How many weekends in advance are people booked up ?

[vaccinelover]

I think my social life just totally sucks clearly. Everyone I know is literally booked up for at least a month every weekend ( if not longer ). Is that how everyone's life is ? Or just the people I know ?

Lighthearted post.

@vaccinelover actually, I am! Where would you like to go?

@Oobahdoobs hahah cute!

@vaccinelover I can offer you tasty tasty pancakes and Prosecco, if you're in london and genuinely fancy it

We are booked for the next two weekends. This one with father's day stuff and next weekend dh is off to London to see his auntie (her dh died in January and he couldn't make the funeral). I work Saturdays so tend not to make definite plans on that day as I'm never sure how tired I will be after (29 weeks pregnant).

i am the opposite of booked up. booked down?

i have a cousin who's constantly busy. makes me yawn tbh and empty vessels make the loudest noise and all that jazz.

@Oobahdoobs you don't say! That is where I am.

The only things I have planned is a short holiday and long runs on a Saturday.....I don't like being booked up it makes me feel tired 😅

@vaccinelover well, if you want pancakes, you know where I am

I'm booked up until mid September. I'm a "planner" and have a busy social life. Sundays revolve around DS's hobbies so Saturdays are our only free day.

@MargosKaftan

Oh but theres a feeling here that even though our cases are v low, if the government isn't prepared to do tiers again, then all this freedom will be snatched away again, so book that restaurant, book those tickets, get plans to see friends ASAP. As it might end up being another 4 months with nothing but work and cleaning. Squeeze as much living and joy into the little pockets of time we've got.

Yes, this. I'm absolutely not waiting around, I've had months of doing nothing at the weekends and I was bored stiff.

There appears to be a perception that is ‘non-planners’ are sitting around doing nothing. I don’t think that is the case for most, it just means we are not jumping from one appointment to the next

We're booked up until early September, although it's mostly activities with our toddler DD - museum visits, theatre, concerts, galleries, festivals, theme parks, restaurants. Very glad to be back doing social events and everything needs to be booked weeks in advance (we're in London). She is in nursery and classes during the week so weekends are the only time we can take her to those kind of venues. Even during lockdown we were pencilling in trips to parks and outdoor attractions (though most of them didn't need booking) - I just like to have something to look forward to and so we aren't stuck on Friday night wondering what to do at the weekend.

However we don't really tell anyone else what we're up to and aren't on social media, so nobody else has any idea how busy we are. Pre-pandemic we used to keep some weekends free to see family, but they're being so cautious about meeting up that we hardly ever see them any more.

I find thud mind boggling. We have a few plans, a couple of parties here and there. But every weekend till November poster? Wtf?

@Womencanlift

When do these super busy people actually relax? I like plans to an extent but having a full weekend every week plus work sounds like hell

They’re probably only sittings round someone else’s all day being waited on hand & foot. You know how people exaggerate.

Not really no. A couple of 'pencilled in' things and a couple of ideas for days out.

I wouldn't say we are fully booked as in jammed packed calendar all year, but dh works 12hour shift every other weekend, then kids activities and invites times 2 kids and me studying in my free time takes already there some time every weekend.
Then we go to my parents one day each weekend for afternoon and dinner and every fortnight I go to my grandparents for coffee and take them visiting my great grandmother. A couple of birthday invites, a wedding anniversary celebration, a wedding and a jubilee makes our calendar quite booked...

I’m booked up until beginning of August but I love time to myself so if I’m busy Friday night and Sunday, I ‘book’ time for me or me and DH on the Saturday. I can’t do a whole weekend out and socialising my introverted self needs time away from people to recharge. So technically I’m not booked up every day of every weekend but if you asked me if I was free Saturday (in this example) I’d say no. (I’ve burnt out before from not having my quiet time)

Those who don’t like to plan, what if you want to see an exhibition at the Tate Modern or V&A? They sell out so you have to book in advance. Same If I want to go to the football- has to be booked in advance. I’d like to be spontaneous but I feel like I’m forced into planning (even pre Covid) and to get cheap train tickets.

