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

[fivekidsonemum]

With 5 young kids our yearly holiday has to be planned like a military operation !! With countless lists of what to take, a hired mini bus & trailer for the heaps of bags with everything but the house itself. Then there's travelling by minibus for the 45 min journey to the caravan park (we daren't go further than that) 4 of the kids get travel sick, "how long now mum" every 5 minutes, the first asked 3 minutes onto the motorway. Arriving with green sickly kids, trying to unpack everything while the kids are hyper wanting to go explore the campsite, then we have the mammoth task of not losing one of them all week as they are super excited and run off to explore but you can't follow them all in different directions, 5 hyper kids in a confined caravan all week means tripping over each other too many times.

A relaxing holiday? Yeah its a peace of cake just like the child free days when you threw your clothes in a bag the night before and slept the whole way there or listened to your music and then relaxed in the sun without a care, responsibility or hyper kid in sight (good job I love planning our family holidays because I'd need a holiday to recover from our holiday )

[Dixiestamp]

Plans have to be a lot more 'adaptable' and sudden changes have to be expected. Also, you expect to get far less done than you used to as everything takes longer with kids in tow! Holidays are different- but in a great way!; I love seeing new places through their eyes!

[defineme]

It's gone from month long 'see where the road takes us' adventures, to package holidays , but I like a little more comfort these days and we still see different places. Same old routine/different view was an issue when they were toddlers, but now they stay up late and I love having fun with them on holiday.

[CheeseAtFourpence]

Well we pay 3 times what we did. No luxury adult-only breaks - instead we head off to child-focused Holiday Villages and similar. Which would have been our idea of hell before having children! But DD loves them.

No more reading loads of books over the fortnight and snoozing on the sun lounger. Instead it's about playing in the pool although our DD loves kids clubs so we do get some quiet time.

Lots more planning - whilst we would have done evening flights and long haul, it doesn't suit DD.

And we had to buy a bigger car for U.K. holidays - we managed with very little. But now we factor in several changes of clothes, books and games, buckets and spades.........

[NotCitrus]

Before: pick nice small hotel near historic sites in Europe. Spend all day in museums, galleries and castles etc, with a break in a cafe. Get recommended somewhere for excellent authentic local food, then walk off the huge meal and booze on the way back.

Now: more likely in the UK, often with friends too, self-catering with enclosed garden. Some museums and castles but selected for grounds to run in and child interest. I have an increasing list of places i want to return to sans children... Still lots of walking around, and definitely cafes. Probably one or two meals out but mostly just buying food that's easy to serve. And the wine at supermarket not restaurant prices is a perk!

[Flower752]

The type of holiday we enjoy didn't change when we had a child, we still have a fantastic time in the countryside and at the beach, staying in a cabin and lots of fresh air and walking, and simple fun. But we did need to make lots of practical adaptions, so a car top box to fit in all the extra stuff when very young, and lots of story cds and pillows, cuddly toys for a comfortable journey. We took a baby back carrier for walking, and a plastic tub which we used as a tiny bath as he didn't like showers We don't get much time now to sit in coffee shops reading the paper anymore, but we do get to do a torch walk before bed and take plenty of wet weather activities, like travel games and colouring if it gets too wet for even a welly walk! Best memories ever. And a lovely treasure of shells, pebbles and photos!

[Maddaddam]

Hmm. Pre-kids, we'd take a month a year and go trekking in Bolivia or similar.
Post-kids, camping in the UK, then in France as we got a bit more adventurous. So a totally different experience. We like camping and hanging out on the beach, but it's nothing like our pre-child holidays.

[Annieg1234]

My holidays have completely changed since having kids, it used to be a fairly last minute decision without much research into the local area, just go with the flow. Since having children everything needs to be planned out, the local area checked for family friendly activities and restaurants, also noting where all the public toilets are for the weaker bladdered members of the family! They may not be as relaxing as they used to be but i love our family holidays.

[finleypop]

The holiday has become a case of making our son happy. If he is not happy, then none of us are!

[southernsun]

Completely different now as you need to be switched on and concentrating and making sure they are safe all the time. No more afternoon naps by the pool, eating out late or going out drinking. Wouldn't change it for the world though as none of those things are better than getting quality family time together and having fun exploring new places and learning new things.

[Bechoole]

I just dont sunbath anymore, used to relax but now I have to play football, go in the sea, play tennis etc etc - no sitting still for 2 minutes!

