#silentsunday

Review – Butlins Bognor Regis – Wave Hotel

This is one of two reviews I’m writing. This review will focus on the Wave Hotel and Premium dinning plan. The second, which will shortly follow, will feature the rest of the resort and its facilities.

So, last year I was selected to be one of 40 Butlins Ambassadors and at the end of the year I decided I’d book our family break for this April Easter half term.

I booked the break for a family of 6. The party consisted of myself and 3 children (Alice 10, Harley 3 and Little man who is 12 and has a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome). Also coming along was my mother and a good family friend.

The Accommodation…

We decided we wanted to try the newest of the resorts 3 hotels the ‘Wave’ and due to the number of guest in our party, we were offered interconnecting rooms.

We have been to Butlins a few times before with our last trip being a weekend break staying at the Ocean Hotel (which we were very impressed by). This time we would be staying midweek for a total of 4 nights (Mon-Fri).

As my eldest child has Aspergers Syndrome his very routine reliant, likes to know what is happening when and where and can become upset or somewhat challenging when faced with change. For this reason I made it my mission to fully look into all the accommodation and dinning plans available to us before booking. I also sourced images from the Internet and brochures as well as Videos on youtube to share with the little man so that the facilities were not considered too “New” for him.

My reasons for opting for the Wave Hotel was its focus on families with older children (Ok, Harley is 3 but both little man and Alice are older). The games room (Little man is PS3 nuts) and the positive reviews I had read.

We arrived at the Hotel reasonably late (9.30pm) which meant we were the last to check in. Despite this there was still a few parking spaces left in the hotels private car park. The hotel has its own entrance separate from the main resort entrance. We did enter the wrong way despite the wave being clearly signposted (I blame the kids backseat arguments) but the guys on the gate were most helpful and understanding. The hotel car park also has allocated disabled parking available.

From the outside the hotel is most attractive, very modern and quite obviously newly built.

The reception area is smart and sleek with great lighting. It has beautiful water features to tie in with the whole wave theme as well as a large seating area, bar and coffee shop, cash machine and large checkin and reception desk. Its here you will also find the entrance to the state of the art games port that gives families access to PS3s, Wiis, 3DS consoles and even Mac desktop computers. There are a number of leaflets detailing local attractions on display as well as a good selection of family DVDs that are free to borrow (with a refundable £10 deposit).

We were situated on the hotels 5th floor and there were 4 lifts in operation. Lifts are not overly huge but we were easily able to load the luggage trolley and all six of us in the one lift. Given we arrived later than most the lifts were empty at this hour. The ocean themed imaging and jaws theme tune music, does really add to the whole “Lift” experience. 🙂

Our doors were opened electronically with cards for which we were given two cards for each room.

As mentioned we had 2 rooms with an interconnecting door. In one room we had a huge bed, kids room, bathroom and nice size balcony with great sea views. In the next room we had the exact same again, only with twin beds. Each had huge wardrobe fitments with electronic safes. There was a nice size fridge and full sized ironing board with iron. There was a hairdryer that was connected to a nice vanity unit with large mirrors. Lights were operated by an electronic card and lighting options were good. This is particularly important as Little man has many sensory sensitivities and the right lighting is essential to his mood. There was both low lighting and bright lighting in the main room.

The main room has a large TV with lots of channels and it is fitted to the centre of the wall in line with the bed. In the kids room you have bunk beds with a TV at the end of both beds. This is great only we didn’t find any headphones meaning watching both at the same time wouldn’t be an option. However, the reception may have provided these if asked, only we were to busy having fun that we forgot to even ask in the end.

As we had the interconnecting rooms, little man was able to have his own space which is important to a child on the spectrum. Only without sounding too negative, little man didn’t feel that relaxed in the room. The children’s rooms are very small and have been designed to resemble cabins. This didn’t sit well with little man. The low lighting was a little to blue and he commented that he felt like he couldn’t breath because of its size and lack of windows. Then again my daughter of 10 absolutely loved her room. She couldn’t wait to get in bed and relax at the end of each night so it all depends on ones own needs and taste.

