going camping.

LucheroTena · 05/07/2018 08:10

Urgh I hate it. Was so much more fun in 20s before had work pressure, house to clean, kids to pack for, pets to arrange care for. And I’m getting so lazy with personal grooming. I also hate summer clothes. Then all the stress about getting there, I normally arrive in an overhyped state of exhaustion (not helped by hating flying and being off head on diazepam and beta blockers). Then all the bloody washing when you get back. For the last 4 years have avoided going abroad which at least means some of this hell can be swerved. Men don’t seem to have all this angst.

The80sweregreat · 05/07/2018 08:13

Men might cut their toenails or have a hair cut. That’s about it.

Original poster

Justmuddlingalong · 05/07/2018 08:16

I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to holidays. I want him to take more responsibility for stuff, but then I worry that things either aren't done, or done properly, so I'd rather do it all myself. I get the rage, but can't relinquish the control.

OP posts:

LucheroTena · 05/07/2018 08:27

Men are lucky. They have Long board shorts which cover pubes and wobbly bits then it’s cargo shorts and t-shirts or short sleeved shirts. Women have all this bloody body showing garb. I hate swimming costumes and bikinis. Hair gets ruined. Would love to have been born male. My DH wouldn’t even care if the house was left in a mess. I on the other hand would hate coming back to all that while on post holiday downer.

heatwave2018 · 05/07/2018 08:29

I love getting ready for holidays, I would give anything to go on one this year :(

Fintress · 05/07/2018 08:30

I love getting organised to go on holiday but it's only the two of us. We finish packing 2 days before we are due to leave and the night before we chill and open a bottle of fizz, only time I drink it. I change the bed before we go, it's definitely still clean and fresh when we get back, even after 3 weeks. At the end of last year we were in Thailand and it was so cheap to get laundry done so we had it all done before we got back which was a huge bonus as that is generally the worst part of coming back.

Haisuli · 05/07/2018 08:31

Packing is horrendous at ours. We invariably try to save money by onlcy checking in one big bag and using hand luggage for the rest. After all the buying, ironing and sorting, the last night is a big juggling act on the scales trying to get the weights right, tempers can fray....and then inevitably we are up in the middle of the night for our cheap early morning flights :-)

larry55 · 05/07/2018 08:52

I am another one who has to have the house looking good before I go away and this year I was due to go into hospital for a back operation 3 days after we got back but was told earlier this week it is now going to be in the middle of August so at least a bit of pressure is off.

We are home for two weeks and then I am away again - Dh isn't coming - so I hope he keeps the place tidy as I am going in for the op when I get back from my second break.

FinallyHere · 05/07/2018 09:40

YY to the holiday notes book, to keep notes of what needs to be remembered. I keep mine of a spreadsheet, colour coded red the things that need to get sorted. Also packing list based around what we are doing each day (mostly do activity holidays so it matters to have the right kit.

As for the beds, the solution is t9 have a brilliant cleaner/housekeeper. We bung the sheets into the washing machine on the da6 we go, she very kindly washes, irons and makes up the beds again. Clears out fridge and replenishes things we will need on our return

Its actually the best part of tbe holiday for me, one of the few benefits of getting on in life, family all grown up. I mention it only to let you know that some things do get better as you get older...

Fintress · 05/07/2018 09:46

YY to the holiday notes book, to keep notes of what needs to be remembered. I keep mine of a spreadsheet, colour coded red the things that need to get sorted.

I had a little laugh at this. I thought my husband had joined mumsnet for a minute . He has seperate spreadsheets for holidays and weekends away. They are really handy.

SunnyCoco · 05/07/2018 09:54

I’m not sure booking a wax for day 1 would be a good idea for me. My bikini waxing tends to take a couple of days to calm down afterwards. Maybe it’s just me!

ThePencil · 05/07/2018 09:54

I quite like getting ready for holiday, but I LOATHE getting home afterwards and having to unpack everything! It's the hassle of putting everything back where it goes, sorting washing etc... can't stand it!

Notso · 05/07/2018 10:35

The only thing that annoys me is trying to make sure the kids don't wear stuff I want to pack, I can guarantee there'll be some favoured garment I'm hurriedly trying to dry before we leave.
Most of my stuff I only wear in holiday so it's always ready.