[becky004]

We have gone from couples orientated Caribbean holidays to European holidays in family orientated hotels with kids clubs to keep them entertained.

[MaroonPencil]

For a few years, the idea of travelling long distances with two travel sick children was so appalling that all holidays were taken within a 50 mile radius of our house (we do have lovely places near us though). DH and I used to take two or three holidays a year, but now it is one (finances and school). Also, we are probably less active - we used to cram a lot in, sightseeing-wise, and do a lot of driving or walking about but the kids can't cope with that, they get tired, sick, bored or all three.

[littlemonkeyz]

I think everyone will agree that holidays without children are nothing like the holidays you have with children unless you want to dump them in a club all day. You will have to master the one eye open sunbathing maneuver, gain a BTEC in beach hole digging and sandcastle design. Not to mention the 2:1 degree in sniffing out suitable food venues. Oh, and don't forget to take a survival pack. You may not be dodging shark infested waters or walking the Amazon but you will definitely need a first aid pack, travel wipes, sun cream coming out of your ears, lots of paper for drawing, games, making origami plates etc.... and a suitcase full of stuff that you won't even use just so that you can tick the 'prepared parent' box... but we wouldn't change it for the world, would we? Now, where's that sunbed I reserved earlier?

[Gerjuice]

Holidays are still fun, but just adapted to the age range in any given year. Need to be more organized and prepared. We stopped long haul flights and trips with days of jet lag/time differences for time being. We swapped it for a motorhome holiday one year, when we had a baby among us and it was brilliant! We've tried shorter flights and city based international holidays, camping...still great fun, but just easier to arrange and easier for the children. We're hoping to return to travelling further/longer and take more adventurous trips once the kids are older.

[foxymama1983]

Our holidays used too be more last minutes.Lots of alcohol and lying in the sun a little too much.These days there full of lots of laughter,activities too keep the children entertained.Making sandcastles and splashing in the sea.We like too make lots of lasting memories for them.

[farhanac]

Have to avoid some of the more exotic locations we considered before to avoid heat and mosquito misery

[queenoftheschoolrun]

What holidays??!!

We don't have as many, we don't go as far, we don't do as much sight-seeing or cultural activities and they cost much more...but I wouldn't change a thing. It's great to see DD so excited and spend quality family time together. And we've discovered lots of lovely places in the UK closer to home.

I am glad I did lots of travelling before becoming a parent though. At least when we see friends jetting off to far-flung places it's either to somewhere we've been or somewhere we've no interest in going.

[shroney]

our holidays have changed a lot in that I would rather stick close to home in the UK as find the whole process very stressful and dreading the trip rather than enjoying it. We also tend to team up with another family and go self catering which keeps the costs down.

[Gowgirl]

They are not relaxing anymore, and likely to be more daytrip orientated. Plus hotels are not an option nowdays all holidays are self catering...

[rupert23]

As my children have got older we have had to adapt the holidays to suit their ages. They all still love a caravan holiday though and the freedom of the outdoors . even a few days away is good and we can have some fun family time together. My holidays without children were so long ago now and a distant memory. I love our family holidays and wouldnt change a thing

[Pmliu]

It's definitely harder work now that we have 3 little ones, before we can just get up and go on a getaway spontaneously. Now we not only have to plan ahead, we got to make a list of what to pack before we pack so we don't forget anything. It is a lot more fun with little ones, seeing their excited little faces when we go on a break away. Before kids, we used to see families on holidays staying within the resorts and wonder if they ever get bored, not being able to explore and go on adventures, but now we have little ones of our own we understand perfectly why they are quite happy to stay in the resorts & not venture out.

[mumsbe]

My holidays have changed for the better. They have become much more fun and energetic and there is never a dull moment.
I actually have more holidays now than before even though it costs much more. I always used to go for 5 star hotels now we have dropped a couple of stars and found the hotels are just as good sometimes better. Holidays with kids are amazing but we do find that we are constantly vigilant and safety is the main priority thank goodness for swim vests and rubber rings.

[MadeinBelfast]

We now go for a few short UK breaks rather than one big holiday. The children enjoy the change of scene but are usually pleased to get home to their own beds/toys. The best thing for us is to book somewhere with easy access to an indoor pool. This is especially good for killing a few hours if the weather turns bad.

[devito92]

The cost and time constraints are the biggest change.We love to just drop everything and go