Do you & DH/DP argue over holiday packing/preparations?

[CornflakeMum]

We do. We are (at the moment).

We are going away on Sat at 3 a.m. (driving to the Alps)

Before then we have to:

• Take down Christmas tree
• Put away all cards & decorations
• Clean out fridge/ food
• Put all rubbish/recycling out

• Get all ski clothes out
• Check kids stuff is all labelled/named
• Re-proof snow boots
• Pack all ours + kid clothes
• Choose, find & pack kids books/DVDs/games

• Make & pack food/snacks for the journey
• Plan/buy and pack 'essentials'/ first meal

oh, and get ready to go out tonight for New Year's eve....

And what is DH doing to help with all this??

He is VACUUMING the car out (in the rain outside)....
And he will manage to do this for the next 2 hours and then come in at lunchtime and say,
"So, how are we doing?" Which basically means "Have YOU done everything then, yet?"

Seriously though - I know we need to check tyres/oil/washer fluids etc etc, but why the f*ck bother washing and vacuuming the car? How can that possibly be considered a priority????

I really don't understand men's brains.
And I don't see why I should always end up doing all the preparation and packing for holidays.

Everytime.

Always.

Pah.

My dh also always vacuums the car before we go on holiday.

But we have fallen into a pattern of holiday preparation:

Dh - the car (including vacuuming, oil, air, roofbox, packing things into the car, etc).
Anything that involves the loft (bringing sleeping bags down etc) or the garage (beach toys, camping stoves, roofbox).
Anything that involves the dustbins (clearing out fridge (but I doublecheck), emptying bins, recycling).

Me - everything else. Though he gets his own kit out for me to pack. And we do co-ordinate the food for journey/first meal stuff.

As for putting the decors away - don't bother. The state of the decors won't affect your holiday. Let them be the last job, only do it if you have time, else do it when you come back. Just make sure to unplug the tree/lights before you leave.

Have a nice holiday!

In our case DH packs his own clothes and where necessary gets the roofbox on. Apart from that, he does nothing whatsoever, but will usually remove the DCs for however long I need.

And then I sort the lot because that way I know it's been done .

I agree that car vacuuming is insanity. It's a displacement activity - he's doing that because everything else seems too daunting.

Gosh, never!

I pack myself & children, husband does everything else!

LOL at vacuuming. DH is the same, he always wants to wash the DC's car seat covers too. Whereas I know that at least one of them will've been sick, and the car full of crumbs and rubbish by the time we arrive, so don't see the point.

He looks after the house - bins,fridge,keys to neighbours etc. Does his own packing.

I pack for me and the DC, and sort out snacks, tickets, passports, route-planner.

And book the holiday, of course.

I load the car too, and set the alarm clock.

No. DH is one of those super-efficient planners who has a list for everything and gets everything organised ages in advance.

Have a smashing time, CornflakeMum!

Grr...

He has just come in and done the "How are we doing thing.."
He asked if 'everything was ready' as he wants to practice packing it all in...
WTF?

I said 'we're' not doing very well, and gave him a list of things to do (ha!)

CremedeMenthe - that's my point entirely - the car will be in a terrible mess when we get back, and THAT will be when it needs a thorough clean.

Hassled - you're right - it's displacement activity. But I can't trust him to do any of the important stuff on his own - I've just found him adding a pair of snowboots to a pile of things in the garage... snowboots which are for 5 year old.... (DS2 is 7!)

Aargh!

You are very lucky to be able to afford a skiing holiday, CornflakeMum, so please don't get down about having to rush around and do all this. Perhaps another time you could do a list between you apportioning what you have to do each? My DCs have packed theri own stuff, from a list, since they were about 8 and we each pack our own -though tht might be harder with a skiing holidy than an ordinary one. Surely if your oldest is 8+ he could get together the books/toys and DVDs you are taking and help get the decorations down?

I've come to the conclusion that you achieve most (including retaining own sanity) by allowing men to get past the pointless tasks by letting them do them! It is all part of the "can't shit and chew gum" business. Acutely annoying, mind.

Give him a list of the jobs he needs to do and deadlines - I find my DH responds best to direct instruction, anything he has to arrange/organise himself and he starts procrastinating .

Can you use a reward system, like a star chart?