The children’s rooms have these really funky images of Octopuses and seahorse’s that are meant to come “Alive” with the use of a free iPhone app. Sadly my app wouldn’t work so the kids missed out. I have seen this work when used on a Butlins writing pad and when it works its fantastic. The app may have required me to have more space on my device. The iPhone is admittedly very full at present.

The bathroom is of a great size and has a good size bath with shower fitment. The water was always hot and the bath filled up quickly. The power shower was fast and powerful. Little man hates baths but loves showers (this again is a sensory thing)! He spent lots of time in the shower and noted how much he loved the lighting feature on the shower head (it changes colour).

We were provided with lots of soft clean white towels and a small selection of toiletries (note, we were provided with these whenever we ran out when staying at the Ocean, though this doesn’t seem to be the case for the wave) luckily we had brought our own.

We found our rooms to be of a good warm temperature on arrival and the heating was easily operated by a digital box on the wall. The decor was nice and modern with a yellow and blue theme throughout.

Tea and coffee facilities were provided, though it was felt that there just wasn’t enough milk for 3 adults. Nonetheless these were topped up daily which was appreciated.

We were pleased with the presentation of both rooms with all areas being very clean and tidy. Daily house keeping was of an excellent standard over the first few days and a good standard for the remaining day.

There was also some nice little touches, such as the addition of a card left on the table which wished us all a Happy Easter.

Free Wifi was provided in and around the hotel. This was easy to log into with no sign up required. Download and streaming speeds were great in the hotel and Ok around the resort. This was a bonus as I was keeping up with my emails via my iPhone and the kids had brought there tablets with them.

I did notice that when any of us including the children walked across the floor, this was rather loud, despite the addition of carpets. I’ve been informed that this seems to be common in newly built buildings. As I have a child with Autism who at times requires medication to sleep I did worry about the night times.

My worries were warranted as on our final night at 12.50am I heard a knock on the door. Little man had been having a minor meltdown some 20 minutes before and the Butlins rep informed us that someone had complained about banging on the floor. When your child has just finished a meltdown it can feel a little upsetting that others have phoned down to the reception to complain. However the rep was most understanding and very polite. Nonetheless it is felt that this is worth mentioning as if your child is very active especially of an evening you may want to ask for a ground floor apartment or go at a quieter time of year when the hotel is less full (term time if you have little one’s would be best). Its not very nice having someone knock to tell you that they’ve received complaints while your 12 year old is just calming down but doing so with listening ears.

Rooms also have a telephone so you can easily call downstairs to reception with any questions. I was told I could use the hotel phone to call an 0845 national number for free but having followed the instructions more than once I couldn’t connect. Thankfully the reception staff were very accommodating letting me use the reception phone.

Pros…

Great sea views
Nice clean rooms
Good house keeping
Free Wifi facilities
Great shower and bath
Good wardrobe and storage space
Very comfortable beds
Self controlled heating
Room under all beds for suitcases
Option of easily interconnecting rooms
Free cash machine withdrawals
4 lifts (especially of importance for wheelchair users and those with small children/pushchairs)
Games room
Kindle library (with options to borrow both kindles and iPods)

Those little things that may make it that little bit more perfect than it is already…

Room Service option

Drinks vending machine (nearest vending machine is at end of car park when bar/coffee bar closed)

More detailed room guide specifically for the hotel room (just to advise on how to work TVs, heating and phones).

More mood lighting for children’s rooms (like those provide in the main rooms at the ocean. Also some under bed trays like those in the Ocean would be good.

Some door stops or heavier doors that naturally close much slower so that these don’t accidentally keep slamming shut.

Dinning…

As mentioned we opted for premium dinning plan and would be receiving both breakfast and dinner (half board).
On arrival we were allocated a dinning pass for the deck restaurant.

Firstly if your child on the autism spectrum has a very over sensitive sense of smell and is upset by this then I’d highly recommend self catering because as you probably know, the different smells of various foods can be upsetting to a child on the autism spectrum.

This is sometimes the case with little man but this has been steadily improving and we decided that if the noise and smells became to much for little man then one of us adults would leave with him.

