Does anyone have weekends like this anymore?

[Ranoutofideasfortheelves]

Friday night, got in, made chilli and nachos, fire on, throws on, pjs on, dh, me, dd (7) and ddog on the sofa watching films
Saturday, Dd did colouring in the morning, had pancakes, then her friend came to play, then she went to theirs for a few hours. I watched xmas films and sewed a top, Dh messed about on his computer.
I made lasagna and Dd came home, we had a dance to Christmas music then watched Home alone and bed.
Today we took ddog out to the woods, dd did clay, we made chocolate Christmas tree biscuits and played with her elves, played in the garden on the trampoline with the elves, had a roast, bath, fire, stories & bed.

Just been looking at Instagram etc and so many posts of visits to cities, girls nights out, santa spectacular shows, Lapland, London visits etc and just feeling a bit 😬
We will do a few Christmas outings for sure, but don’t seem half as busy (or wealthy)as lots of people. I remember lots of weekends as a kid being slow, but I was perfectly happy. We definitely do a lot more with Dd than I did as a kid, but do most of you do these kind of outings most weekends? Is Dd missing out?

Agreed. It's a very big tell when the "question" posed by the OP is not really a question at all.

"Am I unusual?" "Anyone else do this?" "I like this thing and am not planning to change my mind, is that ok?"

Segue. I am sorry to hear that you are having such a tough time @Thepeopleversuswork. I always find your posts so well articulated and sensible. Hope things get better for you.

Oh bless you. Thank you.

Get off Instagram! Instagram is mostly totally fake - people showing off or making out their lives are far more glamorous than the reality. I just feel sorry for people who feel the need to create fake online images of themselves.

Your weekends on the other hand sound perfect - relaxed, authentic - exactly how weekends are meant to be.

Can you honestly not see how ironic this is?

If course people have weekends like that. Those weekends are lovely. This weekend was a rushed nightmare, kids shows, birthday parties and a planned trip to see Santa that I wouldn't have booked if I'd known about the other things. Even with that though that was only 3-4 hours each day. Then we did crafts, painted, watched Xmas movies, built dens, decorated Xmas cookies etc etc. I like to go out somewhere each day, in summer that's house at parks and forests, in winter it's often I door play areas, kids days outs, museums, cafes etc.

Nope. Perhaps I’m just thick. I await your more sophisticated analysis.

I need to be out and about. Not necessarily ding expensive things but would at least be out walking or something. Sounds like a lot of films!

You're criticising people for posting online about their (you think fake) perfect lives while congratulating the OP for posting online about (quoting you) her perfect weekend.

Mumsnet is an anonymous forum. I could post here about how I just won the Nobel prize and got voted the most beautiful and wonderful woman in Europe, and it would remain meaningless because there’s no name, no face. I can’t advertise myself when there’s no identity to advertise. Unlike Instagram, which is all about self-advertising.

All I gathered from the OP was that she had had a nice, undemanding winter weekend and then she opened bloody Instagram and got a bit of mild FOMO from posts about people taking their kids trekking up Everest or flying the family to Dubrovnik while immaculately dressed or whatever. It’s just an example of how social media can undermine people’s confidence in their own preferences and choices.

And I didn’t detect any particular smugness about the OP, she was just asking for people’s thoughts - and then got some pretty sour responses.

No, that was her safety back up response when she saw people saw through her smug post.

As somebody else said, it is not a huge deal or a crime.

However, she put up a post, people saw it for what it was, and they called it out for what it was.

don't make it a competition, what matters is what makes YOU happy.

Many people would hate my weekends, so what? Your weekends, pj/ cooking/ watching tv are weekends when i am too ill to do anything at all to be honest. I'd go mad being locked up inside doing nothing. But that's just me.

We are out every weekend, but that includes sports and some Christmas activities (spread out, so Panto, Lights show, grotto). I am bored at home and my kids would be bored just going for " a walk"

It's not even about money, there are a lot of places that are free or near free, it's not all Lapland UK.

why does it matter what other people do? Some people like TV and craft, others are bored to death about them. Neither are superior.

