Would I be mad to do a long weekend to US with a 1 yr old and 2.5 yr old?

[TheInvisibleHand]

My brother is getting married in Denver in January and we definitely have to (and would like to) go. Just trying to work out what the least painful way of doing it might be.
I had been thinking that we go for a week, so DCs get a bit acclimatised before the wedding (on a Sunday) and we don't have to do 2 long flights in quick succession. BUT if we go Thurs-Monday we can a) travel with my mum/sister and get some help on the flight and b)don't have to work out how to entertain DCs for a week in Denver in the middle of winter. What do people reckon?

shudder

Neither option sounds great TBH but I would go for the week. Will you be staying with family or in a hotel?

I did a Thursday-Tuesday (I think) trip to the US with dd when she was under 2. Flight over was fine, don't remember jet lag being too bad or too much awakeness at night. We both got sick when we were there (cold/flu) and the flight back was so horrendous that we didn't go abroad again for a long time!

I would go for the week assuming your OH is flying with you and the kids

Thanks everyone - helpful to see where this is going...

smallorange - I know!

saadia - we'll be staying in a hotel, not sure if that makes things better or worse!

DH will be with us, so I'm not desperate to have mum/sis help on the flight.

GrapefruitMoon - not sure if that's reassuring or not!

Average daytime temp in January in Denver is below freezing as well so that also needs due consideration. Also Denver is about 5000 feet above sea level so the weather there can be unpredictable anyway.

Try and find a suites based hotel (Embassy Suites is one such chain, there are others); that will give you all some more space rather than having one standard room with two queen beds in it. Look on tripadvisor.com for photos and up to date reviews.

Would go for the week if you plan to go; its too far to travel for just a couple of days. I would also look for a direct flight from the UK if such a thing exists. Same day internal flight transfers within the US as well can be stressful in their own right particularly if the plane from the UK arrives late.

Thanks Attila - def planning the direct flights - BA has one a day. I've been caught out on US airport transfers before to know I don't want to do it with small children if I can help it!

Will think about the suites. The wedding is at a big hotel, so there are advantages in staying there, especially as my bro has offered us some of the complimentary nights they get with their wedding package. But on the whole, I agree with you, I am a firm believer in more space - we usually go for self catering holidays in cottages etc for exactly that reason.

I'm finding getting my head around the Denver weather tricky! No idea what we would do with the kids in that kind of weather, its not something we regularly have to deal with in London!

If it were anyone other than my brother I don't think we'd go, but that's just not an option in this case.