Tell Asda about how your holidays have changed now you have children - £300 voucher to be won!NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

Holidays can be a great way to recharge your batteries. However, holidaying with children in tow may be a far cry from the relaxing breaks you were used to before they came along.

Asda would like to hear about your holidays have changed since having children.

Are journeys that were once the exciting beginning of your trip now a time where you have to juggle loads of luggage and the dreaded “are we there yet” chorus from your DC? Maybe you’ve swapped your previous adventurous treks with more relaxing destinations or now consider the holidays you used to enjoy overrated? Perhaps your priorities when choosing a destination or accommodation have completely changed to encompass your children’s needs and entertainment?

Tell Asda about the ways your holidays have changed since you’ve had children by posting on the thread below. All who post will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Asda voucher.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Holidays are different now but something we still enjoy and look forward to all year.
For holidays abroad, gone are the days of lounging all day by the pool or the beach on an exotic island, lots of cocktails and long luxurious lay ins...but they have been replaced by sandcastle building, jumping in waves, shell collecting and family meals in the European sunshine and lots of fab family photos to remember it all by.
They are more expensive that's for sure , we have 3 children and have to go in school holiday time . We tend to book self catering villas now instead of hotels as it is easiest with a family of five.
The luggage!! Suitcases, hand luggage bags , buggies, car seats crammed with nappies, swim nappies,spare clothes, toys, muslins, crayons etc etc gone are the days of a capsule holiday wardrobe and a book. Packing is now a pre-holiday event in itself !

Family holidays mean that we have tried things in the UK like Farm holidays or glamping holidays that we would have never have done just the two of us ...and have had great fun on.

What we enjoy most though about family holidays is that we get to escape and just enjoy our time together for a while...no work, household chores, homework, activities and any expectation of us , we can just chill out and have fun and take pleasure in little things that we don't always have time for.

we don't stay in hostels anymore , now hotels instead but we still do adventures and don't plan things

we tend to avoid long haul breaks and stick to trips that are max 3 hours flight away or uk breaks. we choose hotels based on kids entertainment, kids club, kids areas. we want him to enjoy it and make some lovely memories. all we really want is to relax. we have had more uk breaks since having him and Butlins was somewhere I wouldn't have considered as a couple but it was perfect for him and we had a lovely time

At first we were too scared to go abroad.

Then by age 4 we realised he'd soon be in school and we'd lost the cheap holidays! We've been abroad 4 times in 18 months to make up for it! Always all inclusive because cooking on holiday is not fun.

We go away in the uk too but prefer self catering. Short breaks in caravans or Legland!!

Before we were parents we would go away and enjoy our time as a couple. Now we are focussed on giving our DS the best time, so we do some things all together but also split up, divide and conquer. But long term illness for me has meant we have developed a bit of a holiday habit I hate. I will put DS to bed, usually later than normal, and DH will go out again. We don't get to enjoy time together on holiday anymore. He will go to the bar, watch entertainment etc and I will stay in looking after DS. If we had a babysitter I still wouldn't have the energy to go out every evening but could manage some. We don't argue about it, it's his holiday too, but I just sit back in the apartment after DS is asleep and feel very lonely.

The alternative is to keep our child awake with sugar and have him strung out on E numbers for our please. Just look at any UK holiday campsite at 10pm and see toddlers wide eyed yawning and sugar in their hair. Parents doing shots at the bar and putting 5 year olds in a pram so they can fall asleep when out. It's tough to find a balance, if Asda could do that I will be a customer for life!!

Wow, having children has changed everything about going on holiday, from where we go, to the cost, making sure there's plenty for the kids to do! We haven't had many holidays because of cost, but have been lucky in the past when friends or family have let us spend a week at the coast for a reduced price, plus because of non term time hols too! Before I was well traveled all over the globe. We would love to take our offspring away not only for the holiday but to travel and enjoy the different cultures and see more of the world we live in today.