Thankfully we experienced little problems on this front with only minor unavoidable upsets experienced.

There was a very good selection of foods on offer both during breakfast and dinner. This is great for those fussy eaters like little man. This is also a self service option so little man didn’t need to worry about different foods coming into contact with one another and was able to put different foods onto different plates with no questions asked.

At breakfast there was everything from fresh juices, cereals, toast with various spreads, fresh fruits and yogurts, freshly made omelettes and pancakes to full English fry ups.

Dinner time was just as good when it came to variety. A good selection of meat and fish with various sides of potatoes, veg and more. There was vegetarian options and menus designed specifically for the children. You were tempted by the salad bar, different soups and fresh breads, cheese and biscuits as well as a vast selection of both hot and cold puddings. I think the self service Ice cream machine was an instant hit with all three of my children with little man wanting to serve it up for all of us as he had developed a love for operating the machine.

As a premium diner you also have a Carvery and Someone cooking hot pastas which I must say were absolutely delicious.

We didn’t eat on the Friday but on the following three evenings we ate dinner I was very impressed with what I’d chosen and left feeling happy and content.

I’ve never been great with breakfast as don’t seem to eat as well at an earlier time. However, it was nice and the kids received a good start to their day.

We dined at various times of the morning and evening and never waited to long for a table. Though on the first morning we were allocated 2 tables next to one another which did mean I found it hard to keep the toddler seated (he kept wanting to go from table to table). Once we had explained that we’d like to remain dinning together on the one table, no further issues were experienced.

There were plenty of high chairs for little ones as well as smaller cutlery and even Billy Bear plates.

Pros…

Huge selection of food on offer
Self Service
Quality of food
Helpfulness of staff
Non rushed environment
Baby foods and bottle heating

Those little things to make it even better would be…

Clearer menus of whats on offer (many people need to grab there glasses or lean over others trays to read small cards.

A little more info when you arrive at the Deck restaurant for the first time (how it all works… I wasn’t sure if it was the one queue formed or a queue for each counter etc…)

On the whole the Wave offers a very present stay with friendly staff, nice rooms and good facilities.

The dinning plan also makes a great addition to your accommodation and is located right outside the hotel for convenience.

Did we love our Butlins Experience? You bet we did!

Here’s a video below giving you a sneak peak of our up coming review of the Bultins Bognor Regis Resort and its facilities.

Checkout the Butlins official site for all current prices and special offers

Disclaimer: As a Butlins ambassador I was provided the accommodation and dinning plan free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are solely my own and have not been influenced by my position.

A Quick Hello From Sunny Bognor

As a Butlins Ambassador I’m currently enjoying an Easter Half Term mid-week break at their Bognor Regis Resort. Myself, the three children, my mum and a friend are staying in the lovely new hotel the “Wave” and are really enjoying our experience so far.

When I come back I’m planning to write up a review in which I will share our thoughts on all aspects of our break. I will also be sure to share my thoughts on the services offered for those families off a child with a disability such as autism or Aspergers.

What I will say now is that Little Man is coping with the changes reasonably well and we are managing to have a good time despite the odd mini meltdown.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures for now… Enjoy!

Silent Sunday

A Christmas party- Mummy blogger style

8

DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS

Well, it’s a whole week since the Tots100 Christmas party at Butlin’s (where does the time go)? So… I thought it was about time I shared with you all the positives of our family trip, my overall thoughts on the Butlin’s resort located in West Sussex’s Bognor Regis, plus fill you in on all the gossip from the Tots100 Christmas meal & afternoons festive activities.

 Some of you may have read my last post which mainly focused on my sons difficulties in his inability to adapt to the new surroundings, he was therefore unable to settle during the break and as a result he became quite challenging. It didn’t seem right, nor fair to write about my overall experience at Butlin’s or my thoughts and documentation on the Tots100 Christmas party! Basically that was a real negative post and to mix the two just wouldn’t have worked, nonetheless I had to write it, clear my head, move on and hopefully  learn from it! 

