so it begins…adverts to get you to spend your hard earned money on perfect holidays as soon as you’ve finished stuffing your face with Christmas food. Beaches, City Breaks, Cottages, Far-flung, exotic places…it’s a big world out there!
When did holidays become so competitive and expensive? Do we really need to spend a year’s worth of our salary for a fortnight of rest and relaxation? Do we need a Hotel with everything included when we have a schedule that fills every minute? My Husband goes to Hotels for business fairly regularly – he never uses the gym, swimming pool or Spa facilities and the idea of going to one for fun is anathema to him. Even our Honeymoon was 5 days in Paris in a cheapo hotel in a not so nice district – it was all we could afford – but it was amazing! We walked all over and had a wonderful time.
The best holidays I had as a kid were spent in the park, feeding the ducks with a jam sandwich for sustenance. The only time we went away before I went to Secondary school was to a B&B in Hastings where the 3 of us children slept in the double bed and Mum took the single. When 3 more children were in the mix, camping was the only option my family had as we didn’t have lots of money. And as the eldest of 6 still having to wash up and keep little ones amused and sleeping on a camp bed were not my idea of a holiday.
During 6th form a group of us girls did a Youth Hostelling holiday in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. We spent weeks planning our routes beforehand. Lots of giggles, lots of walking and a proper bed to sleep in.
Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing new places and have been to a dozen or so countries, but the 2 weeks on a beach thing doesn’t do it for me. 2 weeks away is just too long. We had a few October half term weeks in Ibiza and Portugal which is a great time to go if you have a red-headed husband, and very fair children.
I’ve always tried to include the children in the planning of our holidays.We did the Florida thing when my son was 10 so he’d be able to go on almost all the rides. My mum had invited us to go on a big family trip there when I had 2 under 4 and I declined as I didn’t think there would be much point. My daughter chose to go to New York when she was 10 and we had a wonderful 5 day break there. We’ve been to France staying in both tents, because the kids wanted to, and in caravans which I prefer. We’ve done the Disneland Paris thing…in fact we’ve been 3 times at different times of the year. We had a lovely time in Holland and the Italian Lakes were stunning. Rome and Seville are both stunning cities that I would like to revisit.
I guess if you’re a family who are sporty, then skiing, paragliding, hiking, cycling are all good options, but we are not. Also I like seeing other people, so our best holidays have been visiting places that we can go and visit friends and family, whether that be Yorkshire, Wales, Italy or Phoenix, Az. I don’t really like cooking facilities that aren’t as good as I have at home, and eating out is fine for a short break, but after that…
Thank goodness there is so much choice, as we are all different, but I have to say that although I love seeing the photos of blue skies and white beaches, you’ll probably never see a picture of me against that sort of background.
Starring Stella 