Would you leave Thursday evening or Friday lunchtime for a family trip?

[Slumberqueeen]

So myself and my husband can’t seem to agree on anything at the moment, parenting styles etc. The latest which may seen trivial is just wearing me down. We can’t agree when to leave for a long weekend trip with our 4 year old. It’s a 2.5 hour trip by car. We’d be there till the Monday afternoon. It’s at my parents holiday home. They are away so the water is turned off, no food supplies etc there.

I think that leaving at lunchtime on the Friday would suit best. DS will be in creche that morning so I can finish packing and loading up the car. DH will be working. Ds will get fed his lunch there and then we can leave. We could either bring supplies or stop nearby to get what we needed as shops would be open. DH would prefer to leave the evening before (Thursday) about 7.30pm so as not to waste the afternoon on Friday driving down.

However this creates more work for me. DS would fall asleep in the car but will wake on arrival. He should go back to sleep easily enough but I’d have to get his room ready, dress the bed, put up black out blind etc. We’d also have to unload the car then late at night ahead of the next day and probably be in bed later than usual and then up with DH the next morning as my husband will be working.

What do you think is best/fairest on everyone? thanks

I agree with your husband. I’d rather have the extra day to enjoy

I’d go Thursday night, personally. Friday afternoon traffic is horrible. Plus as your DH says, you’ll have more time at your destination. Turning the water on is presumably a job of seconds.

Compromise and leave Friday morning? Then you've got Friday afternoon to get straight at the holiday place.

He’s working on Friday morning.
do you have two cars? Another idea would be dad goes ahead on Thursday night and preps the house etc that night, then after his morning at work he pops out to shops. You drive your car with son and arrive on Friday.

Or just leave late Thursday evening with him already in pjs with teeth brushed so he can sleep in car and one parent sits in car with him, the other gets his bed ready and then moves him into the bedroom without waking him up

And one parent goes to local shop first thing in morning

Friday traffic is usually awful, I'd leave Thursday evening, can you go a bit earlier.. if your ds falls asleep well then just put sheets and pillowcases on the beds and towels out, he can travel in his pj. Is your dh working on the Friday? You only need to get milk and juice enroute, the rest take with you for breakfast then go to the shops or arrange a food delivery for Friday morning. You shouldn't need loads of stuff just for 3 days. Do you parents live near the holiday home.

I would go on a Thursday and have a full day on Friday and you'd avoid the Friday afternoon traffic.
Surely making the bed and turning on the water is only a small job and would have to be done anyway?

Thursday night.

We used to do that - dinner, pyjamas, teeth, in the car. They fell asleep, we transferred them on arrival. Another benefit is that roads are much quieter in the evening and so journey was quicker. 2.5 hours is not long though.

Thursday evening! You waste Friday otherwise. We try and always travel at bedtime. You don’t have to unpack the car fully; just put the essentials in 1 bag you can grab.

Is he taking time off work Thursday to pack and sort the car and the snacks for the journey?

If he’s working Friday morning, will he be taking your dc out on Friday afternoon to give you a break since you did the morning shift while he worked?

If so, then leave Thursday. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be driving in rush hour traffic or trying to pack with a 4 year old in tow. I’d probably rather leave Friday midday because that still leaves you two full days plus part of Monday. But depends on if it’s a 2 hour drive or a 4 hour one.

I commute on the M5 and can't go into the office on a Friday because I just can't get home again. It isn't unusual in the summer to have multiple crashes and delays of 2 hours or more.

We no longer travel anywhere on a Friday.

I'd do Thursday evening. Avoids not only the higher level of traffic on a Friday, but I guess fewer of the 25% who should not have a licence, some of whom rarely go more than a few miles from home except when going away for a weekend.

The lesser of two not ideal options.

I wouldn't be willing to arrive anywhere other than an all inclusive resort at nigh time with kids. Even then I'd choose a daytime option but I could survive if I had a cocktail waiting for me.
In England, self catering, fuck that for a laugh.

Another vote for Thursday evening.
As others have suggested pop your son in PJ's so he can go straight to bed when you arrive. making the beds shouldn't take too long - one parent does your sons bed while the other does your bed. Turn the water on and do the bare minimum Thursday when you arrive. Pack a bottle of wine or G&T to enjoy after you've settled your son. Organise a Supermarket delivery for Friday morning.

Thursday evening.
Only takes a few minutes to make a bed. Arrange a food delivery for Friday morning.

Team husband. It’s 2.5 hours…. I think kindly OP you need a bit of perspective.

Thurseday evening! Don’t travel on a Friday if at all possible. There’ll be two of you to get everything ready, get something to eat en route in lieu of an evening meal. Leave at 9.00, you’ll be there before midnight. Five minutes, again between you, to unload etc. lie-in the next morning, then shop.

I'd probably prefer Thursday evening but can also see why you would prefer Friday afternoon. It is a very short break though so I see your DHs point a little bit more

Thanks for all the replies. Yes I understand about the traffic on a Friday but we can take our time and stop along the way for play/snack. DS will have tired himself out all morning in the creche too so will be happy to chill on the drive down.

I guess pre DS I would have travelled at anytime of the day as it was just us to get sorted when we arrived. When we visit my parents or his parents ( they live about 2.5hrs away too) we do a mix of when we leave depending what works. As they have everything set up, food in, spare bits for Ds etc so not as much to pack and sort when you arrive and are knackered. My parents won’t be around when we go down, they will be away on holidays.

@mindutopia Dh will be working the Thursday till about 5.30ish so I would have to finish a bit earlier that day to sort things for the trip. I usually do all the packing for myself and DS, plus what snacks etc he needs. DH does his own packing which takes all of 10 mins lol. DH will just help load/unload the car but I have to unpack it when we arrive as he says he’s tired from the drive.

So I guess I feel that it ends up being more work for me in relation to what we have to pack and also unpacking when we get there. I’d prefer to do it when we arrive as trying to do the next morning while minding DS as he likes to run off or get in the way. At least when we arrive the Friday Dh can mind him while I do it.

DH will like us all to do something once he finished work on the Friday rather than me getting a break. I’ll have to take care of breakfast and lunch for DS on the friday if we arrive Thursday night but if we leave Friday lunchtime he will be fed those meals in creche. He’s a picky eater for us but eats everything there so I’ll be glad he gets a decent hot lunch before we go. I guess the mental load is 100% down to me, what to fed DS as he’s picky, etc etc. So I didn’t want to arrived late and knackered before I weekend has begun.

You’re only going for a few nights. That’s literally a bag each, a few toys and a bag of snacks. I’d go the Thursday evening as I’d want the extra day.