 On a lighter note, we were incredibly lucky to be given the chance to go to Butlin’s especially during such a festive period! It was the Christmas fantasy weekend and as a result there was a great deal going on. As the Tots100 party was being held at the Butlin’s resort, attendees were given an awesome deal on a weekend stay in one of its two lovely hotels, and what’s more the family could come along too (something I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to afford to do at this expensive time of year). 

 We got booked to stay at the Ocean hotel which has beautiful views over looking the sea front. Now I have been to the Bognor resort before but this was some years back and the first hotel was just in the process of being built. It had changed somewhat and seemed that bit classier (if you know what I mean). 

 I don’t know what I expected in terms of the hotel, what with it being part of the resort as I’ve only every stayed in the apartments on pervious visits. We didn’t arrive on the resort till gone 11pm Friday night, as we approached the entrance to the hotel, my somewhat whining tired children suddenly become wide eyed and excited. Harley absolutely loved the Snowmen that line the walkway into the hotel and spent most of the weekend saying, “Look Snowman” every time we passed them. 

 The Ocean was fabulous what with its Disco lifts and magical lighting… Yes, you may think it sounds a little tacky but it really wasn’t, it was far from it in fact! The Ocean really did have all the makings of a top hotel that catered for both Children and adults, what with it’s beautiful spa and restaurant, you could even hire games and DVDs from reception. Little man did love the lighting in the room, it was really calming and would actually be great in any sensory room. As you lay in the bath the lights above the bath would slowly change from one colour to the next, one minute you were bathing in a heavenly red tub, then the next you were soaking in a blue lagoon. Little man was so drawn by this feature that for once he was the first person in the tub (seriously I normally have to carry him and force him in the bath kicking and screaming, so this was a welcomed change). We also had the same mood lighting above the bed which looked extremely impressive. 

 There was loads to do, so much I only wished we had more time (well if the Little man wasn’t so challenging that is)! Sadly we didn’t get to go swimming and this did result in a few tears. Little man had in fact forgotten his trunks but a trip into town via a little train that ran along the sea front fixed that problem (the town is just a 10 minute walk from resort if you don’t fancy the little train) sadly by the time we arrived at the swimming baths known as ‘Splash Waterworld’ It was closing, I must admit I did expect it stay open a little later then it did. 

 There was still lots more to do and discover, Harley even enjoyed his second birthday on site with friends such as Barney and Baby Bop, Fireman Sam, Pingu and his all time favourite ‘Bob the builder’ Yes, it was a little tots idea of paradise. 

 The fact it was Christmas fantasy weekend made it all the more special! Children could meet Santa in his magical wonderland, get up close to real reindeers, have their pictures taken in an oversized snow globe and meet Bojorn the huge white mechanical Polar Bear. 

 There were shows throughout the day right through till the end of the evening. By day tiny tots could enjoy the puppet shows in the skyline and families could watch Panto together at centre stage. In the evening we enjoyed tribute acts such as Lady Gaga who was so good Little man couldn’t get over the fact it wasn’t actually her and all the children seemed to enjoy the Abba sing along and once it that was all over Little man and his sister had fun making the odd request to the DJ and getting her to wish their baby brother a very happy 2nd Birthday, which I thought was really sweet. If that was enough Centre Stage also has a pretty funky show shop where you can buy everything from bubble blasting guns, flashing necklaces, funky coloured wigs, fairy wings and glow bracelets (just checkout the photos below, as you can see my daughter was really feeling the dressing up vibe). 

 Saturday was the day of the Tots100 Christmas party, it was broken down into two sessions, which worked well for me because of the children. First you had a festive afternoon of mince pies, mulled wine and some fun festive activities and later in the evening it was drinks at a cocktail bar before heading of to Butlin’s newest restaurant Tuner’s a more finer dinning option. 

 The Christmas party was a bloggers only occasion which meant no Little one’s (Thank goodness, as I can’t imagine what my fellow bloggers would have made of the Little man’s mood). First it was planned that their father would accompany us to Butlins but he feel ill which meant I got to invite my very Lovely friend Donna to join us, who thankfully being such a close friend has experienced one or two of Little man’s worse meltdowns to date. Regardless, I was still worried that while gone they may somehow go to far maybe leave her hanging upside down from a Christmas tree or something! 

