styxgirl
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Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Jul 19, 2022 15:29:35 GMT
Howdy Pea Buddies! I need Pea planning advice again. We are very blessed to be able to take a dream vacation this fall with a few families that we are long-time friends with. We have all traveled together about 8 years ago. It was to a lake side resort and we each had separate cabins. For the most part, everyone ate breakfast and lunch on their own and we cooked together most nights and had a fantastic trip. So, this time, we are renting a large home, right on the Gulf of Mexico. It has 8 bedrooms, most with a gulf view and their own bathroom. We will be sharing a single kitchen and everyone loves to cook and clean-up, I don't think those things will be an issue. The group is 17-20 people (about 7 are our older kids age 13-22). We have figured out how to divide up cost of the house that everyone agrees is fair, so we're good there. My main question is advice on the cost of food. If you've traveled with a large group, how did you do it? My DH suggests collecting a little more per person and making a pool of money for groceries. I kinda like this idea, but everyone may like different things that others don't and want to use the common money to buy ... We are having a get together with the friends here in a couple of weeks to celebrate birthdays and we are excited to discuss the plans for the trip in person with us all together. I want to be armed with the ideas of the Peas! :-) I made a private facebook group for the trip and most people are on it. A couple don't have facebook and DH is texting info to them. Also, any other advice or fun ideas on sharing a house for a week with a large group would be MUCH appreciated! As always, thank you so much in advance!  |
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keithurbanlovinpea
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Jul 19, 2022 15:33:01 GMT
When we've done group trips with friends, we've agreed which meals will be communal and then split them. So our last trip.. Each couple (family) made one breakfast and one dinner. Lunch was on our own
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tracylynn
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Post by tracylynn on Jul 19, 2022 15:34:55 GMT
We do this with friends, about 12-15 of us, 2 times a year.
We plan breakfasts and dinners. Lunches and snacks are on your own. We divide up the meals so everyone is doing the same amount of meals. No money pot for groceries, I think that would be messy.
If you don't want to do breakfasts together, then say breakfast and lunches are on your own, plus snacks. Then divide up the dinners evenly. Don't make it harder than it needs to be and don't "nickel and dime" the value of the dinners.
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Anita
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Location: Kansas City -ish
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Post by Anita on Jul 19, 2022 15:54:05 GMT
I wouldn't want to communally buy all groceries because I don't eat breakfast, eat a light lunch, and don't snack much. I would find it more fair if everyone bought their own snacks, breakfast, lunch, and drinks, then sat down and figured up evening meals. Maybe each family is responsible for a night or something, but make sure the menu is equitable. One family shouldn't do spaghetti while another is on the hook for steaks.  Have a great time! |
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miyooper2b
Full Member
Posts: 330
Location: Central Indiana
Jun 27, 2014 15:38:05 GMT
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Post by miyooper2b on Jul 19, 2022 15:58:11 GMT
We do something similar with a group. We only do dinners (breakfast and lunch on your own) and everyone does one meal, whatever you want. We do have one member who has a food allergy so we try to work around that. However, she always has brings something she can eat just in case she can't have what's prepared. FTR she doesn't ask us to do that but we still try to as a courtesy.
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 19, 2022 16:01:36 GMT
I cannot imagine sharing a beach house, no matter what size, with that many people!  The beach is my happy place and with that many people I'd have to talk to someone all the time. lol  I don't have any real advice because I've never traveled with a large group before. {{ waving my introvert hand }} hahahaha |
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Post by workingclassdog on Jul 19, 2022 16:04:07 GMT
In our group that rented a house together... we 'signed up' for meals. So lets say there are 7 meals each (Breakfast, lunch, dinner).. we would divide those up and bring food for those meals. Snacks/drinks on your own. Some trips we took off breakfast/lunch and just divided up dinners and breakfast/lunch were on your own. It worked out great.
