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

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Will travel with dh if we manage to get a responsible person with us. So I and dh can have sometime to ourself while our child is being take care of someone we know & trust. Of course we divide the night for this extra person traveling with us. Mostly likely being one of my siblings who will get free holiday in exchange for babysitting. Which means longer holidays need to be planned.

Cost way more now, even though don't go anywhere near as far, and dates wise have to be planned much more carefully to avoid crucial times at school(and that's with taking them out in term time)

Ease of travel to our holiday destination is very important now. As are home comforts such a cooking facilities and a TV/dvd player. I prioritise activities for the children but I still look for things that my husband and I will enjoy such as good restaurants and a spa.

Holidays are now much more fun, destinations are a lot closer to home and it's our chance to have full on time together and tend to avoid anywhere with holiday clubs or expensive amusements instead we opt for beach side camping.

I hated holidays before I had kids and found them boring. I'm now too busy on holiday to be bored. So that's a plus, I guess.

TBH I always feel so worn out when we get back I wish I hadn't been.

We went for a 2 months holiday in SE Asia whilst on shared parental leave. Our holiday was fantastic! having children was a good excuse to stay in very nice resorts with great children's clubs to entertain the kids and very relaxing for us! despite all the worrying, the kids were great on the flight and it was simply fantastic seeing my 4 year old daughter embrace new cultures. yes, holidays are different with kids but no less fun!

Everything that was knee jerk is now the product of months of planning and preparation. Trip advisor and crime rates scrutinised in equal measure to choose the right destination. In my youth the louder the cheaper the better now it is rather a different set of boxes to tick. Everything is stressful - the journey to the airport, the time in the airport and the flight, transfers to the hotel judgy pants on immediately you arrive outside. Then once you are adorned with a suitable beverage around the pool/bar/beach watching the little one enjoy and explore all the previous stresses melt away. We try to make sure it's safe, educational (positively) and enjoyable. It's a far cry from necking shots in the Balearics hoping you can communicate clearly enough to get back to your hotel, but it's far more enjoyable. Stressful, very expensive but you share the excitement of the previously mundane once you see that little face (or faces) light up in excitement.

holidays are slightly more stressful with kids now, also more expensive but tend to do more on holiday like trips etc

i don't think our children are old enough yet to really enjoy holidays. We used to take one or two holidays a year, but now we have children it's once every 2 years at most. It's so expensive! I find it more relaxing to stay at home and enjoy our local area - at least we don't need to worry as much about too much sun as we would on a foreign holiday.

We didn't spend thousands or travel very far very often before the kids, however we took the plunge with our DD and ASD DS when they were 3 and 6 and went to Disneyland Paris. Epic family fun and we've since saved and travelled to Florida 4 times. DS is now 16 and loves coasters!

Holidays are no longer relaxing! However, holidays are much more fun now my son is passed the baby stage. I found it a bit stressful going away with all the baby stuff, so much to take! Now we can travel light again, I try not to take anything that we can buy when we get there.

We used to do lots of long weekends away and there still was lots of holiday to use. Now, by the time you've each used it to cover school holidays, and being restricted to only go away in the holidays it just seems so little.

But when we do go away we love our new normal of camping, being in and on the lake and cycling.
If we didn't have children, dh would want to go on a cycling holiday, and I'd want to go on a sea swimming holiday - but thats not exactly compatible right now!

They are very much centred around child friendly activities and the normal british style food lol.

All the things that used to make holidays enjoyable - spontaneity, sunbathing, drunkenness, sloth, endless reading - are not possible with a baby and a toddler. As much fun as it is seeing my toddler experience new things, it doesn't seem worth spending hundreds of pounds doing that abroad when we could just go and find an interesting piece of litter outside our house for free.

Holidays are definitely on hold for us for a while.

U.K. Holidays only at the minute...

I loved travelling and going on holiday. The ironic thing is that we had no money before having kids so rarely actually went anywhere. As our earning went up we had kids so we can't take the holidays we want (I.e. Very much non family friendly) and we can now afford because of them!

We're going away for the third time with my family since the dc: extra hands !

I miss the long haul holidays to exotic destinations, I don't want to risk the long flights with 2 cranky children. I also miss going out until late at night and then collapsing into bed knowing that I can get up at whatever time I want. Now it is all about kids activities and how to keep them entertained. It is getting easier as they are now 3 & 5 so potty trained and don't nap in the day. They are also great at eating so we can go out to eat.

activities galore. before our only stipulation was sun and pool but now activities are key to keeping active two young children before boredom and arguing kicks in

Gone are the days of lounging by the pool sunbathing and relaxing, takes much more planning now to keep the kids entertained everything from packing suitcases to finding activities that keep the whole family entertained it can prove to be a challenge but I would not swap family life for the world when the little ones fly the nest will be back to my lounging around with a 🍹.. but until then I intend to make the most of our family holidays priceless 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Our holidays have changed from relaxing and doing nothing all day long to being constantly on the go playing and finding adventure in all the new things we see. I used to like to lay by a pool and think the hotter the better but now we don't want to go anywhere too hot for the children and need to consider what there is to do and what food is available so our son will find something he likes to eat. We tend to go on a couple of self catering mini breaks in the UK rather than one all inclusive long haul destination holiday since having the children as paying out to go abroad isn't worth the money untill the kids are old enough for us to make the most of relaxing by the pool all day long again.

Depressingly, I feel less desire to go on hols with the little ones. I'm sure it will change when they are older but it's daunting trying to keep two small children occupied safely in an airport and on a flight not to mention all the extra stuff required. It means meals out are stressful. We haven't had a holiday with the kids since they were babies.

They have to be cheaper as we have less money now we have children.
They are child focused - activities for them to do such as swimming and parks nearby.
We don't travel as far. Long journeys are unbearable with being asked 'how much further?' every half an hour
We plan things more such as stopping for snacks and loo breaks.
Despite all this we love our holidays and we know we need to make the most of having young children before they are all teenagers and hate spending time with us

Its become more about planning days out than relaxing and destressing.

LOTS of planning, LOTS of stuff and LOTS more people! (We have 4 dcs)
But LOTS more fun and adventure

Less of the moment because it is so darn expensive with children. Restricted to certain times of year, school hols, and when in them, no nice lie ins. THey are not relaxing at all, but full on and somewhat exhausting. Have to deal with a lot of moaning, when we do things that involve a lot of walking and museums, but sometime soon they really love it and then it is worth it.