A few days in London instead of gifts?

[user8800]

I'm debating if this is a good idea/feasible/affordable.

Dh and I have 3 dc in varying ages from 16 to 21.

Instead of gifts that I'm not sure I have the inspiration for this year I was thinking about doing stockings and a long weekend in London to see the Christmas lights, a couple of shows, museums etc?

We'd try and stay fairly central - I've never used air bnb so not sure if that would be cheaper and I've heard nightmare stories 🤔

Have you done this? Any tips or advice? Or was it something you wouldn't do again?

Thanks!

Have you asked if they would be happy with a trip rather than gifts? Some would, some would feel hard done to.

At that age, I'd have been happy to go on that trip with parents, but I wouldn't have seen it as a gift for me. Now, if my DC would come, I'd consider that a lovely gift to me, even if I had to pay!

Either get them to send you links of what they'd like, or give them cash.

Is there anything in London that they would particularly like to do that you're not into? Could you do the trip as a family thing but tickets to something specific could be their gift?

Years and years ago my parents gifted me and my sister Lion King tickets in London, along with train tickets. We all travelled down, they paid for hotel rooms (Travel Lodge) - it was nice to do some fun stuff with them but also for me and my sister to go and do something without them iyswim, and it was very clear that the tickets were the gift.

Oh I'm not sure they'd view it as a gift maybe cash to Spend in hamleys tho

My parents did this with me and my siblings for our birthdays one year and we had a ball.
To be fair to them they had it planned really really well and had picked things that we would either both enjoy or one parent took one of us to one thing and the other to another thing. We also met with family living near London.

I think that holiday made me appreciate experiences over gifts.

couple of shows,

For five people, over the Christmas season?

Round the world flights might be cheaper …

It’s a lovely idea for a gift, @user8800 - though I wouldn’t use ‘the Christmas lights’ as a selling point. In fact altogether it sounds like a trip for much younger children. Wouldn’t young adults each prefer their train fare, accommodation and some money transferred to their accounts?

Sorry! Should hsve explained that 2 x dc are "theatre kids" and perform themselves at a local level
Eldest loves museums and would welcome the chance I think...

Ha! Yes...it's definitely not a way to save money :)

We did this once. Very small token gifts to open and the trip was the gift. It was good. But we also decided to be yes people. Want an overpriced drink? YES. Want a souvenir? YES. Etc.

Sounds great!

I'd talk to them all now and say you'll do stockings - give them chance to express any dissatisfaction.

Loads of people get concert tickets for gifts, memories are worth more than possessions.

I've found the last couple of years tricky re: gifts
They are always grateful for what they get, but it's all felt a bit anti climactic to me
We love the theatre and museums, galleries etc

Sounds like a grand plan.
Lock in your accommodation.

I took my two daughters to London the weekend before Christmas last year and would never do it again.
Far to busy

That's a valid point
Maybe new year?

Great idea. Stay in the Premier Inn St Pancras. Handy for the tube/trains for everywhere. Book a show, loads of stuff to do

What about the weekend between Christmas and New Year? Check that the things you're interested in will be open obviously (I think they will) but that might be a good time to go - with Christmas and NYD being on Wednesdays this year, it will break up the holidays nicely but I have no idea how busy it will be - it could be absolutely rammed, or a bit quiet.

But definitely run it by your DC - they're not 'Santa' age any more, so obviously aren't going to be excited with a pile of presents to open - is this what you mean by 'anticlimactic for you'? But if you gave them all stockings and spending money for the trip, along with some planned shows, the museums and just wandering about, it could be a great and memorable, if expensive, trip.

But thanks for the mention of the lights. I have to travel to a work thing on the outskirts of London in December and as I need to travel the day before, I've already decided that I'm going to take that day to see the sights, museums etc and have added seeing the lights to the plan (but am now worried about how busy it will be!).

Hmm I'm not sure I see family trips as gifts . Surely those are Christmas activities anyway .

Hi @user8800 , I agree with others who are saying to discuss this lovely idea with your DC first. I would maybe float the idea together with the added bonus that they could have a bit of money to buy a few Xmas pressies whilst there- the sales will be on!

Re cost: London in between Xmas and NY or just after doesn’t have to be that expensive. I recommend looking at Premier Inn or Travelodge in London for good value accommodation. The sooner you book, the cheaper the room. If you don’t mind travelling a short distance by train/tube, it’s also worth looking at TL and PI a bit further out, as they might be cheaper.

Lots of free things to do:

Xmas lights
Visiting Harrods food hall, (and seeing the window displays)
British Museum, V&A, etc.
Walking through Chinatown, Camden Market, Borough Market, Greenwich Market, (walk past the Cutty Sark whilst there), etc.

For theatre tickets, you can sometimes get good deals on the day here:

https://officiallondontheatre.com/tkts/

The run up to Xmas is very busy, but between Xmas and NY is often surprisingly ‘quiet’ in central London.

London is great for older teens/young adults who like to shop and/or enjoy culture/history.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thank you very much

They're 16-21 years old! 😂

Maybe my ex was right about me jumping the 🔫 😂😂

My dc wouldn't have wanted hamlets toys at 16-21

Yes I realised when I replied to the other poster lol. ( was in to many threads not paying attention)

Yeah, me and DH are ahem in a mature age group, and even WE could get a bunch of things from Hamleys! 😆