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Post by mom on Jul 19, 2022 16:12:59 GMT
We've done this many times. Breakfast & lunch is always on your own and then everyone takes a turn at cooking dinner. You fix what whatever you'd like for the group and you pay for whatever you need for the meal. Everyone would bring their own drinks + snacks (and we would share).
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Post by floridagirl on Jul 19, 2022 16:17:03 GMT
When we've done group trips with friends, we've agreed which meals will be communal and then split them. So our last trip.. Each couple (family) made one breakfast and one dinner. Lunch was on our own This is what we are doing next week. Each family is doing a breakfast and a dinner and lunch is on our own. Of course we all bring snacks and beverages to share |
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Post by Neisey on Jul 19, 2022 16:19:10 GMT
I’ve done it with a group of 12 (3 families, 6 kids) for 10 days in Orlando. We did a couple of group planning get togethers and agreed on basic breakfast and picnic lunch items (bread, waffles, deli meat, cheese, fruit , veggies, granola bars, drinks, etc.) for each family to make/pack as needed and created a menu for the nights we would all be home for dinner. All of these groceries were shared evenly and anything else each family was on their own. It worked well for us. No one wanted gourmet meals for breakfast/lunch as we were up and out of the house doing Disney, Sea World, etc. The evening meals were tasty, not fancy, and families took turns looking after prep and cleanup.
We are all still friends 😉
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Post by stingfan on Jul 19, 2022 16:20:33 GMT
We've always assigned each family a night to be responsible for dinner. They plan the menu themselves. That way, people don't feel pressured to prepare/provide meals they can't afford.
Each family takes care of breakfast/lunch on their own.
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Post by busy on Jul 19, 2022 16:31:32 GMT
We've always assigned each family a night to be responsible for dinner. They plan the menu themselves. That way, people don't feel pressured to prepare/provide meals they can't afford. Each family takes care of breakfast/lunch on their own. This is what we've done in the past. Everyone would share their planned menus at the beginning of the stay and people would indicate if they would be eating each dinner or not, so the "hosts" each night would know how many they were feeding. (No hard feelings if people opted out!) Breakfasts, lunches and snacks were officially independent, but lots of times we cooked/ate together and shared food. |
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styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,875
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Jul 19, 2022 16:33:56 GMT
I cannot imagine sharing a beach house, no matter what size, with that many people! The beach is my happy place and with that many people I'd have to talk to someone all the time. lol I don't have any real advice because I've never traveled with a large group before. {{ waving my introvert hand }} hahahaha This is exactly what my best friend (who isn't going on the trip) says! LOL She said to me, "Well, you have fun with THAT!" LOLOL! That was one reason I wanted to make sure we had our own private bedroom space so I can retreat if needed! LOL! |
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styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,875
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Jul 19, 2022 16:37:16 GMT
I wouldn't want to communally buy all groceries because I don't eat breakfast, eat a light lunch, and don't snack much. I would find it more fair if everyone bought their own snacks, breakfast, lunch, and drinks, then sat down and figured up evening meals. Maybe each family is responsible for a night or something, but make sure the menu is equitable. One family shouldn't do spaghetti while another is on the hook for steaks. Have a great time! We DO love our steaks! LOL This is a foodie group. I was thinking of suggesting a steak night since there is a grill on the property. But, I was going to suggest that each family BYOS "buy their own steak" since everyone likes different cuts (and so no one has to foot the bill). |
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Gennifer
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Post by Gennifer on Jul 19, 2022 16:37:43 GMT
No solution is going to be perfect, unfortunately.
The last time I planned a large family trip, I assigned specific meals to different family members. They decided what they were going to have for that meal and gave me a shopping list, and then I bought all of the groceries.
I used a spreadsheet to divide the total food costs up per person, and then tallied what each family owed me, depending on how many were in their family. (We did have some young kids who we counted as half a person because they don’t eat as much.)
