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

@breadbreadwine

I would rather the youngest with me tbh. I love a service stop for a mooch around. One of my favs is Gretna services.

Not sure where you are but stop at Westmorland Ltd at Tebay especially on the way home. The BEST services I have ever been too. South is bigger and better than North but both are good.

Dumfries and Galloway are lovely areas. Take a bucket with a lid. Very useful for the middle of the night wees if you are a distance from the loo.

We took our four children camping started off when there was only two. I preferred it to DH. The kids loved it.
Since you are travelling in two cars you could buy three air beds and let him find out that the ground is really hard. Otherwise you could buy two doubles as they are better than singles. Warm sleeping bags and a couple of fleece blankets. We aren’t far from Dumfries and I was hot in a t shirt yesterday in the garden and have a jumper on today. 12 C.
Places to visit : Kirkcudbright is a coastal village with a lot of artists.
Near Annan there is a castle ruin which you can explore for free and a RSPB site near it which sometimes has lots of swans small fee. There is also Maybie Farm Park which has animals and certainly used to have some indoor things if wet.

I hope the weather is lovely it often is during that week. Treat it as an adventure. The children will probably sleep well ours always did all the fresh air and running about.
I would definitely put the tent up before you go. I am better than DH at putting it up. A good tip is to buy some tape in different colours, put the tent up and before taking it down tape the matching poles in each corner. At least four colours.

Have fun!

Nope. My options would be 1. resell the tent and get a caravan or 2 he takes the kids on his own. I'd push for option 2

Life is short! I think it’s quite nice he has gone to the trouble. Can’t you just make the best of it and make it and fun positive experience?!

@Twistered

Why don't you give it a try? You never know it might be the best experience ever. Long walks or cycles, exploring the area, chill out reading a good book, family outdoor games like rounders or makeshift obstacle courses, meeting new people at the site, kids making new friends, lunch at the local pub, ice creams and wee days out, Lazy BBQs, chip butties from the nearby chippie, drinks at night by the campfire ..... give it a go sure. You can make the tent all warm and cosy, use windbreakers outside, put twinkling fairy lights up, get an inflatable sofa for extra comfort for chilling, buy bats and balls for the kids, teach them to play chess and have a tournament.... This really could be the perfect relaxing holiday if you buy into it and give it a go

Presumably OP’s DH has organised all the kit for the activities you mention. BBQ, games equipment, fairy lights, inflatable sofa? Not to mention provisions for self-catering, (which he’s going to do of course!). If not, it’s going to be an expensive week keeping the family fed and entertained.

@Justilou1

If he’s spent that much on a bloody tent it will be camping holidays from here until eternity too. “But we love camping. We ALWAYS go camping, don’t we Love?” Burn the tent now.

😂 Very true

@Dullardmullard

It’s Dumfries ffs it always rains there.

It would be no from me too as this isn’t jut a £700 second hand tent.

He needs to trial run it first too

If you go let him do all the buying and cooking and .......well........ everything

Very much agree with a trial run putting the tent up in the garden.

I do cave easy because sometimes it's easier than causing a big debate.
He knows I'm not happy and I'm hoping in future he uses his brain.

Read that back to yourself OP, if you always give in to what he wants why would be bother doing anything differently? He gets his own way because you are ground down by his behaviour, nothing will change here and he will merrily continue on pleasing himself at the expense of you and the kids.

You’re being far too nice (slash wet) OP. It would be a hell no from me and I’d have a nice week off at home while he took the children camping in the rain.

Except it wouldn’t be a week would it. I’d give him 2 days tops.

I like spontaneity but its a no from me

Cant believe you're putting up with this OP. I would have told him I wasn't happy but then gone along without doing anything extra.

He's bascially bought a tent (£700 second hand!) and done nothing else by the sounds of it. Left it all to you and there you are doing the dutiful thing and running around sorting it out. You're mad OP.

Definitely have a trial run putting the tent up. The big double air beds are great. Something to make the floor of the tent lovely and cosy and some fairy lights and bunting. If you have a camping table you can pop a blanket or something over as a table cloth to make it cosy. Always good to take dressing gowns and slippers for warmth and we used to take an oil filled radiator which kept it lovely and toasty. Think about little treats to make it exciting like hot chocolate with marshmallows and making s’mores on a camping stove. You can never take enough blankets and warm socks and pack up gloves, hats, scarfs etc there’s nothing worse than being cold. The kids will love it, good luck.

