help panic attack over self catering holiday

Angelraesunshine

ahhhhhhhhh sorry of this is not the right board to put this but i am about to blow and dont know where to put it and this was the closest thread i could sum it up to.


Trying to cut a long story short

There are loads of us going on holiday in about 9 days time.

Mums 50th birthday big chateau in south of France about 25 + family member all going 1 week self catering for all of us.
Driving over then straight after France me hubby and 3 kids are driving to my Fil in Spain again will be self catering again but not as bad as we will be living at the Fil Villa there.

Ok that not so bad but my mother just emailed me a list of things to take etc she must think i am stupid i am nearly 30 and with my own family i know what i am doing.

The worse of it is after all my budgeting and OS to help raise the funds to go and to pay for while we are there she has gone and blown everything telling me that am i giving her the shopping money before we go or after we get there and that she wants £10 per adult per day and £10 a day for the 3 kids, this is to cover all food, drink and icecream. Thats £30 a day that £210 for my 1st weeks of the holiday ( 2nd week is not with them) I am gob smacked i cant pay out that will be nearly £200 a day she is wanting from everyone for food and drink. I might be going away but i am still on a very tight budget.

What do i do that is a ridiculas amount to want, i can feed the family on that for nearly 3 weeks. Am i right? or do you think this amount is about right? How do i tell her :eek: i dont know what to do. I was hoarding things to take with me juices, cereal etc but if everyone else is just gonna eat my stuff and i still have to pay.

Sorry this has just really wrecked me am in dispair right now. HELP

donny-gal

Sorry but it sounds like the only answer is honesty. Tell your Mum you do not have the sort of money to eat that well. Explain you have things to bring, and will go supermarket/market shopping when you get there, but not for gourmet food.

France isn't the cheapest place in the world, especially if you want English grub, but if you go local and get the fresh stuff off the markets, then it is not OOT. As for ice cream, well they either get treat my Grandma or have what M&D can afford!

When you get to Spain it will be cheaper and more English Grub about, but one of the best is eating out Chinese around 6€ a person including wine.

Try to do it calmly rather than blow.

Good Luck
DG

Angelraesunshine

I thought i would be coming on this thread this week to find out what everyone else would take wit them on a self catering holiday not asking this lol

Thank you Donna

shazziere

angelraesunshine,dont let it spoil your holiday.Firstly you must communicate with your mother....explain your situation and im sure things will seem easier.I personally i would want to know what sort of things you are going to get for that price!

Another option is to perhaps suggest that you take it inturns to planthe food so that you can recuperate the cost on another day...ie a few cheap meals but a few lavish meals.

When we do self catering anywhere we always do a few expensive nights and a few cheap nights to pull the costs back in.Our cheap nights include noodles,pasta etc...things which you can easily pack and dont need refridgeration..

hope this helps..

lil_me

2 options I see

First be honest say you think it's way too high and discuss with her why she thinks it will cost so much, maybe discuss how to make it cheaper etc

Second option say you'll be taking/buying your own food for the family while you are there and no thanks.

seashore321

I dont know where abouts in France you are going to but when I lived there I could have fed myself and OH for £30 a week. Supermarkets are only expensive if you buy English food i.e. Beans, Tomato ketchup etc., local markets are the cheapest and you can buy good fresh food every day. Bread is fresh every day, wine is usually 75p a bottle and if you take your own container even cheaper. We got good local meat for barbies, fresh tomatoes, salads etc at a fraction of the cost of the sueprmarkets.

At the figure your Mum has give you for 25plus people it looks like she may be thinking about doing a big shop at the supermarket, which will cost a lot more if you don't by their own brands. I always found that part of the fun was going round the local markets to pick food out on a whim.

Come clean it is to much ( in my opinion)and if it is going to spoil your holiday don't do it!!

Angelraesunshine

thanks everyone feel a bit better about it.

When my Mother first booked it she had said as she was going a day earlier they would go to the hypermarket and get some food in, she said about getting pastas and meats for the BBq and pizzas for the 1st night as we would all be arriving at different times, i just dont see that it would cost that much we dont need branded food and dont particularly need english bits except a few bits for the kids and that is not gonna cast a lot.

Told hubby about it he just got in and he cant believe it also just had to tell him that we have not paid for the chateau yet either, my mum was paying it for now and we pay her later adn she knew money was tight so she said she would help to too but now in this email she is asking us about talking about the money for it already and we not gone yet

petite_anglaise_2

Hi there,

Having spent years living in France, the food is incredibly cheap compared to Britain - fresh fruit, fish, bread, wine, vegetables, are readily available in all villages and towns and much cheaper and better quality than in thr UK.

Don't imagine you'd bother going all the way to France if you wanted fried breakfasts or fish and chips, so don't think you'll have much to worry about. Why not tell your Mum you'll be in charge of shopping, can make big salads, couscous, big bowls of pasta, bbq food easily for a big group of people.

Most important of all, enjoy your holiday!
Bonne chance!

TheWaltons_3

Tell your Mum, if you wanted to pay £30 a day for food for you all... you'd stay in a hotel and do without the hassles of the family

Angelraesunshine

TheWaltons wrote: »

Tell your Mum, if you wanted to pay £30 a day for food for you all... you'd stay in a hotel and do without the hassles of the family

lol thank you that made me laugh

Well spoke to hubby going to see mum on Thursday so gonna have word with her then both my sisters that are going on the hol too will be there so hopefully we can talk some sense.

Otherwise we will be getting our own food while we are there and taking the basics with us i just cant be doing £30 a day.

Crazychik

Angel
(((Big hugs to you)))

I go with the majority and you must tell your mum.
I cant believe your mum is expecting you to pay that much!
What on earth is she intending to buy with £200 per day? The Restaurant!!!!

Good luck, stick with your guns, dont give in. And enjoy it, if not, enjoy your break in Spain at least!