 Of course I was a tad late for the afternoon’s fun, Little man was practically hanging from my ankles begging me not to go and in no uncertain terms telling me how selfish I was for leaving, while Harley was so over tired he was throwing his own wobbler. Alice-Sara, my daughter however seemed quite relaxed in terms of she didn’t bat an eye lid as I left, just sat chilling in the kids den watching some children’s television show. Once there I was greeted by the lovely Sally Whittle writer of ‘Who’s the mummy‘ and the lovely lady behind the Mad blog awards, had planed the whole thing for us load of mummy bloggers. Sally is a woman who I owe a lot of thank you’s to, she really does some pretty special stuff and along with the Mad blog awards has now given me two great memories to grow old with. 

 Once inside I joined a team who had just started decorating a christmas tree, the challenge… to use your imagination and create a spectacularly decorated tree with the use of shop brought decorations alongside craft materials which would require us to think outside the box. Competing against four other teams we had just one hour and I’m pleased to say we won 🙂 even if the shoe blogger did pinch wrapped gifts from around another teams tree, to which Karen from all about the boys gave us all a good telling off for:)

 Before the evenings dinner it was back to the hotel for a few hours (in which I was pleased to discovered my friend was thankful still alive) before getting changed in to something a little more glam and heading back out again, while my friend took the children to see a show. 

 I first joined my fellow bloggers for one or two cocktails that I must add where scummy, then it was off to Tuners to eat. There were 36 of us in all, 35 mummy bloggers and one daddy blogger all taking up too long rows of tables, I got to sit with Lou from bloggomy who I got to meet for the first time at the Mad blog awards and it was lovely to catch up over a glass of white and a festive feast. 

 Tuners opened it’s doors in 2011 and is named after the famous chef Brain tuner who helped create the restaurant which is advertised as affordable fine dinning. The restaurant boast some top chefs such as Nigel Davis (formerly of the ivy) cooking its six course Christmas dinner. 

 I really did have an enjoyable evening though I really did feel a little sad at not being able to join some of the bloggers such as the lovely Romanian mum, who went on for drinks and dancing after the meal! Sadly with my children, I really did need to get back and save my friend from any meltdowns or sibling punch ups.

 All in all despite my stress and parenting dilemmas while at Butlin’s, I really am pleased I went and will definitely be going again…. Someday! 

Related articles

• Never Ever Again (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• Preparing my child with Aspergers for our family festive break (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• We’re planning a break away (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)

NEVER EVER AGAIN

This is the post where I try to explain why I never want to take my child with Aspergers on holiday ever again.

 Most of you will know me as the mother who is first to state that, ‘Just because a child is on the autism spectrum, doesn’t mean they should not be given the opportunity to enjoy life’s pleasures such as day trips and holidays’ I stand by this, really I do!

 Now, I will try my best to put into words what I can only describe as one of the hardest, emotional draining and tiring, three days of my entire life.

 This past weekend saw me on the edge of a breakdown as myself, good friend Donna and three children (Little Man aka A boy with Aspergers, Alice-Sara & Harley) embanked on a mini weekend Christmas break at Butlin’s Bognor Regis.

 I had been extremely lucky to be invited to the tots100 Christmas party which meant an awesome deal on accommodation and presented me with the opportunity to also bring along the family. I will talk more about the Tots100 Christmas party and Butlin’s itself in another post, right now I need to get this out my system!

 It’s never easy taking Little man on days out and its even harder trying to embark on any type of Holiday no matter how short or long it maybe. The change and the anxiety mixed with the unknown often brings about havoc, and if you have ever read any of my post relating to such event’s you will already know this (remember the camping trip or even the day trip to Chessington)? 

 Nonetheless, when stating like many do “Never again” I somehow never really mean it and with passing time I find myself trying to do it all over again! Why? Because his my son and I don’t want to leave him behind!

 Despite things starting reasonably well (his delight over the funky hotel lighting which was a sensory pleasure was most welcome) things soon turned sour and within an hour or so all hell had broke loose.