I do cave easy because sometimes it's easier than causing a big debate. He knows I'm not happy and I'm hoping in future he uses his brain.

It’s not easier than camping for a week with a 2 year old is it?

He will forget about it immediately after the event if you go along with it, I can assure you.

He will never forget if you send him on his own.

If my DH did this I would absolutely not do anything to enable him to make this work. And I would definitely not be spending any money on camping stoves or the like. I'd be booking a nice b&b nearby for me and the kids to flee to for when it all goes terribly wrong - which sounds like a very strong possibility since he doesn't even know how to put the tent up. Second hand from ebay? Most likely half of it is missing/has a big rip in it/stinks of mould because it wasn't dried out the last time it was used.

He needs to do a practice run in the back garden. Kick him out for the next week. He should have perfected it by then.

@Happyhappyday

Also curious what tent he acquired second hand for £700? Top end family camping tents don’t really get there new for £700... unless he bought a giant Nordisk canvas affair, in which case you MUST do multiple practice runs in the garden.

Ours was near £1000 new. It's not uncommon.

It took thousands of years for us to get decent weatherproof accommodation, and mod cons etc and I don’t see the fun in throwing it all away, esp if I’m expected to ensure the DC have clean clothes etc and food.
Only genuine volunteers should go camping!
Don’t be afraid to bail out if need be OP

@Jellybabiesforbreakfast has it.

you say he's never put up a tent in his life. If that's true, it explains why he thinks it's a good idea.

Rain, midges, toilets, showers, cooking.

I completely agree with the dry run in the garden. The experience of putting up the tent and sleeping in it in the rain will be very useful.

He will need a small gas stove and pans to make himself tea and baked beans. He will learn what other items of eqipment are needed, and how to keep toilet roll and towels dry, and that children wake up at dawn (about 5am, if you're wondering).

I have camped a lot.

I'll swap you for a week in lanzarote with OH's friends that I cannot stand..... 5 star hotel but I'd genuinely prefer a rainy week in a tent 😭 why do they do these idiotic things thinking we will be ok with it?!

@enjoyingscience

Oh god OP, I absolutely love camping, but it needs team work and you have to know what you’re doing to an extent. The idea that you’d all just sleep on the ground is madness, you’d be so miserable.

You might love it, but your DH sounds like a bloody amateur, and such hard work.

On the plus side, I’ve had some amazing nights round the camp fire, Milky Way above, glass of wine in hand listening to owls hooting away. Makes it worth the set up.

Yes it certainly needs teamwork, we have a great lot of fun getting the tent up and preparing everything but lots of couples don't! That's a precarious moment, but, since it was his spur of the moment idea, let him get it all done while you go and explore the site bar.

oh my gosh, epic husband fail

@Cindie943811A

It took thousands of years for us to get decent weatherproof accommodation, and mod cons etc and I don’t see the fun in throwing it all away, esp if I’m expected to ensure the DC have clean clothes etc and food. Only genuine volunteers should go camping! Don’t be afraid to bail out if need be OP

It took us thousands of years to for us to get rights as women.

The right to say “Like fuck am I camping”.

That sounds fucking hellish to me. I loathe camping anyway but a whole week??

I'm in Glasgow, it's almost June and I've still got the heating on. A couple of days ago it was raining so hard my windscreen wipers could barely keep up.

Your DH sounds like a bit of a bully and I'd be furious that he spent £700 on a non-refundable, second hand tent without looking over it. He clearly has no idea what he's doing. If you say yes now, you'll be railroaded into shite camping trips for years to come, which sounds like his intention.

@TatianaBis

I do cave easy because sometimes it's easier than causing a big debate. He knows I'm not happy and I'm hoping in future he uses his brain.

It’s not easier than camping for a week with a 2 year old is it?

He will forget about it immediately after the event if you go along with it, I can assure you.

He will never forget if you send him on his own.

This is true. I would never rub a puppy’s nose in a wet patch but dhs need a firmer hand when they have form for going rogue on eBay and condemning you to years of camping.

If you’d ever fancied camping you’d have gone camping before.

My idea of camping comes with a king sized bed, ensuite, cooked breakfast and a restaurant for dinner.

I have never camped, and intend to keep it that way.

Each to their own though.

I would be furious about the lack of consultation before buying/booking

C’mon OP you’re being wetter than the weather will be.