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styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,875
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Jul 19, 2022 16:39:00 GMT
I’ve done it with a group of 12 (3 families, 6 kids) for 10 days in Orlando. We did a couple of group planning get togethers and agreed on basic breakfast and picnic lunch items (bread, waffles, deli meat, cheese, fruit , veggies, granola bars, drinks, etc.) for each family to make/pack as needed and created a menu for the nights we would all be home for dinner. All of these groceries were shared evenly and anything else each family was on their own. It worked well for us. No one wanted gourmet meals for breakfast/lunch as we were up and out of the house doing Disney, Sea World, etc. The evening meals were tasty, not fancy, and families took turns looking after prep and cleanup. We are all still friends 😉So good to know! LOL We do have a couple of outings planned - river tubing and deep sea fishing that most people will be going on where we would have lunch out. We also plan to take in a few of the local restaurants too. |
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styxgirl
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Posts: 3,875
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Jul 19, 2022 16:40:35 GMT
No solution is going to be perfect, unfortunately.
The last time I planned a large family trip, I assigned specific meals to different family members. They decided what they were going to have for that meal and gave me a shopping list, and then I bought all of the groceries. I used a spreadsheet to divide the total food costs up per person, and then tallied what each family owed me, depending on how many were in their family. (We did have some young kids who we counted as half a person because they don’t eat as much.) So true that nothing will be perfect! I am a spreadsheet girl LOL! That's how we fairly figured out the cost of the house for each party. |
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Post by mollycoddle on Jul 19, 2022 16:47:41 GMT
Lol, my advice is to make sure that each car has an insulated cold bag in the trunk. When my family took such a vacation, one of my brothers bought a big bag of shrimp and stowed it on the floor of the back seat. It leaked, and they could not get the smell out. Detailing didn’t work. They had to get the carpet removed and replaced in the back seat. Turned out to be expensive.
We took tuns cooking for a few nights, and went out to dinner a couple of times. If it was your turn to cook, you paid for the groceries. I think we split the money for breakfast and lunch staples.I would suggest presenting a couple of ideas and letting people vote.
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Post by busy on Jul 19, 2022 16:48:22 GMT
No solution is going to be perfect, unfortunately. The last time I planned a large family trip, I assigned specific meals to different family members. They decided what they were going to have for that meal and gave me a shopping list, and then I bought all of the groceries. I used a spreadsheet to divide the total food costs up per person, and then tallied what each family owed me, depending on how many were in their family. (We did have some young kids who we counted as half a person because they don’t eat as much.) I personally would be irritated by that level of control. I'd not want someone else to do the shopping for me at. all. I'd definitely ask the group if they prefer to do their own shopping or have it done for them and go with the majority. We also took the approach of people signing up vs being assigned, which in execution isn't a huge difference but is a major difference in "vibe." Nickel and diming each other also made trips less enjoyable, so after the first year, decided that we would not split costs beyond the cost of the house - everyone paid in full for the meal(s) they prepared for the group. We've done many large group trips with my parents, brothers, and their families and it was 100% more enjoyable for everyone to have less structure. Well, except our control freak parents, but they were far far far overruled because if things went their way, the rest of us wouldn't have enjoyed ourselves. Two of my brothers, one of my sisters-in-law and I are all VERY type A, but let that go for vacation and we're all happy campers. We lived closest to the destination and had the largest vehicle, so I'd also put together a list in advance of staples, condiments, spices, etc. that we'd bring and were available for anyone to use for free. That made things convenient for everyone. I operated on the assumption that everything we took would get used up so didn't take more than I was willing to "give away" (though in practice, it usually didn't all get used). |
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Post by Prenticekid on Jul 19, 2022 16:53:25 GMT
What we do: Each adult pays $15 for breakfast and lunch groceries, as well as drinks, coffee and tea. Then, each family brings or makes a dinner for everyone for one night of the week. For instance, I do a couple of lasagnes and bread, along with a dessert. Everyone kind of has their thing they like to do. One uncle makes steaks for everyone and others pitch in sides. Whoever doesn't provide the meal cleans up. We actually have a clean up committee who makes sure it all gets done. LOL
There is a family member who loves to make breakfast for everyone (with a couple of helpers) and he'll let us know his day or days to make breakfast.