 OK, Ok, I half expected this! After all we have just arrived, everything is different and a mix of both anxiety and excitement fills the air. 

 After a soak in the bath, just before heading to bed he started to argue with his sister. I know arguments between siblings are the norm with most children, but these really are over the top, Little man becomes far to angry and loses his temper rapidly. Worse still his now able to throw an almighty punch. On trying to break up yet another blow up that had become somewhat out of hand, Little man thought he would also hit out at me, not only punching but kicking me too. His not a baby anymore and his growing which I guess kind of worries me if I think about it!

 No, this isn’t good, I don’t show him that I’m frighten of him, I’m actually not, I’m just worried that one day he will go that bit too far!

I don’t like having to restrain my own son but it did have to be done before he hurt himself or somebody else, it was then he spat in my face and then laughed inappropriately. 

 The fact that his violence stopped and I thought we were over this hurdle makes this so much harder.

 After lots of tears Little man finally slept and I convinced myself that as the days went on things would get better, however they didn’t and despite trying to structure all the activities his need to control everything and everyone around him was just too much. Yes, I know things are hard for him, but there were stages of that holiday that I felt like running away especially when he carried on hitting out at me leading me to seek first aid for what was a suspected broken finger (I had pointed at him and he had hurt my fingers so bad I had no choice but to get them strapped up). This was the last day and in all honesty I was so thankful it was. By now I had cried till my eyes were sore and seriously felt like smacking my own head repetitively against the wall. 

 Harley also spent the best part of his second birthday amongst meltdowns and my pleads for a little respect and if anything a five-minute break. I know many people will think, “It’s hard for him too” Believe me I know that, of course I do! I didn’t care about the disapproving stares as Little man hauled abuse at me, I did however feel terrible for the children stood in ear shoot of his language. There was even one episode that resulted in me having to leg it out of a local fish restaurant leaving my poor friend with three kids, one who wasn’t in the friendliest of moods. 

I sat on a bench looking at the sea and really felt like I couldn’t return and carry on with this job called “Parenting”. I left a message on my Facebook page which read, “I don’t think I can cope with Little man’s behaviour anymore” and at that moment in time, I really did feel this way.

 My friend said something to me as we sat talking in the hotel once the children were finally sleeping, she said “I can honestly say I have never seen Little man 100% happy unless his indoors” I thought about this and realised just how right my friend was.

 Once we did finally return home, a lot later than expected following unexpected car trouble (the word unexpected is not one little man favourites) I noticed how his mood calmed! Yes, he fights with his sister in the comfort of our home and yes he can still be abusive, but as I sat watching him cuddling his younger sister watching the end of Eastenders (yes, cuddling, the cheek of them, I know) I realised that in-order to parent and parent Little man well, It needs to be at home (well, at home meaning not on holiday)! I’m not stating I’m NEVER TAKING HIM ON HOLIDAY AGAIN! Though I did state this more than 1000 times during the course of the weekend, I’m just stating that for now, and in-till there are clear signs of improvement in this type of challenging behaviour and yes, my ways in coping and dealing with it, I will not be booking any family holidays in the near future… and that my friends is a ‘FACT’!

Related articles

• Preparing my child with Aspergers for our family festive break (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• We’re planning a break away (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• “Mum, your christmas presents belong in the trash!” (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)

Preparing my child with Aspergers for our family festive break

17

Days till Christmas

We’re off to Butlin’s this weekend and are all rather excited about it.

 However, it’s really not a case of “just up and leaving” for us! Well, I suppose it isn’t for anyone really, but for us such a trip means extensive preparation.

 Little man is looking forward to the trip, however he has many concerns, things that for most add to the excitement of a holiday!

Image via Wikipedia

 Little man wants to know, how everything will plan out! Just how will we get there; how long will it take; how long does each and every activity last; what are the bedrooms like; what do they use to clean the pool; does the hotel smell of bleach, will there be a shower?

 OK, OK… Most kids ask questions but for Little man it’s not just a question but a real concern!

