In the vacation post where a huge group of people are going and meals are assigned, many people have made comments about "I'm on vacation, I'm not cooking", etc.
I'm curious -
If you go on vacation where you're staying in a house for a week that has a full kitchen, what do you normally do? Eat out all the time? Or... what? Just in general, it seems odd to me that people don't "ever" cook on vacation - at least in the context of this kind of vacation.
But then add in the # of people. I do a huge group trip pretty frequently too. Last year was 16 adults and 7 kids. With that many people - in order to avoid a TOTAL cluster at dinner time, we assign dinner. And it works out really well, actually. You cook ONE night from start to finish for everyone. But that's it. Once, the entire week, then the rest of the week- you get to sit back and enjoy a really good meal made for you.
(Luckily a friend of ours loves to cook and he does breakfast every day, and then lunch is a free for all - but we all eat at different times, grab leftovers or make a sandwhich.)
But I'm wondering what people think the logistics would be if everyone either tried to cook their own meals for just their family every night, OR everyone took the "i'm on vacation, I don't cook" stance.
I just think for a big group trip, assigning meals is a great way to go. You cook once and then you're done for the rest of the week!
I'm with you. My family all got together last year, and someone different cooked each night, with an occasional date night for one couple or another. We weren't there long so I did a birthday cake for my SIL one night, and I think my brother made himself in charge of breakfast. It made life easier that way.
We're going back to the same place next year, with an updated kitchen. I can't wait to get in there
If we go on vacation and have a kitchen or kithenette, we will do Breakfast & Lunch there 80% of the time. We ALWAYS eat out for dinner though. We love going out to eat and there is no way we would pass on trying new restaraunts while on vacation. Plus booze. Lots of booze.
ETA: I hate to cook, and so does H, so I am sure that makes a difference. If I loved to cook I bet I wouldn't mind doing it on vacation. But a vacation where I cook is no vacation at all
We have a vacation home and if it is just DH and I we tend to go out to all our favorite haunts...bar food, fun places on the lake. It gets pretty expensive if we have lots of company. We do buy groceries, eat breakfast every other day at home, have fish fry get togethers with friends and family, do potlucks or burgers and dogs on the grill. Build a fire and do campfire pies/pudgie pies over a fire, smores, etc...when kids are over to visit.
When we go to the OBX we usually cook all but 2 nights. But there's only 7 of us, sometimes 8, so it's easier to manage.
We usually either contribute upfront to the menu and pre-buy or last year our friends took one night for dinner and did a huge taco/nacho bar.
We're actually doing a smaller trip like that this year. 6 adults, so I'm actually curious to see how we work it. I think we'll still trade off cooking nights, but then a couple nights to go out.
We do 2 group trips a year (4th of July and NYE) with a big group of friends and we always cook all the meals in the house/cabin. We don't officially assign meals, but we may start doing this in the future.
We send a group to the grocery store (I never go as I don't enjoy group shopping). DH loves to grill so he often handles that. It all just kind of works out. Some people cook, others clean up.
There is one dud that never does anything to help- but he is just a boyfriend and they just broke up recently. Among MANY reasons, we are happy that he won't be with us on future trips.
ETA: We keep receipts and split up everything evenly at the end. This is my job. I always remind everyone to bring cash or checks.
Post by Willis Jackson on May 22, 2012 14:33:57 GMT -5
I don't do group trips and I don't stay in one place for very long.
Just the idea of staying somewhere for a week makes me antsy. I like to stay on the move and try new foods.
ETA: Every vacation we've planned has centered around eating out. Any other activity is just an afterthought, honestly. 90% of my planning involves finding restaurants to try.
TBH, I could see it being a good thing if you were going with good cooks who used good ingredients, but I don't think that's going to be the case on this trip. I would much rather go out to eat every night than have to eat the equivalent of white pasta with ragu and an iceberg lettuce salad with bacon bits every night.
When we go to the OBX we usually cook all but 2 nights. But there's only 7 of us, sometimes 8, so it's easier to manage.