Also if it’s an evening and you want both DH and I there then we need to book a babysitter, and budget for it.

Yes, this. I'm absolutely not waiting around, I've had months of doing nothing at the weekends and I was bored stiff.

Not planning doesn't mean sitting around bored and idle.

Booked up until mid august, but that does include 2 weddings which involve travel for the weekend and a hen do. Normally we keep at least one weekend a month free for our kids to load about and us to have impromptu bbqs etc. But we have lots of family and friends not local so we do travel at weekends a fair bit to see them all.

@Flippanty

So hang on, I really find this hard to understand - to the people saying they are booked up until November or however long - do you mean you are meeting people for dinner Friday eve, then out for drinks with a different group of people, then Saturday morning taking kids to football, then meeting a different group for lunch, then going on a planned 4 months in advance walk with someone else, then at a birthday party, then another planned dinner meeting with drinks after, Sunday morning meeting someone else for breakfast, taking the kids 4 months planned in advance swimming, going for a 4 months planned in advance bbq, then a 4 months planned in advance coffee meeting, then take kids for 4 months planned in advance park play date with friends, then home and having people round for 4 months planned in advance drinks in the evening? And are they all things that invitations can’t be extended to other people?

This is a genuine question I can’t imagine how it works. I am very much a spontaneous planner and I am also introverted so don’t like too much of weekend taken up meeting other people but if I have a BBQ planned for Sunday and a friend asks if I’m free I’ll say yes I’ll meet you for a coffee before this BBQ, or yes was planning on meeting so and so do you want to come along? Want to take the kids swimming etc.

I can’t wrap my head round how you can every minute of your weekend planned without any wiggle room to meet a friend for a walk or for brunch or whatever. And do you all have very separate groups that you socialise with?

Well, I'm a single parent so I don't get much time child free. If people are happy to see me with DS tagging along then I could of course arrange something around other plans but if they want to do something adults only they do need to book me in advance so I can arrange childcare! I have a couple of different friendship groups plus all my family live in the same city so we often meet up.

Most of my weekend plans are with DS. Next weekend he's with his dad until early Sunday morning but he's having his birthday party on Saturday so I'll pop along to that. Friday night I'm out for drinks with friends then Saturday morning I'm meeting my mum for brunch. I'll go to the party in the afternoon then meeting different friends for drinks on Saturday night. Sundays are dedicated to DS's hobbies!

The weekend after I'm taking DS to an outdoor cinema event on Saturday then in the evening we are going to another party for another family member's birthday. Weekend after that I'm taking him on an overnight trip to Warwick Castle. It's just stuff like that every weekend. We're not keen on staying home at the weekends, especially now after being stuck at home for months!

@speakout

Yes, this. I'm absolutely not waiting around, I've had months of doing nothing at the weekends and I was bored stiff.

Not planning doesn't mean sitting around bored and idle.

I didn't say it did. I just personally prefer planning in advance.

Wow I didn't actually realise others planned their life like this. I am not judging just genuinely shocked.

Apart from the odd day which is planned we usually make plans as a family based around the weather that day. Friends usually message me in the morning or the night before to suggest meeting up.

My rule for weekend plans is usually book one night out/meal/meet up with friends/event in advance and leave the rest of the weekend free (unless there is a special occasion that weekend)

I am a planning obsessed introvert which means I can easily get carried away making too many plans in advance, but when it comes to doing them, I don't want to or my anxiety takes over. So I made the rule of 1 booked thing per weekend and then we can do other things if we choose or book things nearer the time.

I am aware this works for us at the minute with toddler DD, me and DH, but as she grows up she will probably have activities at the weekend. But then I feel it's even more important to not spend the weekend going from activity to activity with family or friends visits and then us parents going out in the evening. I'm very big on downtime, and, to me, doing nothing can be as important as doing something

End of August. I’m not normally ever this busy but I suppose trying to cram everything in before summer ends