Husband booked a holiday,I don't want to do,aibu?

[breadbreadwine]

My husband has booked a holiday for the half term.
I thought fab,just what we need...till he told me he has bought a 6 man tent and we are going away to Scotland for a week in a tent.
He's booked a parkdene tent holiday.
It was £155 for 4 of us and he has paid £700 for a tent.
He has bought sleeping bags,fridge etc
He said it's to save money.

Aibu here ?
A week in a tent in Scotland with 2 kids who don't sleep anyway.
I'm not high maintenance but I'm worried about the toilet /shower situation

I'm not happy

2) Tell him to invite Anne from the Famous Five to go instead of you. She enjoyed doing all that home-making shit back at camp while the boys and George were off having fun adventures

😂😂😂

We’ve got bunting which is very cute 😊

I’ve found you need to avoid cheap camping stuff as it will break and you will regret it. As you’re going by car and staying on a site DO NOT accept any bollox about not being able to take things with you! Don’t buy camping versions of things you’ve got at home, just take the home stuff with you. It is not about getting into the great outdoors and enjoying nature. He can fanny about in a canvas tent washing in cold streams if he wants to but no reason for you and DC to do the same.

Things I wouldn’t go camping without:

Chairs and a table of a matching height
Rubbish bags
Air beds for each of you (sounds like he’s bought a huge tent so you’ll have bedrooms so plenty of space)
ELECTRIC PUMP FOR AIR BEDS.
Electric hook-up
Duvets and plenty of pillows
LED lights (we got a storm lantern style one where you take off the 4 small lights and they come with coloured plastic covers so you can have a disco 😬)
Metal cutlery
Enamel plates and bowls
Large Plastic boxes with lids to pack everything into
Blankets/travel rugs for snuggling
Slippers/slipper socks for everyone. No outdoor shoes inside the tent! All wet things to be left at the door!
IKEA bags for chucking wet clothes in or for getting undressed in the bag of the car when you’ve been out. They’re also very handy for carrying dirty dishes etc to the washing areas
Cooking - we’ve got a fold up camping kitchen which means there’s a bit of workspace and a steady surface for the cooker. If you’ve got young children, I wouldn’t cook with them around unless you can rely on the non-cooking parent to keep an eye on the DC effectively.
Water carrier

@breadbreadwine He sounds really annoying.

You can get some airbeds nowadays that feel pretty much like a real mattress in terms of the firmness etc. That has made camping so much less uncomfortable. If you go into a camping shop maybe they'll have some on display, though I don't know whether they will do that with Covid still slightly a thing.

Oh and yes last time I camped I took a normal quilt and pillows etc.

Southerness is a nice site. There's a good fish and chip shop nearby and the PJ hotel does nice and reasonably-priced food as the one on-site is just ok. They have a well-stocked shop and there another mini-market just down the road.

There is another site next door. I think it's called the Mermaid. You might get a caravan there. There are also lots of holiday cottages for rent in Southerness.

As for the camping, the tent area on that site is quite "open" so I'd take wind breaks. We find those silver blankets used by runners under our air beds make things cosier. I recommend single air beds rather than doubles. Take hats to wear at night and hot water bottles. You might not need them but the trick is to not allow yourself to get cold in the first place.
I'm sorry you've had no choice in this but it is a nice place and I hope you enjoy it.

Why would you want to go camping on holiday when it means doing all the housework in much worse conditions?

@Lolapusht

We’ve got bunting which is very cute 😊

I’ve found you need to avoid cheap camping stuff as it will break and you will regret it. As you’re going by car and staying on a site DO NOT accept any bollox about not being able to take things with you! Don’t buy camping versions of things you’ve got at home, just take the home stuff with you. It is not about getting into the great outdoors and enjoying nature. He can fanny about in a canvas tent washing in cold streams if he wants to but no reason for you and DC to do the same.

Things I wouldn’t go camping without:

Chairs and a table of a matching height
Rubbish bags
Air beds for each of you (sounds like he’s bought a huge tent so you’ll have bedrooms so plenty of space)
ELECTRIC PUMP FOR AIR BEDS.
Electric hook-up
Duvets and plenty of pillows
LED lights (we got a storm lantern style one where you take off the 4 small lights and they come with coloured plastic covers so you can have a disco 😬)
Metal cutlery
Enamel plates and bowls
Large Plastic boxes with lids to pack everything into
Blankets/travel rugs for snuggling
Slippers/slipper socks for everyone. No outdoor shoes inside the tent! All wet things to be left at the door!
IKEA bags for chucking wet clothes in or for getting undressed in the bag of the car when you’ve been out. They’re also very handy for carrying dirty dishes etc to the washing areas
Cooking - we’ve got a fold up camping kitchen which means there’s a bit of workspace and a steady surface for the cooker. If you’ve got young children, I wouldn’t cook with them around unless you can rely on the non-cooking parent to keep an eye on the DC effectively.
Water carrier

By the time one has bought the air beds, air pump, enamel plates, fold up camping kitchen, and other special bits, one could pay for a holiday in an inexpensive motel. Camping is hell.

