to imagine recklessly that a 'self-catering' holiday will be anything other than forced labour for me now I am a Mum?

[Verso]

You can all pat me on the head now and say 'there, there', with the voice of experience.

Forgive me - DD is only two, so it's still a shock to find that the concept of 'holiday' now applies to her and DH only. When did the rules change? No one showed me the paperwork!

I will learn, no doubt!

Ooh, but I was (am?) bitter . Can anyone empathise?

i do kids cereal and toast each morning

dh wakes up a bit later and does full english breakfast for us all

eat out/takeaway as much as possible

Fair point, Skrib. But being from America, damn I like those open plan kitchens, or even, with the kitchen door opening straight onto the living room.

Yeah, I agree, though, dishwasher a MUST.

You load it right after tea, before you're too pissed, then let it do all the work whilst you play poker, watch TV, read a book, soak in the bath, etc.

Last cottage we had kitchen and living room were seperated by dining room and kitchen had only a roof window, so was a bit lonely. Have to start looking for the next one, don't even know where I want to go.

DH will usually take along his Ninetendo DS for when we fancy a break from each other.

Oh, bring a few choice DVDs along for when there's nowt on TV and you just feel like chilling.

oh diagree hols are fab!!
We take all dc[3,20m,7m] and have fab time. not a chore as otu are away somewhere new.

We went to one outside Nairn this year that was okay. GREAT size, plenty of room. But odd lay out and no dishwasher.

Verso, I feel bad. I've shown you no sympathy at all.

Your child is 2, so yes, holidays are pretty much the same as non-holidays I suppose. And she's young enough that you still remember the old days.

Get your dh to learn a bit of cooking OR when on hol

• get nice but easy things in for breakfast (juices, cereals, melon, bacon etc)
• eat out (in cafe or buy in a bakery and have picnic)
• basic evening meals like beans on toast
• buy little treats for you and dh (choc, nuts, ice cream)

Ie don't really cook at all

that was eat out at lunch time

People have tried to point out suggestions to you, Verso, on how to make it more enjoyable.

Perhaps it's not for you and you may chose to holiday in another way next time?

You asked a question at the end of your post, soliciting opinions, and for many the opinion was that self-catering holidays even with more than one young child are quite enjoyable. Then they explained why and how they handled them.

Don't see why the vitriol?

i always gop self catering,. but pretty much refuse to cook proper meals lol.

i will do big cooked breakfast in the morning some days, then very light lunch then eat out.

Oh verso yes of course SC does mean s/one (usually me!) has to cook.

But but but - I don't iron on hols at all (this is a big thing for me to do, believe me) and we have dishwasher and use it out of laziness. Also do takeaways/meals out etc. Also don't really clean (well not much) so it is a holiday from keeping house.
A bit.

But it's much better than a hotel which would be so hideola with my early-rising ever-hungry mob.

Agree expat and Skribble re nice evenings in front of TV (actually take my mum so DH and I go out for long walks)

sorry that's not a sympathetic post - but I do thinkg some ideas here can be used to make next time a bit better!

Exactly, cake!

The kids look forward to being indulged with bangers and baked beans, spagetti hoops and toast, chips and peas, and frozen pizza for tea.

Lunch - picnic city if you're on a budget, go out if not.

Plenty of wine and beer and a dishwasher to handle the washing up.

Verso, I can empathise with this. Dh is a terrific cook and does pull his weight on holiday as far as the kitchen goes...but I am tacitly expected to organise it all, every year, including diversions for the children and it has become increasingly wearing for me.
This year I blew the budget and insisted we ate out more (dh wanting to cook roast chicken for two exhausted sandy children one night at 7.30pm was the clincher ).
I would also suggest picking your venue carefully. Everywhere, dishwasher and washing machine are essential, I think we all agree
In the UK, make sure it has a freezer and stock up with those Cook! dishes from M & S en route. Serve these with salad only (plus baked potatoes if more carbs needed), dinner is sorted. As pointydog says, lunchtimes are for eating out.
I've had it with the UK this year, for various reasons not all connected with wanting to beat dh to a bloody pulp on a couple of PMT-fuelled occasions
Next year we are going to a gite with a good kitchen and a fenced garden. We are going to buy stuff from the nearest traiteur and gorge ourselves on fruit. Pas de cuisine bonne maman next August!
And it does get easier with every passing year, especially when you can ditch nappies and that vehicle of Satan, the buggy. I promise you that.