We have 2 year old twins so holidays now take a lot of planning and organisation making sure there is two of everything! Up to now it has been soggy caravan holidays but next month we are braving the ferry to france I starting working out what to take months ago

Our holidays are definitely more organised now, then they were before we had our DS. I think parenthood always has that effect on you! If I run out of clothes abroad, its rubbish but I can usually work around it. But if my DS did, I would be horrified! I think I am also more conscious to make a holiday fun too, because I want my DS to have a lovely time. Therefore we don't lounge around the pools as much. We are out and about and exploring the Countries we go too. Which is lovely and not something we ever did. My DS loves travelling, so it is such a pleasure to go. I don't think we can be as adventurous with food, because DS is picky. But that doesn't bother me too much. Overall, I love holidays with my DS a lot more then before :)

They are so much more expensive now!

Plane journeys are no longer a way to catch up on films that we want to see and relaxing, but instead keeping little people who refuse to sleep occupied in a small space for hours on end!

I can no longer relax on the beach with a book either. I miss that, but having fun and new experiences with the kids does make up for it (a bit!).

Holidays have changed in every way! Instead of laying by the pool with a book I now have to get in the pool and swim with DCs (hadn't swum in a loong time before!)

I used to love the idea of exploring new foods and always eat seafood etc and now I cook chicken nuggets on holiday in the room or let go out for dinner at crappy places (even McDonald's one year!)

I have to take a massive bag filled with sunscreen etc down the beach as opposed to just a pair of sunglasses!

They are planned forever in advance and I even plan their stuff to entertain them on the plane ages In advance.

If I win, I'm taking myself on holiday with the £300.. this has reminded me how much I need one!

I think a holiday with children can open your eyes so you see things from a new angle.
Needs much more planning!

We used to go to different locations and explore a whole region. Now we have a single base - we can't travel light anymore so moving on would be tricky.

Cocktails at night - no more.

We find cottages are best now so we can do stufff at night. Much better than whispering in a pitch black hotel room.

Holidays have changed so much since i've had 4 children age 18,9,6 & 1, if i am completely honest it's more like a military operation, everything has to be planned & organised in advance and the lists are endless (i always manage to forget something!). Findng a holiday suitable for allour family with the age range can be a challenge & affordability,once you get past the 2&2 it can become very pricey! The biggest change is being able to choose what you would like to do & relax. I wouldn't change it for the world :)

alot more planning involved-
costs alot more ad the various ages of the children mean finding something for them all can build up the cost-
ensuring plenty of rest breaks inbetween flights - especially if we are going on multiple flights.

I am just back from a mini break away camping with my 2 DCs 9 and 5 and the main difference is the amount of stuff you have to take extra! Especially for travelling. Kids get understandably bored and they need to be kept entertained and of course you need to be prepared with snacks and juice at all times!
It's worth it seeing they're happy faces though when they get there and are having fun.

Much, much more expensive.

We seem to have fallen into the trap of staying in absurdly exorbitant hotels and then coming away not really enjoying the holiday. The last holiday we had was distinctly lacking in fun.

So, this year we have scaled back the type of hotel and location and have put 'fun' into our own personal search criteria rather than star ratings and facilities.

We like to go out and eat locally in restaurants. This has got easier with Trip adviser and other on line resources. It is less hit and miss.

We hardly ever sightsee anymore and this is something we would have done all the time, when child free. It's often hard to find something that will interest everyone or which is possible to do comfortably in the heat. As the small ones get bigger this is becoming a bit easier and we always attempt at least a couple of trips, but nowhere on the previous scale.

We drink far less! A definite advantage.

In the past we wouldn't think twice about booking all inclusive and just relaxing by a pool. When our eldest was born we knew that this would have to change, we worried about the impact of the heat, the travel, the strange environment, the food, plus the fact our eldest would put anything in his mouth.

We swapped our 5* all inclusives for cottages near the sea. In fact we found Cornwall to be just as nice weather wise as anywhere abroad. Our favourite beach not being the one everyone raved about, but one we found on a short break. Long stretch of golden sand, with a warm sea and estuary.