We usually either contribute upfront to the menu and pre-buy or last year our friends took one night for dinner and did a huge taco/nacho bar.
We're actually doing a smaller trip like that this year. 6 adults, so I'm actually curious to see how we work it. I think we'll still trade off cooking nights, but then a couple nights to go out.
I'm pretty much at my people limit once we hit 8 people if my sister comes. It's us, my parents and our best friends with their son. I can't imagine trying to wrangle a big group.
hijack-there was a guy we met one morning on the beach and they had 2 houses across the street from each other for the week their group had grown so much. I couldn't imagine coordinating that.
The idea of a family trip like that makes my head spin. I'd go crazy. One the rare occasions where my family vacations with my parents and sister, we each cook one night, and go out the others. Overall though, I'm of the "i'm on vacation, I'm not cooking" mindset, and I generally plan vacations that don't involve houses with full kitchens.
Post by doctorsbaby on May 22, 2012 14:36:22 GMT -5
We go to the store, buy light no prep stuff for breakfast & lunch then go out to dinner. I avoid group vacations though, I prefer to be able to do whatever we want and not be stuck doing something unenjoyable to me b/c someone else wants to go.
TBH, I could see it being a good thing if you were going with good cooks who used good ingredients, but I don't think that's going to be the case on this trip. I would much rather go out to eat every night than have to eat the equivalent of white pasta with ragu and an iceberg lettuce saad with bacon bits every night.
I hate to say this, but I don't hold out a lot of hope for your trip.... This post is more about the few people who said "they don't cook". Clearly there are types of vacations where you don't, but (small or big) group trip to the beach... it just seems odd that people would expect not to cook at all.
Oh, but another piece of advice - do NOT fall into the trap of feeling you all "have" to do everything together. When our trip started (and only 8 adults) years ago, we kind of got into that mentality. But as the group grew and kids were added- we all realized we had to break out of that mindset.
I don't know what the organizers expect, but if there is anight you and DH just simply want to go out to get away as a family - then do it. It's YOUR vacation too!
We stay in hotels when we go on vacation, so there isn't a kitchen. That is my answer to the "I don't cook on vacation" statement.
On a side note, I do not understand going back to the same place year after year either the way some people do. There are so many awesome places in the world to see, and I'm going to see as much of them as possible.
TBH, I could see it being a good thing if you were going with good cooks who used good ingredients, but I don't think that's going to be the case on this trip. I would much rather go out to eat every night than have to eat the equivalent of white pasta with ragu and an iceberg lettuce salad with bacon bits every night.
There are some really good restaurants in the area.
Post by milkrations on May 22, 2012 14:39:25 GMT -5
I only go on trips with large groups of people for camping, in places where there is no choice but to cook. Typically breakfast and lunch is on everyone's own and we do assignments for one night of cooking and one night of cleanup.
If I were going on your trip, I'd absolutely do the rotating dinner assignments (assuming I liked everyone enough to want to spend time with them). Going out to eat with that large of a group of a group is ridiculous. If everyone did their own thing for dinner - whether is be cooking for themselves or going out - I think you would lose out on a lot of the community while on vacation. Everyone would be eating at different times and at different places. It would be like you were going on vacation and happened to know people who were there also instead of going together as a group.
hijack-there was a guy we met one morning on the beach and they had 2 houses across the street from each other for the week their group had grown so much. I couldn't imagine coordinating that.
A friends' family does this. It seems to work. W/ our group, we've gotten real close to going to two houses, and if it ever does go there.... I may try to convince DH to skip it. That's just TOO big and it just wouldn't be the same trip. While one big house has it's stresses, being in 2 houses would just give it a weird dynamic.
We make breakfast 90% of the time and 50% of the time lunch is something cheap/easy to make. But for dinner at night--I like to go out and try all the different awesome foods from the area I'm in-that's part of the vacation for me-local food!
My sister and I do a beach trip once a summer with our DD's and husbands in a condo w/a full kitchen. Last year we had breakfast in every morning except for 1, ate lunch in the condo about half of the time, and ate dinner in about half of the time.