I don't make a special effort to clean the house just do cleaning as usual however my lovely Mum always pops in and puts clean sheets on, fills the fridge, airs the house and cleans the oven. I do the same for her when she is away.

If you only trim your bush on for holiday then why bother?

goingonabearhunt1 · 05/07/2018 10:50

I don't do half of this. I wear bikini short bottoms and the only cleaning I do beforehand is to make sure the dishes are done!

I usually have a couple of drinks while I pack the night before (pretty much the same stuff to pack each time so doesn't take long). I always figure most things I could but if I forgot (toiletries etc.) but I suppose it depends where you're doing.

It's just me and my DP though so no kids to organise. If we need currency, we get the cash changed at the post office the wknd before we go. I check the bus times for the airport the day before so I know when to set my alarm for (we live near the bus station so that's pretty easy).

goingonabearhunt1 · 05/07/2018 10:51

I'm not particularly 'groomed' though, always been pretty lazy with stuff like that. The only thing I do is shave my legs the night before. I don't get my hair or nails done or anything like that.

The80sweregreat · 05/07/2018 11:03

I would love to be mega rich and go on holiday - have someone do the packing. not have to worry about the washing when i get back - ferry me around,wave me through airport security etc etc. never going to happen though! being a royal on holiday must be a breeze.

littlemisscomper · 05/07/2018 21:38

You're very unreasonable Muddling!! Getting ready with all the anticipation and the stress and everything is the main pleasure in a holiday, same as Christmas! And you're not alone re scaly/hairy/manky/hobbitiness! I want to inflict my feet on my beauty therapist tomorrow for my holiday on Sunday but she's not answering me! It's almost like she doesn't want the honor of rubbing the hard skin off my heels and waxing my toes...?

Does anyone else go totally crazy buying stuff in the run up to a holiday? I spent nearly £400 yesterday on clothes, some of which I basically have versions of already in my wardrobe that I've barely worn! I think it's a stress thing, a coping statergy. I used to anxiety-buy DVDs in my youth. Luckily I saw sense this morning and took half the clothes back today.

BluebellCockleshell123 · 05/07/2018 22:15

I luff my holiday packing spreadsheet and am not even embarrassed about it.

It has a column for the clothes for each member of the family, one for documents, another one for all the non clothes stuff, one for liquids and one for things to buy before we go. I colour code it so that it all ends up green when it's packed in a bag. We pretty much only ever take hand luggage though so not too much to pack.
Hate the cleaning before we go though.

Original poster

Justmuddlingalong · 05/07/2018 22:18

I may or may not have looked at my packing list on word document tonight. And then closed it pretty damn quick.

OP posts:

Piper100 · 06/07/2018 09:36

OMG I hate it, we leave on Sunday and I have the day off work today to get all the pets cages cleaned out, pack and tidy house from top to bottom because MIL will be popping by to feed pets - which I’m dreading as she’s extremely nosy and I just know she’s going to spend time raking through the house and nosing in cupboards! God knows what reorganising she’s going to do too! She takes it upon herself to rearrange things her way! I f’ing hate it and have said to her to not touch anything except feed the pets, but she completely ignores me. I’m grateful we have her but O can’t relax during my holiday as I keep thinking about what she’s up to in my house! I do have camera monitors for the kids which I can remotely access so tempted to set those up!

So yah I’m meant to be pa kind and cleaning and instead I’m on the internet, then I’ll be in a mad rush tomorrow lol! I’d better be off!

girlywhirly · 06/07/2018 15:40

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who does comprehensive holiday lists!

The thing that really annoys me is walking through the arch at security and setting off the alarm - practically every time. Then I have to remove shoes, watch etc and go though again and it still goes off so I am subjected to a pat down, and then I have to stand in the glass enclosure while I am scanned. In the end, there is nothing dodgy to be found, and I can only conclude that it is my underwired bra setting off the alarm. I hate it in busy times because I can see my hand luggage and stuff disappear through the X-ray machine and it’s somewhere ahead of me, as is DH. He is always anxious until we get through to airside, and only begins to relax when the plane has actually taken off.

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