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I wish I had somewhere to go for winter break
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amother
OP


 

Post Mon, Jan 13 2020, 8:55 pm
Vent. Our families are too far to travel to right now. We don't know anyone in the cities that are closer (4-5hours) and anyway, being a guest with a bunch of kids is so hard.

We can't really spend money on much on entertainment for the kids.

We are stuck at home and I hope we are making the right decision.

I'm not fishing. Just a vent.
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amother
White


 

Post Mon, Jan 13 2020, 9:20 pm
Truthfully as you say, it is likely to be more relaxing in the end than if you had to deal with packing, a long drive, then squishing into someone 's home. Plus the return drive home!
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 6:58 am
amother [ White ] wrote:
Truthfully as you say, it is likely to be more relaxing in the end than if you had to deal with packing, a long drive, then squishing into someone 's home. Plus the return drive home!


I know, but we always don't go away. It's good for my kids to have a change of scenery sometime. We usually stay home the entire school year. I just wish it wasn't so hard to go away.
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amother
Saddlebrown


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:04 am
Last year I got tickets to Great Wolf Lodge thru a promo for $159 a night, and I split it with a friend and had 2 full days entertainment for $80. This year I think I'm in your boat...just choosing not to think about it yet.
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amother
Gray


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:06 am
I don't get this going away for mid winter break. I never even thought of going away. DH is supposed to take off??
I'm happy spending time at home with the kids.
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amother
Saddlebrown


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:08 am
amother [ Gray ] wrote:
I don't get this going away for mid winter break. I never even thought of going away. DH is supposed to take off??
I'm happy spending time at home with the kids.


Well, one spouse has to take off work to watch said kid on winter break. If it works for both, fantastic, but since we can't always justify that sometimes just one parent takes them. OTOH, if you're anyway paying the expenses of going away you may as well make it into your annual family vacation. It's also useful to have a second set of hands.
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:10 am
amother [ Gray ] wrote:
I don't get this going away for mid winter break. I never even thought of going away. DH is supposed to take off??
I'm happy spending time at home with the kids.


I understand what you're saying (that's usually the case for us) but that isn't a problem this year.

And do you also stay home the whole school year and only do one trip in the summer all year? Or you go away other times? We don't.
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Chayalle




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:14 am
We've never gone away for winter break and amazingly, my kids have survived and are emotionally healthy despite being deprived of this inalienable right.

We did have fun times with day trips. I can remember years I took my girls, along with a chosen friend or two, to Philadelphia for the day (museums, etc...) and last year I froze while DD and two friends went snow-tubing. Other DD went skiing with a friend. We've visited family in NY and they did the ropes course in Pallisades mall...etc...

Some years we even (gasp) stayed home and met cousins for lunch and a lazy afternoon together....

There are plenty of "change of scene" things to do without going away overnight.
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amother
Gray


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:14 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
I understand what you're saying (that's usually the case for us) but that isn't a problem this year.

And do you also stay home the whole school year and only do one trip in the summer all year? Or you go away other times? We don't.


Yes, we stay home the whole year. Why not???
We don't even do a trip in the summer. The kids go to camp, it's trip enough.
Actually, one summer we went away for 2 nights and once chol hamoed we did an overnight.
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amother
Maroon


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:20 am
I hear you op. We also live far from family. wonder if we live in the same community Wink

To the amother who asked about this whole going away thing. This is what I'm seeing

I live OOT, it really does feel like people go away a lot. Since many people live far from family, school vacations end up being time to go see family. If you live near family you can go for a random shabbos meal, we can't. Plenty of people actually do travel the 10 or so hours to visit family or have family the 5 or so hours away or have grandparents who take them away, or they just go away anyway.

Especially if you have older kids, the kids feel it when they are left home. The trick is to figure out which friends are home thanksgiving, which ones are home winter break...

In terms of logistics- the rebbeim all have off, some people work for themselves and sometimes wives take the kids and husband stays back to work, possibly flying out to meet them.

If at all possible I suggest you trying to find one thing to do that they would consider special so that they feel like they have something to say for their vacation. It can be a cool hike... it doesn't have to be costly but something.

Personally we are going to try to get away for two days but close, like an hour and a half away with no frum community so the commute is easier. Someone else I know said she's going to try to do a cool day trip or two...
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amother
Gray


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:24 am
amother [ Maroon ] wrote:
I hear you op. We also live far from family. wonder if we live in the same community Wink

To the amother who asked about this whole going away thing. This is what I'm seeing

I live OOT, it really does feel like people go away a lot. Since many people live far from family, school vacations end up being time to go see family. If you live near family you can go for a random shabbos meal, we can't. Plenty of people actually do travel the 10 or so hours to visit family or have family the 5 or so hours away or have grandparents who take them away, or they just go away anyway.

Especially if you have older kids, the kids feel it when they are left home. The trick is to figure out which friends are home thanksgiving, which ones are home winter break...

In terms of logistics- the rebbeim all have off, some people work for themselves and sometimes wives take the kids and husband stays back to work, possibly flying out to meet them.

If at all possible I suggest you trying to find one thing to do that they would consider special so that they feel like they have something to say for their vacation. It can be a cool hike... it doesn't have to be costly but something.

Personally we are going to try to get away for two days but close, like an hour and a half away with no frum community so the commute is easier. Someone else I know said she's going to try to do a cool day trip or two...