We are in our fourth generation of multi-family vacations and haven't had any hiccups in awhile. When we do it is usually a new adult who balks at having to pay the $15 or their mother whining about it. LOL
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tracylynn
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Post by tracylynn on Jul 19, 2022 17:02:04 GMT
I wouldn't want to communally buy all groceries because I don't eat breakfast, eat a light lunch, and don't snack much. I would find it more fair if everyone bought their own snacks, breakfast, lunch, and drinks, then sat down and figured up evening meals. Maybe each family is responsible for a night or something, but make sure the menu is equitable. One family shouldn't do spaghetti while another is on the hook for steaks. Have a great time! To this point, we don't talk about what meals are going to be made. Each person/family/group is responsible for picking the meal they are going to make/serve. That's why I say don't nickel and dime it. Someone may want to make steaks, and someone may want to do spaghetti or lasagna. And that's OK - they made a choice on their own and should be OK with it. If they are going to be grumpy with the fact they made steaks, they should have made a different choice. |
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Post by busy on Jul 19, 2022 17:10:08 GMT
I wouldn't want to communally buy all groceries because I don't eat breakfast, eat a light lunch, and don't snack much. I would find it more fair if everyone bought their own snacks, breakfast, lunch, and drinks, then sat down and figured up evening meals. Maybe each family is responsible for a night or something, but make sure the menu is equitable. One family shouldn't do spaghetti while another is on the hook for steaks. Have a great time! To this point, we don't talk about what meals are going to be made. Each person/family/group is responsible for picking the meal they are going to make/serve. That's why I say don't nickel and dime it. Someone may want to make steaks, and someone may want to do spaghetti or lasagna. And that's OK - they made a choice on their own and should be OK with it. If they are going to be grumpy with the fact they made steaks, they should have made a different choice. We have a few dietary restrictions/preferences in our group, so sharing planned meals is important. We explicitly do not expect everyone do accommodate those restrictions/preferences when cooking, but if anyone can't/doesn't want to eat that meal, it's important they know in advance so they can make other arrangements. |
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Post by auntkelly on Jul 19, 2022 17:23:17 GMT
I personally would not like having a lot of structure on a beach vacation.
If I were the one organizing the trip, I'd say "Bob has volunteered to make his famous homemade pizza for us on Thursday night. How about if we plan on grilling steaks on the last night of our vacation? We can just wing it the rest of the time."
I would only go on vacation w/ friends I trust to pay their share w/out having to keep a spreadsheet.
On most days, we'd decide at 4pm or so what we wanted to do about dinner. If the group wanted to eat in, a couple people would volunteer to go to the store and buy the groceries for that meal and some people would cook and some would clean up. The next time we ate in a different group would go to the store and buy the groceries.
I find that people are usually good about doing their fair share of the work and paying their fair share for the food. If someone wasn't doing their fair share of the work or paying for their fair share of the meals, they wouldn't be invited back.
Also, I would never travel w/ that many people for more than a few days,
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Jul 19, 2022 17:25:41 GMT
I cannot imagine sharing a beach house, no matter what size, with that many people! The beach is my happy place and with that many people I'd have to talk to someone all the time. lol I don't have any real advice because I've never traveled with a large group before. {{ waving my introvert hand }} hahahaha Me too! I completely understand this. For me it would be the noise factor (that would be too much sensory overload for me). Plus, groups always want to put the single person on the pull out sofa in the the common space. I learned long ago group travel is not for me. |
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jul 19, 2022 17:34:14 GMT
The one caveat of each "couple" being in charge of a dinner is when one family has significantly more members than others. If 9/17 is your family who are all essentially adults, you're going to need to divide it a bit differently. It's easier if it's all couples or families where there are similar number of dependents. I'd also definitely plan some nights when you eat out - it's not a vacation if you're always cooking.
