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?

Plenty of weekends like that. But I wouldn't post on Instagram about a quiet weekend. I would however post about Lapland or some special treat. So your idea is a bit skewed if you think Instagram is about posting about every day life.

This is the equivalent of teenage girls thinking women look like the models they see on Instagram/cover of a magazine when we were young.

It sounds like a lovely weekend to me OP. Your DD will have precious memories of such times. There is absolutely no need to be racing from one event to another all the time and I feel sorry for those who can't find enjoyment in relaxation.

We did a Christmas film, kids gymnastics club, dog walks, spaghetti bol, read some new story books, a carol concert at a church.. I think it’s fine and normal!!! I see the OTT stuff on instagram etc and think Christ they must be exhausted planning it all and then filming the whole thing and uploading it etc. It’s way more staged than it all looks.

Im childfree so my weekends are different. I run a home business so Saturday is my Tesco delivery day and Royal Mail pickup for my parcels. Sunday is my special day for relaxing. I dont answer the door or phone or even emails. I do exactly what I want to do all day.

Back when I lived with my parents saturday was the day for shopping and sunday for visiting - or for being visited. Most shops were closed. As kids we often did colouring reading or something like knitting in the evening. We played family games at christmas.

Reading this post I remember so fondly the slow but full weekends when I was a kid. I would give anything to have one more of those.
Now with my 5mo DD asleep in her crib next to me I got a bit emotional thinking about weekends like this with her to come. Can't bloody wait.

Yeah they do. They have weekends a lot less cosy and homely as yours sounds. Yours sounds wonderful. But those wonderful moments won't make social media. Did you post those homely loving moments?

Social media is snip bits of the most interesting parts of any person's life. Some get obsessed and live for insta worthy moments and rarely enjoy the experiences they are having as they are too busy posing for photos. Not the case of all. But most people will only be showing life's best bits. You won't see the moments like yours this weekend on there, but many will aspire to be having those same moments themselves

I felt the same

When I’m out and about on holiday weekends I see many exhausted children having meltdowns as they’re being rushed from one must-do attraction to the next. Your weekend sounds like what those parents should aspire to.

Your weekend sounds heavenly.

What Christmas outings do you have planned? I think it’s normal to have home-based weekends between the busier ones (though it sounds like you did a fair bit this weekend, just at home). The bit that stuck out to me was time to yourself watching films during the day (!) which would be a rarity for me. But hopefully something to look forward to with older children!

Nearly every post on MN can be answered with the advice: get off social media. It's easy.

Oooh can I come to you next weekend OP? Sounds idyllic!
For what it's worth, we never once did shows, Christmas trips to London, ice skating etc as I never had the money. Time and fun with their family are what kids really need.

Instagram is just rubbish!’

Your weekend is our type of weekend. All the packed Christmas organised activities are never as fun as the appear on social media. In fact for me they are utterly draining and usually a massive rip off/a let down. I struggle to feel the magic of Christmas jostling with a bunch of strangers for the day and my family feel the same.

At that age we had a mix of weekends. We love seeing friends so it was rare to have a weekend just us. But nothing wrong with your weekend. Though my husband and I share tasks so I wouldn’t be the one cooking every meal, thank goodness.

It sounds pretty normal to me… food/pj/film/bed is pretty much most people’s evening throughout the year. My weekend has been similar

We do a mixture. The DC enjoy being close to home and having a fair amount of down time, i usually get jobs done and batch cooking. DD has been doing a lot of homework and chilling in her room, DS has been playing with friends but also baking and making Christmas cards. We went out on Saturday evening for dinner with family and a look around the xmas markets.

Sounds perfect 👌 don’t believe all you see on social media a lot of it is just made to look better than it is and the truth is very different

I never look at Instagram and your post makes me grateful for that. We all have different desires. I do what I do with my weekends (sometimes active and busy; sometimes more chilled). I don’t compare my life with others.

I don’t think anyone does trips to Lapland etc as a typical weekend but people only post when they’ve done something special. Everyone has chilled weekends at home. Your weekend sounds like you packed a lot in for a weekend at home to me! For me a weekend at home inevitably means a lot of time spent cleaning - both to catch up from the week and because spending all weekend at home means more mess is created, especially if I’d done all that cooking! It sounds like you spent a lot of the weekend in the kitchen! Does DH never cook? Swap out one of those meals to a take away on a Friday or Saturday night and it sounds like a dreamy weekend.

Plenty of people have that kind of weekend, especially at this kind of year.

I was smiling reading your weekend description- it sounds absolutely perfect!

That kids of weekend is very rarely documented on social media so you wouldn't see it but my weekends are very similar. Some combination of swimming lessons, visiting grandparents/cousins, bike rides, cooking, watching films, crafts and cosiness. Sometimes we have big weekends where we are out all day busy, which we would probably take pics of for Instagram but otherwise, chilling at home. Nothing wrong with that!

The weekend you've just had sounds perfect for your Dd, the sort of weekend she'll have fond memories of when she's grown up.
Of course weekends at home are the norm, they're just not posted on social media. Yours sounds better than most because many parents are trying to get through a mountain of chores at the weekend whereas you had the time to watch films while your child was at her friend's home, that's something to appreciate!

You come across as a bit unhappy though and maybe a little bored and envious of the fun you think others are having. You don't have to worry about your Dd missing out because she's not, but maybe you could look into doing more for yourself outside of your family life?

Magical Christmas experiences don't have to cost money by the way. It's little things like a walk at night to see the Christmas lights everywhere and maybe stopping off at a cafe to have a hot drink or small treat like a gingerbread man that are special to a young child.

You made sure that your child felt safe, happy, warm and loved.

What more could you want to do?

Yes, you could have made your child feel those things in Lapland.

But there is no need!