First holiday as a single parent .. any tips?

[KirstyWirsty]

DD7 and I are off on Monday to the first holiday for just the two of us..

I am a bit nervous of going into a place that may be all couples.. Anyone got any good tips??

I found it a great way to get to know my child and have some real quality time together. 7 is a great age. I wouldn't worry too much what others are doing ... you may even meet some friendly other people, couples, etc

Take a deck of cards with you so if she isnt up to socialising with other kids or the weather turns you could teach her some good card games

oooh and I think fancy girlie dinners out is a nice treat

it have taken ds10 abroad on my own nearly every year. there may well be lots of couples but i have met many gp's with children and single parents too. i have to say i've had some amusing incidents. some women do see you as a maneater out to steal their hubbie just because you dare to go on holiday on your own. we always go AI so do see the same families most days. one couple must have been having a bad holiday as i started speaking to him asking him about kids club times etc and she literally exploded at him. i pat myself on the back for it as i have also been on holiday with friends before and ended up wishing i hadn't. you will have an amazing time with your dd and will both have amazing memories from it.

Is it a hotel, self-catering, activity or beach type? DS always seems to find a few children to pal on with and I've found hotels better than self-catering for socialising with other adults. Activity is better than beach as people mix better when there's a common interest. Beach holiday people seem to just cling together and not want to include outsiders.

I'm an single parent and me and dd went away last week, just the two of us. She is 3 so we went to the coast and had a great time! We played on the beach, visited local attractions (a farm, a fairground and an animal sanctuary) and spent lots of quality time together. It was brilliant!! We also had dinner out as a treat. We didn't really socialise but to be honest I wasn't bothered as I wanted quality time with dd, not some randoms on the beach. Some people like to mix though so if you do I'm sure you will be fine!

It is an all inclusive hotel in Lanzarote

I am.looking forward to it albeit with a bit of trepidation .. Hopefully DD will make some friends she's always been good at that before .. I will be happy if she is x

I'm off on my first holiday as a SP in July, to a Parkdean site. My dd loves Sid and Lizzie the mascots so that us why I'm going there... The site is right on a beach so I am planning time on the beach, in the pool and in the park and maybe a day out depending on the weather. It's all about spending fun time with dd.

In the evening we will go to the entertainment and dd usually makes friends easily with other little girls. So that's all that concerns me as long as she is happy. I will happily chat to people if they want to or sit on my own if they don't.

I think if your dd makes friends easily then that can lead to the parents talking to you. Me and H always used to keep to ourselves on holiday but once we had dd we found ourselves chatting to people in the pool, park, entertainment etc.

I have found the same Skye end up chatting to daughter's friends parents .. I'll just need to see how it goes this time

Enjoy your break! x

Kirsty, hope you have a lovely time. You will get to spend quality time with your child away from everything else, and it's also I really good feeling when you return and realise that you can have a great time alone. It's sort of empowering :)