Is anyone going abroad over Christmas?

[SnowfallSnowball]

Just being nosey really! My DD16 and I are going away in 11 days time and can’t wait. We were meant to go away last Christmas but she got covid 4 days before we were due to fly! 😭

I don’t have any family really so prefer to go somewhere hot and get some winter sun!

Yes! Also going skiing from the 23rd to the 30th. We're going to do Christmas at home on the 21st so we don't need to pack presents (and then DS1 can use his new bit of tech on the journey).

We were supposed to go last year too but had to cancel 17 days before due to ramped up travel restrictions. Very glad to be past that milestone as of yesterday and we're all excitedly counting down the days.

@HowVeryBizarre ahh that’s good to know, yes when I checked the weather in November it seemed to have been thunder and lightning but appears to have calmed down a bit now, also it’s not as if it rains all day right?! It will be fine I’m sure, it will be 30 when we arrive so I’m happy :). Oh and we are staying in Kuta, where did you stay? Is it best to book trips when we get there?

Aww @PayPennies how exciting!! Bet you can’t wait!

@Smileandtheworldsmileswithyou amazing, I love Thailand, I’ve been during Christmas too, weather was fabulous. My DD and I went white water rafting on Christmas Day one year 😊

How fantastic.
I used to go away the week before Christmas if school holidays allowed. It’s just such a relief to be away from the constant pressure of shopping and organising for weeks on end.
We do have to travel and rent somewhere near our in laws. Even that’s quite nice as you can’t do any more if you go up Christmas Eve. Would be amazing to do it somewhere warm where you can get out and about.

@SnowfallSnowball

It wasn't my thread, but it was totally hilarious. Glorious MN madness at its finest.

Here you go:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4677946-in-a-cafe-and-a-woman-has-just-complained-funny

@SnowfallSnowball We spend most of our time in Seminyak although we have booked Sanur for our two trips next year. Sanur used to be known as “snore” but with the West coast getting busier all the time and the fact that Indonesian friends of ours are getting married on Gilli T next year we thought we would have a change. Canggu is Instagram heaven but the traffic is nuts and tbh it’s got a bit nuts, Book trips when you are there, a lot will depend on whether or not you have kids with you. If not (or you can get childcare one night) Bambu in Seminyak is our favourite restaurant in Bali. Amazing food and cocktails in a stunning environment, definitely not for kids though. We rented a villa for a month nearby last year and had some of the best meals ever.

Thanks @HowVeryBizarre, it will just be me and my DD, she’s 16. I’ve done quite a bit of research on trips/areas so know what we fancy doing whilst there! I won’t be content until I’m standing in the hotel lobby checking in! A wedding on Gili T, that’ll be amazing. What time of year are you going? I’m hoping to do a trip to Gili T actually and staying there for one/two nights. 😊

Anyone worried about passport strikes? 🙄

Do you mean border force strikes?

Yes, bit worried we'll have a long wait on our return but the only option for us was 10+ hour at our connecting airport to fly back into one where they aren't striking. Hopefully the queues won't be 10 hours long in Manchester!

I would love to go away for Christmas as I really dislike it.

how far in advance do you book?

my neee years resolution is to be more proactive in booking and paying off holidays as last minute we couidnt afford

Absolutely not.

Never have and never will.

I LOVE Christmas in this country (England!)

What does everyone do with any aged rellies left alone here at Christmas or any one else that might usually spend Christmas with you? Asking for a friend 😖

We booked in January. Kept an eye on the flights and decided to just go for it whilst they were still relatively inexpensive. We've booked everything individually. Also booked the accommodation in January, but it's pay on departure.

As we're skiing, we've then booked the other elements throughout the year and paid for them upfront. Booked ski school and hire in August when the booking went live on the school website, and the ski passes on Wednesday as we saw a post from the Tourist board on FB that they were live and there were advance savings available. Saved us about £300. We've been before though so we know roughly when in the year we need to book things, which helps us budget.

We've just got our accommodation, transfers (train) and spending money to cover now. Majority of which is already put to one side.

We could book the trains in advance and save some money but DH is reluctant. He'd rather have the flexibility of just buying a ticket when we arrive in case of any delays.

Any siblings that could take a turn hosting? A friend has already given her parents a heads up that they're going away next year. Gives them a year to wrap their heads around it.

All you flying… are you concerned about the strikes taking place? It’s been strongly advised not to air travel hasn’t it?

Southern California 22nd to 2nd. I can't wait.

Well it depends which airport you are using.

Not all of them will be affected, and the ones that are will just end up with longer queues due to lack of staff.

Flights are still flying even though EJ shifted ours by 24 hours once we had already booked accommodation grr (nothing to do with strikes though)

This is lovely hearing about all your travels now that Covid restrictions are done and plans can at last be made! (I know about the passport control issue though....) I hope you all have a great time. Woo hoo.

Personally I am not so sure about being abroad at Christmas. I am wary of crowded hot stress filled airports at that time. I also feel that as it's school hols there will be many kids around (nothing against them at all BTW!), and having none of my own it may not be right for me.

But, I am going to Rome and Ostia Antica (maybe train trip to Naples/Herculaneum if I can), on 10 January for 8 days. Figured things will be quiet enough for seeing everything and the kids will be back at school ha ha!

We fly to Thailand on Christmas Day, returning a month later. Me, DP and four kids (11, 9, 6 and 1) backpacking around. Getting a bit scared now it's approaching actually.

What airports aren’t effected?

Baggage handlers and border force are striking

No. I really wanted to as I have a long break off work over the Christmas period. I found a flight I fancied. However DH has said no. I know he loves Christmas at home and he does the main bulk of the work. We have just come back from holiday a couple of weeks ago from Croatia and going away in February so I am prepared to not make a fuss. He has said we could get a hotel for two or three nights if I want.
He tried not to be too smug towards me when they announced strikes at the airport over the Christmas period!

From the BBC:

"About 1,000 Border Force staff are expected to walk out on eight days between 23 December and New Year's Eve at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow (terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5) and Manchester airports, as well as at the port of Newhaven."

Having looked at this, we'd get a full refund and would book another flight. Compensation would cover the difference in ticket prices. We've got the choice of several airports to choose from.

However, the strikes scheduled to take place on the dates we travel are Border Force ones. They're not actually closing the borders, they've drafted the military in to support in Passport Control. So it just might take a bit longer. However, our flight is at 6am, and we're getting to the airport for 3am, so it's not peak time.

This is a holiday we had to cancel 17 days before last year because of LFT/PCR demands. The last time we skied, our flight home was cancelled on the morning of as there were high winds in the UK. We got ourselves booked onto a flight two days later from a different city, hopped on a train and had a lovely unexpected weekend there.

No sense fretting about it. What will be, will be. We'll figure it out if we have to.

Going away for New Year and can't wait to escape the cold. I'd go for Christmas too as I'm really not bothered by it but until the day that my (adult) son doesn't want to spend it with me, I'll stick to leaving in the days post Christmas.

Fortunately our airport aren't involved in the strikes.

I live overseas and would of come back to the UK for Christmas, but the flight prices were off the scale (even worse than normal holiday prices) so going to SE Asia again for Christmas.......but do like Christmas in a cold country