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psiluvu
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Posts: 3,217
Location: Canada's Capital
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Post by psiluvu on Jul 19, 2022 18:05:16 GMT
I have done where everyone is on their own for break fast and lunch, divided into groups for dinner and each group or couple cook and clean up for everyone one night and on the last night we have surf and turf usually steak and lobster tails and some sides. Everyone splits the cost and work of that meal. It is a fun way to end the vacation
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Post by kmcginn on Jul 19, 2022 18:15:14 GMT
You have a couple options.
We've done this before with multiple families. Each family/condo was responsible for a dinner and bought whatever was needed for that dinner. Breakfast and lunch were on our own, but we didn't make a big deal over it. If a kid(s) or adult was at somebody's condo and they were fixing lunch or breakfast, that kid/adult was invited to join in. Don't overthink it.
You can also do a pool of money for groceries for the common meals.
There's also an APP called splitwise that we use. You can set up a group and everybody is part of it. As they buy something, they add it to the group. At the end you can use the app to settle up and it tells you how much everybody owes each person. We use that for things like showers we are all giving together, or girls' trips, etc.
The main thing is don't over think it. and have fun!!
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
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Post by Gennifer on Jul 19, 2022 18:18:51 GMT
I personally would be irritated by that level of control. I'd not want someone else to do the shopping for me at. all. I would prefer to not have to do that, too, but we had a large group of around 50 people. One of my sisters has 8 in her family, and I had a brother who had no kids at the time. We also have some who are not always the quickest to reimburse. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The benefit to having one person shop was that we could be more efficient… people aren’t buying a gallon of milk for multiple meals that won’t be used. I definitely prefer our smaller vacations where only some of us go, because those of us who do tend to be a lot more easy-going with things. But, with 7 siblings… it’s always gonna be complicated when we are all there! |
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bethany102399
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Post by bethany102399 on Jul 19, 2022 18:19:11 GMT
To this point, we don't talk about what meals are going to be made. Each person/family/group is responsible for picking the meal they are going to make/serve. That's why I say don't nickel and dime it. Someone may want to make steaks, and someone may want to do spaghetti or lasagna. And that's OK - they made a choice on their own and should be OK with it. If they are going to be grumpy with the fact they made steaks, they should have made a different choice. Exactly. We just spent a week on the beach with DH's extended family and my hand to God spent 20 minutes on what kind of chips to buy and how many stalks of rhubarb my MIL needed to make muffins once I got everyone to sit down and have a conversation about what was going to happen when. This was before we got down there. We took the tack of every family gets one night to cook. This is what we're cooking on night 1, night 2 etc. Every family is responsible for choosing their meal on their night. My BIL loves to smoke meats so they brought down ham and brisket. The leftovers were offered to the group as lunch options the rest of the week. I went to the store early on with others in the group, but we each paid for our own stuff. One morning the family gathered for breakfast and had omelettes, we brought our extra eggs down to the condo where my SIL was cooking as I knew we couldn't use them up before we left. Honestly, as long as everyone knows their night and a conversation is had about what they're cooking, then that's all that needs to happen. (to me at least). |
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Post by Basket1lady on Jul 19, 2022 18:19:18 GMT
I’ve not done a big group, but when we go to a beach house I prep/cook as much as I can ahead of time. I also bring my own olive oil, vegan butter (dairy allergy), spices, etc. I usually make up kits and spice packets myself and have it all listed out. We buy fresh fruits and veggies there as well as snacks and always do a big New England boiled dinner.
Do you have any food allergies? For me, I don’t generally eat food that someone else has made because I have a dairy, egg, onion, and garlic allergy. It’s amazing how many forget that Parmesan is a dairy and that olive oil is not, that if you use a spoon to stir the sauce with cheese in it, you can’t stir my food with that spoon…
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Have a great time!
The beach is my happy place and with that many people I'd have to talk to someone all the time. lol 
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