I really don’t enjoy holidays

[Jorge14]

Every year we go on holiday (family of 4). We save all year, my husband works extra hours so we can afford to go somewhere really nice. The kids look forward to it and enjoy it (actually my oldest is now 16 so he is starting to be bored & we now have to go with other people so he has someone to hang out with). I go through the yearly facade of booking it, getting ready for it, packing for it and I never enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, I have great memories from family holidays and I feel fortunate that my kids have their memories, but I just don’t enjoy it. I don’t ruin it for anyone and I’m fine when I’m there but I just can’t wait to go home, my own bed, my own shower, my own things around me, no airport stress, no packing. I would rather take a couple of weeks off work and take it easy, go out for some nice days out etc. it seems nuts I’ve got to save all year for this 2 weeks that I really don’t enjoy. Am I the only person that feels like this, I don’t tell anyone as people just seem to be the complete opposite to me.

My husband lives for holidays .. I don't mind them but with a very fussy 3 year old (food, routine, sleep, everything!) It's not the most enjoyable experience. The older one is fine but often seems like more hassle than it's worth!

Maybe you’re going to the wrong place/wrong type of holiday?

I’m the same. When I was married we went on a few holidays which were fun, but since divorcing and mostly being alone it’s all too difficult and I hate travelling alone. Decided about 10 years ago to give up the facade and the pity invites from friends and relatives and admit that I don’t want to go anywhere. So I stay home and because I’m home on my own I end up doing bits of work and dialling into the odd meeting because why not? Then I don’t take toil and end up exhausted and stressed because I never get a break.

Maybe we could do a partner swap, OP. My DH hates holidays - hates travelling, airports, airplanes. Hates going anywhere different, hates being anywhere unfamiliar. Hates the food being different. Hates having to make decisions about where to go and what to do and what to eat.

He loves ‘pottering at home’

Meanwhile I’m slowly dying of boredom.

The biggest joke to me was the camping "holiday".
Absolutely a fuking nightmare to prepare for when the burden lies on only you. Pre cook food to freeze them hope no one dies when it defrosts but you can't reheat properly. Living outdoors in nature is wonderful but not when but all you can hear on the campsite is next door snoring and see some fat arse hanging out of union jack pants. Uuuk. No No more. Only stars I will sleep under are 5 stars on the hotel door.

If you like doing stuff then a good compromise is doing stuff in the morning and then relaxing in the afternoon. We take card games, kindle, pool inflatables etc to make the afternoon more interesting.

I hate holidays too and i never go for more than a week. I hate all the preparation. I hate travelling as i get travel sick. I feel pressure to be on the go all the time. I am always ready to go home after one night even if i holiday in the uk. I only seem to get poorly on holiday. This year i have decided just to do a few day trips. At least i can sleep in my own bed.

I sometimes feel in the minority on Mumsnet! I absolutely LOVE holidays, live for them, there is nothing me and DH love more than being off work with our kids and going somewhere!
We will literally go and enjoy anything - city breaks, beach breaks, theme park trips, all inclusive, road trips, long haul, short haul, hot weather, cold weather! UK, US, Europe, LOVE IT!
We've been going away with our kids since DS was 10mths, DD 7mths. Now at 7 and 4 they are excellent travellers, really flexible with routines, and have a taste for adventure. We've recently returned from 3wks in Florida (definitely could have stayed longer!) this summer we're going backpacking/Interrailing, next year we're going to do a beach holiday as ready for something more relaxing. There's very rarely a month where we don't have a weekend away somewhere.

DH loves holidays, literally every aspect of them. He loves the planning, the airport, the flight, all of it. He even likes packing!

I find the build up and the preparation a bit stressful (even though DH does most of it if I'm being honest) and I don't particularly like flying, it's just a means to an end for me. I didn't really enjoy holidays properly when the children were small, it seemed more trouble than it was worth to deal with the overtiredness and being away from all the usual conveniences. Now they're older holidays are fun again and I do actually feel relaxed when i'm there, but im still always happy to go back home. I just really love my house I suppose, it's my happy place.

The only time I've ever had post holiday blues was after we went to Disney World Florida. I know MN can be a bit snooty about Disney but we all absolutely loved it. We went for 2 weeks and DH and I both said we could happily have stayed for another week or even 2. Generally we find a week is enough for a family holiday so I surprised myself.

I like the holidays that I like. I'd really not enjoyed so many family holidays when ds was tiny/little/tween that it was a shock when I did enjoy a holiday again. Unfortunately the things that I enjoyed about it were 1. Being widowed so I could make my own choices and decide what the compromises would be, and not having to look after dh and 2. Having more money so we could do more fun things.

What would you do for a week that you would really enjoy? Book a version of that. And if that's a week at home but with a cleaner before and after and a much bigger budget for day trips, entertainment and eating out, plus a few adult bits such as a spa evening and nights out with a babysitter, have that. Maybe your dh could choose what to do the second week and organise/pack/wrangle the kids for it himself?

I was thinking the other day that I can’t remember the last time I was in an airport, and it wouldn’t bother me at all if I didn’t have to go to one again! I find airports and flying all quite stressful and the last few years we have packed up the car and taken the ferry to Europe and it’s been great. The thought of a 2 week holiday in a hotel in somewhere like Tenerife spending all day by the pool with 2 young kids and travelling my plane is not my idea of fun!