Does anyone else not go on holiday

thatgirlsam

we can't afford a holiday this year either ..

i have 2 weeks off work in august though and plan to have a holiday at home ...

we are lucky that we live within walking distance of an outdoor pool , i am going to check out cheap or free local attractions , do picnics, walks , read ,etc all the same as if we were on holiday

i might even set the tent up in the back garden and sleep a few nights out there with the kids , they would love that !

kindofagilr

I dont understand it when parents say its too expensive to take kids away in the school holidays, yes it is more expensive than not school holiday but if you feel "guilty" not taking your kids on holiday then how about you have one every other year in the school holidays than try and get one every year.

That being said, you dont have to take the kids on holiday to have a blast you can do it without spending a fortune.

ETA I love holidays, but swore I would never put oneon a CC or anything, I am pregnant with baby number one and we hope to have all cc's and loans paid off by 2016 (end date of the loan) so we will save up after that and that will be our first holiday.

MERFE

We dont holiday and not because we can not afford to, more because it doesnt occur to us to take a holiday. We do have about 2 weeks off work over the summer holidays when we go on numerous days out, beaches, parks, zoo, train to london and day at natural history museum etc. Then throughout the year we have weekends away to visit family and we may do a weekends away camping with the kids although we have only done this twice so far. The thought of being away from home for more than a week actually scares me silly - I love my home and comfort and security. A week in the sun would kill me I burn so easy, we are also very active and would struggle with more than a day at the beach. 2 days in a row would bore me. I prefer to take our bikes and ride along the seafront stopping on the beach for a picnic, although I'll do the odd lazy beach day with the kids and build them a sand boat.

I do agree that holidays are good for kids but I dont think they are better than day trips in the summer. I will consider taking the kids to disneyland paris for a weekend in the future, I may consider a butlins holiday for the kids if I was going with some friends and their kids, I could see it being fun.

I've been on holidays as a child, in this country and aboard and I always enjoyed the ones in this country more, and I had a friend who did not go on holiday but her parents did the day trip thing and she always had a fantastic summer and has grown up to be a well rounded individual.

I didnt even bother going aboard for our honeymoon instead we went to wales for a mon to fri break. It was great I'd love to take the kids there one day, the gower peninsula was beautiful. Unfortunately DS gets car sick so I'm not too keen on taking him on such a long car journey for just a short trip.

OH and I had a day trip to paris this summer which was nice, ticked paris off the list but we had a better time in London so next summer we'll just do london again I think.

ceridwen

Well - as a woman "of a certain age" - I've had very few holidays over the course of my life (mainly because I couldnt afford them - that dratted "single supplement" much of the time:(:mad:).

Now - I've made a policy decision never to fly in a plane again - so that restricts things in a different way - as it costs a LOT more to have a holiday travelling in other ways.

So - there are two ways to look at things for me personally now. Either I go off on some sort of "experience" type week here in Britain (no plane anyway - and very cheap) or wait till I can afford the (much) higher cost of "plane-less holidays". So - I think - for now at least it will be the "experience" type week here in Britain.

Camping is an obvious one - and I've been surprised by JUST how much the whole idea of camping has changed since I was a child. It all struck me as very boring and very basic back then - not that I ever went camping anyway back then. But - I've been astonished/pleasantly surprised at how much things have changed since then. There is now a few very interesting books out on how to enjoy camping holidays modern-style and it looks rather like fun actually:). If I was younger and had children - then I would feel positively spoilt for choice by the sheer number of child-friendly festivals there are (at a dirt-cheap price) here in Britain these days. Theres positively loads of these festivals - and all sorts of interesting activities going on at them - so well worth thinking about.

Apart from that - well...how about a bit of lateral thinking? What is the basic purpose of holidays? If you regard the basic purpose of a holiday as laying baking in the sun all day - then you're snookered - as that does mean going abroad basically. BUT - there is another way of looking at holidays = the way I look at them myself. My question about holidays is "how many new experiences can I come up with in that time?". Put like that - then one can try new food/investigate new places nearby/go to educational events in local museums and arts centres/have "cook-a-thons" at home/etc and those things dont cost much money - but fulfil the criteria of providing new experiences:)

Errata

My nieces were taken abroad by their parents every year, often long haul. My OH and I took them camping a couple of times a year.
Which did they enjoy the most ? No brainer for them, camping was best.

Taypier

I went abroad when I was 4 and then again when I was 17, we didn't have much money and my mum was terrified of flying (well crashing!) We always went to Wales for a few days or on days out in the school holidays, I can't say I was ever jealous really.

dollydoodah

savingmummy wrote: »

They may appear rich but i bet its their credit cards paying for their expenses:eek:

Not necessarily. Don't assume that just because people go away a few times a year they are paying for it on credit.

skipsmum

We are a low income family with a physically disabled 9 yr old, an autistic teen, and a hyperactive dog. DH is a builder so can't take the summer off as that's when there's most work.
We still go away several times a year - we stay with friends (reciprocal arrangement), go on family camp with scouts, travellodge tennertastic & english heritage weekend (get membership from parents at christmas), and lots of camping.
We have also done holiday weeks from home when little DSs needs have meant that we cant get away.
This year weve been given a grant to go abroad as last year DS spent both camping holidays in hospital due to damp and cold weather, but it will be the first time any of us have gone further than the isle of wight!

jackomdj

We go away....usually Keycamp in France (this year 2 Siblu holidays booked on buy one get one free!), my children have flown once to Spain. I would love to take them in a few years to South Africa (when they are old enough to enjoy it properly).

As I child I had a great upbringing, however the one negative was that we never went on holiday unless it was to visit family, usually every few years in this country for a week & once for a week to Germany. We did do things but I think my Sister & I both wish that we had all gone away on family holidays that did not involve seeing other people.

fluffymuffy

We don't go on holiday.

Last summer a fellow MSEer came with their family and camped here. I hope they'll come again this year and camp on the front lawn as we had as good a holiday as you can get with lots of local days out in good company.

I last went on a plane in 1991. A few years ago my mother took me on a cruise as I was very ill. But family holidays are at best a couple of nights away somewhere cheap. We did the two night break at Bangor Travel Lodge two years running LOL