@ilikemethewayiam

OP, have you made it clear to him that this is a one off for you and you will NOT be doing it again? If he’s talking about it being an investment and saving money blah blah blah, then it doesn’t sound like you’ve got the message across. You need to stand your ground now so he doesn’t try booking again. You are more forgiving than I would be over this. I would not allow myself to railroaded into going camping. I would rather chew off my own leg!

No, she hasn't. He has form for this because she's always gone along with it and never challenged him and told him no. So he'll continue doing it. He sounds like a domineering prick and she like she has a martyr complex. My guess is she'll be doing all the shit work, too, the cooking and cleaning and such, whilst Disney Dad enjoys playing Peter Pan for a week. He's already couched it as 'we' because to him, he is all that's needed for the both of them.

It appears he hasn't even set up the tent yet and won't.

It's cold up here now, the nights are so cold we have the heating on in the house. When it's wet it's dank and even colder.

Only 15-17 degrees means it's going to feel super cold at night.

But hey, he's getting exactly what he wants.

By the time all this gear has been purchased, you could probably afford a week or two in a 5* all-inclusive with room service, a spa, free kids' club and a bottle of champagne on arrival .

Has he actually done any camping? Considering that he thinks you can sleep on the ground in just sleeping bags when the max daytime temperature is 15c, and that he apparently hasn't even unpacked and pitched the second hand tent makes me doubt it.

You have to tell him that he will be doing all the cooking (and packing and prep), to fully experience all the benefits of this amazing decision he has made for your entire family.

@KatharinaRosalie

Has he actually done any camping? Considering that he thinks you can sleep on the ground in just sleeping bags when the max daytime temperature is 15c, and that he apparently hasn't even unpacked and pitched the second hand tent makes me doubt it.

You have to tell him that he will be doing all the cooking (and packing and prep), to fully experience all the benefits of this amazing decision he has made for your entire family.

He'll do none of that. Sounds like he hasn't even set up the tent to see how it works and if anything is broken or missing, much less has a clue that the ground is very cold, particularly in Scotland and again, that's with the temperatures reaching the 20s during the day.

As for him doing all the cooking, packing and prep, do you really think a man like this will? Haahaa.

We did this a few years ago in July. It rained almost the whole time and was awful.

Thank you for your suggestions,I've wrote a list of the added extras we are going to need.
I'm going to go to go outdoors tomorrow because if I leave it to him I dread to think.

I've just ordered a portable hob from Argos for collection tomorrow.
Stupid question but will I get the air beds and pump from go outdoors or will it be cheaper on Amazon?
I've got prime so will come quick

Oh bunting is a fab idea.

Thankyou for pub /fish and chip suggestions too.

I've decided to go with a open mind,if I hate it I won't be going back (I've told him)

He hasn't set up the tent.
I've told him we need a practice run first.

The tent has different rooms so it looks massive (from eBay pics ) so hopefully be ok.

I'm thinking of getting 2 camping chairs (2 for £12 in Asda ) and a blow up sofa for kids

Our kids are 4 and 6

Our 4 year old is allergic to sleep also she likes a routine so god knows what this will be like.

We have the hi-gear sleeping bags and air beds from go outdoors and they are fine. Get 3 season sleeping bags. We also bought collapsible tables and a camping cupboard from there. Remember to buy/take torches/ lanterns. Take the £5 discount card out when you are buying so much stuff.
There lots of good advice on the camping threads on here.

Nope - just nope! Not for me! 😣

Will you have space in your car for everything?

It's raining and windy here in the South West. Haven't read all the posts but just wanted to ask what car you have to pack all this stuff in? Have you tried pitching the tent with the 'help' from the dcs?

Think you need to list what to take and do a trial run of packing the car.

See someone else had the same idea

Why hasn't he made the list? Already you're doing the work needed to make it a success. No doubt you'll do all the packing and work while you're there. He'll then declare it a hit and you will have set yourself up for years of drudge holidays!

If it's a second hand tent you will need a practice run to make sure it's ok, plus you don't want to be setting up a tent for the first time when people are tired, hungry or the weather is bad.

Op, have you got a roof box? With two backseat passengers you cannot get everything in without a roof box.

The plan is to take 2 cars.
Il take mine with youngest and he will take his car.
Otherwise we would never fit it all in.
Plus this way I get to stop half way at the services where he likes to drive straight there.

Id be fuming he didnt discuss with me first, sounds like hell!