DH could eat out every meal, every day, but I didn't want DD and I to eat out that much and it just gets to expensive in a resort town.
On a side note, I do not understand going back to the same place year after year either the way some people do. There are so many awesome places in the world to see, and I'm going to see as much of them as possible.
part of it is $$. It's a relatively inexpensive trip. But DH and I always try to use our other vacation to go somewhere and do something else entirely different.
A couple of the people who go on our trip- that is all they do. Either JUST that trip, or similar trips every year. To that degree, I TOTALLY hear you. While I love OBX and the trip, at the same time, there is more out there that I want to see and do!
We do a big family (mom/dad/brothers/sisters/husbands/wives/kids) vacation every year. Each "family" cooks dinner one night. We order in pizza one night and another night, all of us kids go out with our SO to dinner and leave the kids with grandma and grandpa. Works well for us as there are way too many people and we wouldn't eat until 9pm if we went out.
I also do girls trips where we stay in a cabin all weekend. We have people assigned to each meal and they plan, bring the food and cook it. So nice to not have to plan for everything.
On a side note, I do not understand going back to the same place year after year either the way some people do. There are so many awesome places in the world to see, and I'm going to see as much of them as possible.
This is my travel style, too. I go somewhere and then I'm done with it. Life is short!
On a side note, I do not understand going back to the same place year after year either the way some people do. There are so many awesome places in the world to see, and I'm going to see as much of them as possible.
Also this. The only exceptions being San Francisco and San Diego, but those are weekend getaways, not full blown vacations.
For us, we normally pick up breakfast, snacky foods and dinner items to cook. If its a road trip- we will actually prep some foods prior to going and have a meal plan. Eat lunch out. We have no issues cooking while away, we actually prefer to cook since we feel our food taste better then most of the stuff out there and its healthier. I would look at some recipe books, assign meals, and pick general items for breakfast- cereal, oatmeal,bagels,- hit up bjs, sams or costco- get a bulk for the family and call it a day.
I just don't like those kinds of vacations where you stay in a big house with a lot of people. IMO, it's not a vacation if I have to grocery shop, cook, and do dishes. This is what DH's family does and I don't like it, especially because DH/BIL/FIL don't cook, so it winds up being me, SIL, and MIL doing all the cooking. I always feel obligated to at least help whoever's doing dinner that night.
I prefer trips where you're eating out for most meals or it's all-inclusive. I don't mind DIY breakfasts and lunches, as long as they're simple and I don't have to do dishes.
Post by MrsManners on May 22, 2012 14:49:04 GMT -5
We have always done breakfast and lunch at the house/condo and then dinner out somewhere. The largest group we've ever had is 6 adults, 1 kid. The last two years, we've even eaten dinner at the condo some because ds has food allergies and it's a PITA to find somewhere he can eat. I've eaten paleo, even on our family vacation, the last two years so I still do a fair amount of simple cooking while we are away.
On a side note, I do not understand going back to the same place year after year either the way some people do. There are so many awesome places in the world to see, and I'm going to see as much of them as possible.
part of it is $$. It's a relatively inexpensive trip. But DH and I always try to use our other vacation to go somewhere and do something else entirely different.
A couple of the people who go on our trip- that is all they do. Either JUST that trip, or similar trips every year. To that degree, I TOTALLY hear you. While I love OBX and the trip, at the same time, there is more out there that I want to see and do!
Same for us. These group trips are just long weekends and I barely consider them "vacations." When DH & I travel we go in a totally different style and never cook. It's mostly just a way to get away with our friends! (and some of them don't do any trips other than this)
If we go on vacation and have a kitchen or kithenette, we will do Breakfast & Lunch there 80% of the time. We ALWAYS eat out for dinner though. We love going out to eat and there is no way we would pass on trying new restaraunts while on vacation. Plus booze. Lots of booze. ETA: I hate to cook, and so does H, so I am sure that makes a difference. If I loved to cook I bet I wouldn't mind doing it on vacation. But a vacation where I cook is no vacation at all