Aha, I understand this perspective.
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:34 am
Yes, OOT community many hours from family. We never go to hotels/Florida/skiing etc, just family. But even that is too hard. I'm thinking of some cute (and cheap!) things to do here, but I feel bad because about half my kids want to go to Bubby and I just can't handle it right now. My husband is supportive of my decision even though he thinks a change of scenery is healthy. And my kids are a mix of ages so it is much harder to find things to do.
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amother
Maroon


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:47 am
is there anyway that the kids who want to go to "bubby" can- like get rides with people who are going to the same community or if your husband can take off he'll take them and you'll stay with the other kids?
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amother
Papaya


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 7:50 am
If you are in New York, check the day trips offered by MTA.
http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/g.....l.htm

you would be surprised what a day (or two) trip could do for your spirits.
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 8:31 am
amother [ Maroon ] wrote:
is there anyway that the kids who want to go to "bubby" can- like get rides with people who are going to the same community or if your husband can take off he'll take them and you'll stay with the other kids?


Driving 9.5 hours (11.5 with stops) is really hard for one driver. He doesn't want to do that without me to take turns driving. I would't want to either.
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 8:34 am
amother [ Papaya ] wrote:
If you are in New York, check the day trips offered by MTA.
http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/g.....l.htm

you would be surprised what a day (or two) trip could do for your spirits.


NY isn't OOT. If we lived there, Bubby would be much much closer.
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amother
Khaki


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 8:42 am
Well, we live in town and have nowhere to go and no family to visit. We are home every single yomtov. We go away for 3/4 days in the summer. And yes it gets boring and you feel dumb when it seems like everyone else goes away or has cousins over to stay.

This year, over midwinter, we are using points and going to a hotel overnight for 1 night. We are looking for a place with a pool and I will bring along the food and maybe find something fun to do in the area. Would you be able to do something like that? I agree with you that a change of scenery really revitalizes kids and is something special. It used to kill me that these are my circumstances and it still stings. But this is my life and I have many blessings. I try to find ways that I can achieve what I want within my circumstances. Maybe a hotel stay would work for you...
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amother
Coffee


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 8:45 am
I live OOT as well, in the same city as all grandparents, and have no where to go away to. A few years ago we started saving up credit card points and going away to a hotel for a night during winter break at no cost to us. We leave Sunday morning, spend the day doing something fun in whatever city we are sleeping in (generally not father than 2 hours from home and we'll find a Groupon for an activity ahead of time) and stay in a hotel with an indoor pool, which is usually empty in the winter so my kids can go swimming together in the evening. We play games in the hotel room and they love the change of scenery and the time with their parents, even if all we are doing is "hanging out." If my husband and I can only afford to take a half day off work, we will check out of the hotel Monday morning, take the kids back home, and can be at our jobs by noon. If we can afford the whole day, we'll take off and do something fun on Monday with them before returning home. It doesn't make a difference to the kids that the trip is relatively short - they love just being away and feeling that they went somewhere during vacation.

With proper planning, this type of getaway can cost very little and give the kids wonderful memories.
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 8:51 am
amother [ Coffee ] wrote:
I live OOT as well, in the same city as all grandparents, and have no where to go away to. A few years ago we started saving up credit card points and going away to a hotel for a night during winter break at no cost to us. We leave Sunday morning, spend the day doing something fun in whatever city we are sleeping in (generally not father than 2 hours from home and we'll find a Groupon for an activity ahead of time) and stay in a hotel with an indoor pool, which is usually empty in the winter so my kids can go swimming together in the evening. We play games in the hotel room and they love the change of scenery and the time with their parents, even if all we are doing is "hanging out." If my husband and I can only afford to take a half day off work, we will check out of the hotel Monday morning, take the kids back home, and can be at our jobs by noon. If we can afford the whole day, we'll take off and do something fun on Monday with them before returning home. It doesn't make a difference to the kids that the trip is relatively short - they love just being away and feeling that they went somewhere during vacation.

With proper planning, this type of getaway can cost very little and give the kids wonderful memories.


Thank you.

To you and pp who said great wolf lodge- we wouldn't do any water mixed activity. We would do coverups and swim as a family, that's fine, but if anyone else shows up, we would have to leave. My kids woujd just be super disappointed. I don't see that being a positive experience.

I also don't trust hotels not to have bed bugs.
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amother
Coffee


 

Post Tue, Jan 14 2020, 9:05 am
We would not do any mixed water activities either and would not go to Great Wolf Lodge. My girls wear full cover-ups in the water in case someone walks in (in which case the kids would exit the pool) and my husband and I don't get in the water, but rather we watch the kids since there is no lifeguard. If you find a small hotel in an out of town city, there is a very strong likelihood that it will be empty on a random Sunday night in January. We will always check the pool before the kids change into their bathing suits to make sure it is empty. There are times there have been people there (usually an older businessman doing laps...), so we'll come back later. Since it's their one night of vacation and there is no school the next day, we will let them stay up much later than usual. Nothing beats the fun of elementary age kids being allowed to go swimming way past bedtime, especially with the extra treat of the brothers and sisters being in the pool together, which can never happen otherwise. BH we have been lucky and it always works out somehow.

I can't speak for bedbugs. Never had them bli ayin hara and am not concerned. I thought that was a NY problem!
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