Verso, I kow exactly where you are coming from. HELLISH things. Same as being at home but worse cos you're too worried about dcs wrecking stuff, there's not enough toys, etc for them - especially when it's raining and you can't go out anwhere, they don't sleep properly cos it's a strange place, still have to cook, clean, tidy, it's just hellish .

We went up to Scotland last year with ds1 (2.5 then) and dd (9mo), I was 3 months pg with ds2, it rained for the entire week, the curtains on ds1's room were so thin they were non existent so it was too light when he went to bed then got light at about 4:30am and up he got. I swear if it had been more than a week dh and I would have divorced. Never again, well, not until the dcs are old enough to entertain themselves and dh and I can spend every evening getting tiddly and not have to get up 10 times a night and at the crack of dawn. It's not worth it.

Hmm . . . a gite sounds good!

Mama is pressing for France next year.

But how to find a good one?

I enjoy cooking is the thing, however.

We tend to picnic for lunch on self-catering, hence the one roast chicken or gammon and soup.

But honestly, we went for a long weekend in a hotel once and I found it far more restrictive with young children - DD1 was 16 months at the time, no DD2.

Expat, just go on the Gites de France website, it's in English and French.
We have found one for £350 per week in Normandy which is 3 Ears of Corn (rating system, guarantees two toilets, often two bathrooms, plus always dishwasher and washing machine). It is near a nice-looking seaside town, has an enclosed garden etc etc
This is August. It is just over half the price of the accommodation we usually book in Devon.
I don't mind cooking either, truth to tell - it's just having to do it and keep a weather eye on the children while dh wool-gathers is more fun in France with a large glass of Pommeau

I like to make pack lunches easy, tend to chuck rolls, chunkc of cheese and slad stuff in cool bag, one of those ones with plates and cutlery, so we prepare it when we eat.

Have it in the car during school holidays so if we are out I can buy stuff like that rather than expensive prepack sandwiches the kids don't like.

Olihan - THANK YOU. THANK YOU! To know I am not alone is priceless!

btw expat there was no 'vitriol' earlier aimed at anyone here - so I don't understand your comment.

i havent fouind a caravan with a dishwasher yet expat.

but do tend to take it in turns over who washes and who dries. takes a few minutes really if done as you go.

Marina that's sooo true about the vehicle of Satan.

really feel everythinbg gets better when you can dump that (so why do people push their 4yos in them.....? oops sorry wrong thread).

A colleague swears by gites in Frnace too, that is a lot cheaper than you'd pay in UK (we paid £675 a week in Tenby) tho of course you have to get there - but Normandy not far away, and it does sound nice...

Ah see when away in not so static static caravans I don't do meals, just breakfast and snacks.

take your slow cooker with you as well. very handy

I didn't see any vitriol??

I wouldn't do a sc hol with young dcs, just no hol for me at all.

We find appartment hotels, there are quite a few to chose from, where you have kitchen facilities, sitting/dining room and bedrooms. We always go 1/2 board and I make picnic lunch, normally eaten on a balcony or terrace outside the property.

Several that we have stayed at have NNEB qualified Nannies, where my 2 dcs (who are 5 yrs apart in age 3 and 8, youngest with sn so don't play together/entertain each other a great deal)can spend a few mornings whilst mummy lays by the pool reading. If we went sc/to a villa/cottage my DD would be bored of playing with me and no other children after 3 days.

Anything else I feel resentful and put upon by my hardworking DH, who is also there to wind down and relax.

I hope you can discover a holiday that suits everyones requirements next time.

Once they're older the children become the dishwasher, lol.

And I used to find the buggy useful on holidays to cart the stuff around with, lol. (I used to carry far too much, obviously).

when asked by JARM what holiday at butlins to book for us (thank you mumsnetters), i said self catering, because

1. i dont yet know what foods are on the 'do not eat' after transplant list yet

2. i like to sleep as late as the children will allow it

3. dd2 doesnt eat enough to make it worth our while

4. i prefer to cook myself and know what we are buying is ok allergy wise for them

5. how cani get a romantic meal out of dh if its already paid for in holiday price