News Of A Husbandless Christmas, A Long Haul Holiday – And Avoiding The Horrors of Heathrow

 

So what’s a mum of four to do????!!!

Our FIFO* Intn’l Man of Mystery is working right over Christmas and New Year; he’ll FO on December 11th and FI again on January 11th 2014.

O me miserum!! **

With this emotional year, (my Mum was ill early in the year, prompting this trip to see her, and then our dear Grandpa Jim  passed away in June) and a sharp awareness of time passing, people ageing (even the kids and I) and the human life being ever so finite….

I’m taking the family to Scotland, sans Dad, for Christmas and New Year.  Yes, I am ever so worried about my Aussie brood as they’ve never tholed***  a Scottish winter and I fear they may freeze.

Also, they’re pretty hard work at times, my dear offspring… and not only the alphabet duo (the ones with ASD and ADHD.)

So… ways to make this work.… errr… I’m working on it. But one thing is in place and that’s the flight route. We’re flying straight into Glasgow via Dubai with Emirates. It’s the quickest way to get there.

Having done the trip with kids via Singapore and the horror that is Heathrow in the past… never ever again.

There’s nothing worse than arriving in Heathrow with tired and very grumpy youngsters only to have to change terminals and then wait for the hour long shuttle flight to Scotland. Shudder!

Not only that, we’re going to stop in Dubai for four nights on the way there and two nights on the way back.

We’ll be fearlessly reporting on the joys of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, one of the most family-friendly resorts in Dubai. Life is tough for the travel blogger.

So… I have got a million things to sort out… I need to hire a huge car or the four of them will slaughter each other as we drive around visiting the rellies.

We need to buy thermals and see if we’ve got hats, gloves and scarves for five. We need to buy Aussie pressies.

Christmas here in Australia is a lovely day, but for me it’s not a ‘real’ Christmas because it’s not cold and dark. In Scotland people really need some glitter and sparkle because the days are so short and the dark so deep.

And we’ll be with the kids’ aunties, uncles, cousins and granny. Can’t blooming wait.

Paul will be working on Christmas Day in Kurdistan as usual. I’ll send over the recipe for his favourite Christmas nut loaf and hope the staff cook can whip it up for him. We’ll send him off with a Christmas cake. We’ll wish he was with us.

So there you go. No Dad for Christmas for us. But  a once in a lifetime trip for the bonny bairns and myself.

Our problems are very high quality.

Do you ever go away for Christmas?

Any top tips for what to do in Dubai with teens and twins?

Should we pack our Ugg boots do you reckon?

Happy travel planning!

* Fly In Fly Out – our husband/dad works for an oil company in Kurdistan in the north of Iraq. He’s on a 28:28 rotation, meaning he works 28 days straight and then has 28 days off. He flies to and from Sydney on his days off so is here at home and not working at all for 3.5 weeks, then he’s away 4.5 weeks.

** If I’m going to whinge, I’m going to whinge in Latin.

*** thole = very Scottish word meaning ‘endure’ or ‘suffer’

I love flying Emirates and have done so many times. I especially have loved my long haul flights in business class… but that’s a post in itself.

Thanks Emirates for supporting this blog and bring you this family travel news post.