We could still have treats, going to some lovely restaurants that were family friendly, where the waiters made a fuss of our 12 month old. A mixture of food to sample, flaked fish, an array of vegetables, served on a slate so no danger of anything getting broken.

As the years went by, activities changed to surfing lessons, always at least once getting buried in the sand. A dusk waiting for the lighthouse to start working, after eating at another really nice child friendly eatery.

Collecting shells and stones, a favourite past time, helping his sibling toddle the waves, as the water creeped up to their feet and back again. At some point writing our surname in the sand & the year, to start off the photo collection, plus an obligatory foot print shot.

I see and hear many going abroad, whilst the drive may be long, it's interjected with stops at services. Comparing going through the airport, onto a plane, then being in a hot country, where they have beaches, pools, play areas and play clubs, we'd much rather have our own adventures on British soil. Knowing in the rare case something happened, English speaking Dr's would be at hand.

Opposed to those who take their children to hen & stag havens like Newquay, we prefer the quieter places off the beaten track. Watching the sun set over the horizon, getting back to the cottage, then tucking in time, with the eldest having a new luxury of a TV in their room.

Parenthood can be stressful, we can't see the benefits of throwing in searing heat, foreign food, no being able to touch the water, set times for meals and pretty much being stranded in one location without transport.

With myself (Mum) also being disabled, it takes away the what ifs, in case one of my many medical issues decides to play up. Negating extortionate costs for insurance, which you really need as you can't rely on the EH1C card. Children add certain risks to leaving the country, upset tummies, heat stroke, bugs, then the risks from myself travelling. It just makes sense to stay within the British Isles.

So much to explore, so many choices between restaurants, family friendly pubs and cooking at home.

They've gone from far more glam world travelling adventure to meticulously planned child friendly holidays in the UK

Holidays are certainly less relaxing now! I write enormous lists before we go and ensure the kids have what they need. I've become very militant about sun cream which is a good thing really as I would be setting a bad example by letting myself burn.
When looking at possible destinations I always consider how secure the pool area is. We stayed at a lovely villa last summer with my then five year old, but now we have a new baby and I was thinking that the villa would be totally unsuitable with a toddler because there were loads of stairs going up and down by the pool and we would have to watch the youngest like a hawk.
Going on holiday with family is great because it means there are extra hands, we always holidayed as a couple before.

I now find out before I leave where the nearest pharmacy/doctors/hospital is, the all inclusive drinks are now wasted as getting merry and children don't mix!

We have only ever holidayed in UK. Now our journeys take much longer, but we've learnt to relax more... no need to cram in trips and activities all day every day. It's about enjoying spending time together!

Holidays have 100% changed! From relaxing weekend city breaks to toddler theme parks and steam trains... not sure I mind though ;)

DH was strictly a "hotel in the city" type till we had DD. We now regularly go to holiday parks in the UK, he would have recoiled in horror a few years back: no room service, no restaurants and bars ... He bow loves a bucket and spade extravaganza!

Sponteneous Holidays have gone now, and everything is planned in great detail. We particularly like to go on holiday to Europe in our people carrier as we can load it up and go, We have had great family holidays to France, Germany and have even driven to Hungary, an epic 28 hour Journey with three children under the age of 14, but we were well prepared with plenty of food, drinks, pillows, blankets and DVD's . . . . Happy Holidays

Holidays have changed dramatically, it used to be book to go wherever you want, whenever you want, stay in whatever type of accommodation, eat wherever, drink wherever fly at whatever time of day you like...... Now....
Only go in School holidays, look at reviews check it's safe for kids, stay in kid friendly and safe hotels and, be careful where you choose to eat and drink, don't fly at silly o'clock in the morning we don't wanna mess up a routine now do we? :)

We go on more holidays now than before the children were born, mainly because our first child was born 9 months after we met and we didn't have time for holidays!!