Comparison is the thief of joy. And…people only ever post the good times.

This post is smug as hell, I don't know how people don't see through it.

Maybe rewording your post would have been helpful. Maybe if you wanted tips on saving throughout the year to afford Christmas or cheap/low cost ideas this could have been posted here or on the Christmas board where there are lots of nice suggestions.

You said your DD did have a playdate this weekend, so that ticks off seeing a friend.
You could invite your own friends round for drinks if you didn't want to/couldn't afford to go out.
Going round looking at Christmas lights on houses is a free evening activity
Christmas crafts making gifts and then delivering them to family would mean you still see them.
Local organisations do pay as you feel/low cost Santas grottos, so you can still take DD to see them (and the local charity near me do this for free if you speak to them about not being able to afford it).

It is unclear other than the mention now of money what your barriers are, as many things you could still do for free or low cost so not sure why you can't see family or friends.

Your weekend sounds divine and so much better than the instagram nonsense

We tidied Saturday, I made a nice dinner our son had friends for a cabin sleepover in the evening. DH and I watched a movie. Then Sunday morning I made a nice breakfast for everyone, we relaxed and DD played Xbox. I watched YouTube, planning some Christmas shopping, played some retro games, hubby playing guitar and his Xbox. in the afternoon 8 made a chilli, we all put up Christmas decorations and the tree, and under blankets we all watched Home Alone with mint whipped hot chocolate and the lovely chilli afterwards. Then DS sorted all his homework and gamed with a friend, I was reading in bed and hubby watching Vikings or something. Very little spent , although we could but we choose not to.

Growing up, we VERY rarely did anything for the weekend.
I'd go to Saturday morning music school, between about 9 and 12, which was a 5 minute walk from my house. I'd walk myself home just in time for lunch. In the afternoon I'd read that weeks Bunty comic, maybe do some drawing, play in my room. In later years I'd have an hour on the family computer, playing something like Settlers, Doom or Duke Nukem. Perhaps I'd walk down to the local shop and get a magazine and a chocolate bar with my pocket money.
Between the ages of about 8 and 11, I'd spend most of Sunday out with my two friends who lived down the road. We had such adventures together and I look back on those days very fondly.

We rarely went out anywhere as a family. And if we did it was seen as a proper treat.

We didn't do anything special in the build up to Christmas. We might go to the panto in the "big" town over from us, but we certainly didn't go every year. There were no trips to Santas grotto, or to see the lights or anything.

You gave your 7 year old a wonderful weekend that was very fitting for her age. She is having a childhood and that is unbeatable when it comes to child development. Don't beat yourself up, you are an excellent mum.

Yes OP nobody does what you do snd your missing it.😂🙄

why smug? That's not my idea of a good time, that's how I spend a weekend if I am stuck with covid or the flu 😂

If people are jealous, it's not exactly difficult to replicate.

I know what my kids' friends do at the weekend, and it's not potter around doing not much, so am not sure why "smug" applies here?

Mumsnet is an anonymous forum. I could post here about how I just won the Nobel prize and got voted the most beautiful and wonderful woman in Europe, and it would remain meaningless because there’s no name, no face. I can’t advertise myself when there’s no identity to advertise. Unlike Instagram, which is all about self-advertising

Ah ok so it's the fact that it's anonymous that means it's ok to you. That's fair I guess. I find the curated stuff equally dishonest either way but I do see why someone might not.

Why is it?

Sounds like a lovely weekend!! Quite jealous.

we didn’t do anything exciting but was busy with various house jobs.

id like to go for a long walk in the woods or beach soon. But the weather has been pants. And yes I know (before someone says) that I ca put a coat and wellies on…..but that’s not quite the same. Hate being wet and out in the cold wind

Because, it isn't the activity. Its the fact that she was smugly going on about her family life, and went into excessive detail about it and then had the neck to look for people to plump up her feathers.

It was smarmy and cringeworthy to read