 When it comes to days out we need to ensure good preparation has played its part, otherwise Little man will suffer and the entire family will pay dearly. The truth is, I’m unsure why god considered me the “Right” person to mother a child on the autism spectrum! Organisation has never been my strong point! Well, when it comes to actually getting somewhere on time, I’m the worst ever! Seriously no matter what I do, something always seems to happen… always!

 We went camping back in July and absolutely nothing went to plan. It was extremely hard work and at certain points of the holiday I did have to stop and ask myself why I was actually putting myself through this. Yes, that may sound selfish and maybe a thousand adults on the spectrum reading this will now jump on my back! I know it isn’t easy for the Little man either, but at the time when his having an almighty meltdown in the tent at 2am, I did ask myself why!

 I always come up with the same answer! His my son, and just because he has Aspergers doesn’t mean he should miss the experiences that all children are entitled to. As a family, we are all entitled to a holiday and as hard as this may be, I’m determined to keep on trying! It’s my belief, the more we do these things, the better Little man is able to deal with them. It’s not that he don’t want to go on holiday’s or have day’s out, if this was the case then of course I wouldn’t push him, the fact he does want to engage in such activities, no matter how hard these things become it gives me that nudge to keep trying.

Camping wasn’t ideal for a child on the spectrum, especially camping at a festival, to be honest, it was the most unstructured place to take a holiday and as much as he now declares his a big camping fan, I would need to be thinking long and hard before embanking on such an adventure again.

 Now, we have been Butlin’s before! Little man was around 5 and this was prior to his diagnosis. Nevertheless things went surprisingly OK. I know his that bit older and yes, things do tend to unfold quicker and normally in a bigger more explosive way, but considering how structured Butlin’s can be I think it may actually be a really good place for a family consisting of a child with Aspergers to take a break.

 Well, we’re leaving on Friday, after school so it really is upon us.

 Here’s what I have done in preparation so far.

 We are staying in the Butlins hotel and I’ve checked with facilities are in our room (tv, shower, single or bunk beds etc.)

Image via Wikipedia

 Packed his clothing separately from ours, making sure they have been tumble dried for maximum softness.

 Made sure I’ve packed him entertainment for the journey (Lego, books etc)

 Downloaded the Butlin’s iphone app which has the full weekends entertainment, including opening times of certain activities, shows, the weekend line-up and any additional special bookable extras. Also includes a Map which is a bonus as Little man is driven mad when we get lost.

 As we haven’t been for sometime (I last went about 6 years ago) I’ve been speaking to some mummy bloggers on twitter who have been telling me what we can expect (What to avoid and what not to miss) I’d like to personally thank @TiredmummyofTwo who very considerately contacted me to ask if there was anything I wanted to ask as she was aware of my situation (please note, this isn’t someone who works for Butlins just a fellow blogger) I really am grateful that she took the time to contact me and offer that bit of support (it really is the little things that touch a person’s heart)

OK…  I’ve planed transport

 As the children’s father is now unable to attend, I’m now taking a friend who knows little man really well and is as good as family. This is important as on the Saturday I’m at the Tots100 Christmas party and my friend will take care of the children (a great mate)

 Trying to plan Sunday as-well as I possibly can as it’s Harley’s second birthday and little man can find other people’s birthdays difficult at the best of times.

 Making sure Little man knows exactly how many days in-till we leave and the times in-which we are leaving.

 Plus a host of other things that are actually rather jumbled in my head right now!

 Oh… and you better believe it! I have spent so long worrying about the Little man, plus ensuring all three children’s belongings are packed that I haven’t even thought about what I’m taking! That means packing when his at school today!

I can’t wait till everything is sorted so myself, friend and the children can look forward to our festive break which is promised to be filled with Christmas Cheer.

So… Wish me luck people! I’ll have the Mac so let’s hope that the holiday update is just that, “An Update” and a happy one at that, avoiding a festive holiday “Rant!”

Related articles

• We’re planning a break away (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• What we got up to on our Butlins Skegness Family Holiday – Part 2 (showard76.wordpress.com)
• “Mum, your christmas presents belong in the trash!” (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)