To be angry at sisters Eras tour present??

[Grealish]

I have two tween DDs who are Taylor obsessed atm. Was gutted when I didn’t get a code to get them tickets.

Well yesterday my sister came round, and told me she had a surprise for the girls. Three eras tour tickets for me and the girls!! The girls (and me) were so excited, youngest ran off to show her aunt what outfit she was going to wear, and oldest kept announcing that it was the best day of her life.

and then my sister said: “it’s a good thing your DH has the weekend off too, he can drive you to the airport!”. Well I felt like bingo in that one episode of bluey. Airport? I’m not going to the airport?

Turns out the tickets are in London. This Sunday. We live in Ireland. My sister bought the tickets, but now I’ll have to book flights and hotel. I have work on Monday so I’ll have to try book that off. We have a family holiday coming up as well as my best friends hen party so really do not have the money for flights and a hotel, if I can even find a hotel this late notice.

I just wish she’d come to me first before telling the girls, as now I’m either going to have to crush their dreams or somehow find a few hundred quid to get us all to London.

AIBU to be so angry at my sister (even tho I think she thought she was doing a nice thing.) and to think that a present should not put the recipient out of pocket…. Sorry I actually don’t even know what I’m expecting people to say back I’m just in need of a good rant.

DD paid £90 each for tickets in London. A year ago, as part of the actual main ticket sale.

Taylor Swift has no control over the inflated prices that ticket touts are selling tickets on for.

If it’s any help, you could probably get a cheap hotel for around £50 with late availability in the London suburbs near Wembley that are a few stops away on the tube or Overground eg Harrow or Watford. Saturday nights are usually expensive in Travelodge/Premier Inn budget hotels but Sunday is usually the cheapest night.

£62 for a family room:

https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/320/Watford-Central-hotel?checkIn=23/06/2024&checkOut=24/06/2024&rooms%5B0%5D%5Badults%5D=1&rooms%5B0%5D%5Bchildren%5D=2&search=

AW God what an absolute pain the arse!!!

I know she thought she was doing something great and I am sure the girls will love it but she really wasn't thinking.

Even Ryanair is coming up at €300 pp for the flights alone. Maybe call you sister and be like, so what time are the flights? I know she doesn't have them booked but see what she says!! At least let her help in organising it.

I bought DH and FIL tickets to an ag show for Christmas which is actually on this week. We're also in Ireland it's in Scotland. I booked their flights as part of the present I didn't think they could just materialise themselves over the Irish sea

YANBU at all! I'm in Ireland too, and my friend gave me a concert ticket for my birthday a few years ago - for a band I liked when I was a kid thirty years ago. I had to pay for flights, hotel, food etc. and the concert was crap.

Your sister should have spoken to you first, and given as much notice as possible!

Aer Lingus sat-Mon to LHR is €540 for all of you.

Most of the Heathrow hotels are coming in at £210-250. Choose one with a pool for something fun to do.

Elizabeth line into London and lots of free things to do there. Greggs for meal deals and China Town for £5 all you can fit in the box buffet.

Yes, it's going to cost you about £800 but you'll have an absolute ball with your girls and they'll never forget it.

Tell your sister that you'd like her to put as much towards this as possible in lieu of birthday and Christmas presents for the next year and never to do that again without speaking to you first

Oh my god OP I'd be raging if I were you. To add to it Aer Lingus are going on strike this week so definitely don't book flights with them, I'm in Ireland so going to the Dublin concert and the return coach trip for 3 of us was about €80 which I've already paid so I've all my tickets and main expense paid nearly a year ago. We are off on hols in 3 weeks so if someone landed a really expensive weekend like that on me this week I really wouldn't be able to afford it

There are a lot of reasonable rooms on Booking.com, and if the flights are too expensive, would you try Sail & Rail with Irish Ferries? My mother does it regularly and it's so easy. There's a promotion on now where children are travelling free from 1st June, so you would only have to pay for yourself - €62 each way. It covers the ferry from Dublin, and rail tickets to any station in the UK. You could get the 8am ferry over, and come back on Monday evening.

That was a different situation.

Mad for her to do this so last minute - ask her to bring them and to sell your ticket - it will go some way towards covering flights and so on

Oh my this makes it even worse. She’s sat on it for 2 weeks and not given you any time to plan. She sounds clueless at least. If not incredibly unreasonable to expect you to work with this. Does she have form for this? You need to be grateful but firm that she doesn’t pull something so ridicolous on you in the future.

Good advice.
Think how happy the girls will be.

Not Taylor Swift weekend they're not! I go once a month to a Premier inn. Normally £140. This week, £280 and now no availability!

Frankly you know how excited your girls are and you know how expensive these tickets are and how difficult to get hold off

Either thank her or explain to her and your girls why you are unable to go.

What tickets were you hoping to get if you had a code and would you not have just grabbed what you could?

I know it's a massive stress for you to get there but omg I'm so jealous!

What was your sisters reply when you pointed out the wellmeaning ridiculousness and immense financial strain she's put on you?

That was just a day out in London.

Absolutely no need to stay miles away. £120 per night literally 20 mins away to Wembley. https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/search.html?searchModel.searchTerm=Edgware,%20UK&PLACEID=ChIJHd0n1EoRdkgRjLUB7RUqhD0&ARRdd=22&ARRmm=6&ARRyyyy=2024&NIGHTS=2&ROOMS=1&ADULT1=1&CHILD1=2&COT1=0&INTTYP1=FAM&BOOKINGCHANNEL=WEB&SORT=1&VIEW=2

You can do sail and rail to London, takes a bit longer but not crazy. If you take the morning boat from Dublin there is a direct train from Holyhead to London. Its a lovely journey.

Also, there are so many London airports, make sure to check all of them.

I think its about €50 each way sail and rail, no luggage charges.

OP I'm veering between being utterly outraged for you and over the moon for your girls.

Your sister obviously thought it would make an amazing surprise without stopping to think it would be an amazingly huge pain in the neck for you.

I think if you possibly can you're going to have to make it work. Is there anyone at all in London who might put you up over night - old friend, friend of a friend? People can be quite understanding at times especially for only one night.

The ferry and rail idea about sounds good if you can make the timings fit -

But what a faff

This Travel Lodge is £90 for the 3 of you - describes itself as a handy base for wembley stadium London Park Royal

If you can’t face it or afford it, I will happily buy those tickets from you!

Gosh that sail and rail is good value and there's a boat called the Dublin Swift too! Must be fate. It is £41 or 48 each way and PP is right that kids go free. Plus the price of the train obviously

On balance the thing I’d be most annoyed about it that sister announced it to your girls without discussing it with you first, so regardless of whether it was a sweet gesture or a good deal (or whether you can get flights or accommodation) you have been backed into a corner and can’t tell your girls you cannot go.

This
It's the kind of thing that MIL has form for doing - saying to the kids "we're going to <insert theme park> or wherever to their faces and then you have to be the bad guy when you say "actually we've got plans/can't do then" and therefore upsetting them 😡
It's not nice at all, how the fk does she expect you to get the day off work with like a week's notice and just pull money out of your arse for hotels and travel?!
YANBU, I'm fuming on your behalf here 😁