How to stop other travellers eat your food supplies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if you are a healthy eater (I am too) there are plenty of ready to go paleo and keto pancake mixes where you just add water. PLENTY. I should know cause I eat em. And yeah you pay a little more but if you eat this way regularly you're used to the cost. I suspect this is a troll though

I really want to know about OP’s special foods.

Special, healthy foods that the other kids will eat all up. Definitely NOT Aldi's just add water pancake mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I imagine OP is one of those people that counts grapes.

And asparagus Spears. Just two per person!

[Anonymous]

When a challenge is too much for me to handle, I don’t accept it. If invited to climb Mount Everest, I would decline. It sounds like group trips might be your Mount Everest, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP enjoys hiking, correct? If I were an extremely stingy person who enjoys the outdoors, I would pack a simple breakfast for my family, like yogurt and peanut butter sandwiches or protein bars, coffee and water, and I would hike to a scenic spot and have a picnic breakfast. If hungry “Johny” follows along, OP could throw a handful of scraps on the forest floor. Done.

This is the best idea, OP. If the kids have to pick the cereal out from the grass it will slow them down. Or give Johnny his serving in one of those maze dog bowls...


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[Anonymous]

How about a lovely, well stocked fruit bowl on the breakfast bar? No need to enter the kitchen and scrounge for your bacon. Just take a delicious piece of beautiful fruit into the backyard and enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about a lovely, well stocked fruit bowl on the breakfast bar? No need to enter the kitchen and scrounge for your bacon. Just take a delicious piece of beautiful fruit into the backyard and enjoy!

Yes, because when the little children pigs are scrounging, THE KITCHEN IS CLOSED!

[Anonymous]

OP here.
It’s too late for”share a grocery list” option.

So I’m leaning towards “boring healthy breakfast” option or saying no to the poor kids who don’t want to eat their own breakfast.

[Anonymous]

But seriously, it doesn’t make sense to have separate meals in a shared house with a shared kitchen. Why can’t the families pool funds and appoint one person to buy all breakfast and lunch supplies for the house? No cooking required - get easy DIY stuff like cereal, bagels, yogurt, fruit for breakfast. Sandwich fixings, chips, cut veggies for lunch. That way each person/family can help themselves as needed and everyone doesn’t have to be on the same schedule for every single meal. If that’s too much shopping or schlepping for one person, make a joint grocery list and divide it up. If you want an elaborate hot breakfast, but only for your family unit, a group vacation is not for you. Are the 3 families supposed to rotate in and out of the kitchen all day long, cooking up separate batches of bacon?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I like the idea of one box of cereal per day! OP won’t because she shouldn’t have to bring any extra. Hauling two extra boxes of cereal is too much effort and she shouldn’t have to.

Yeah, I don’t want to bring extra two boxes of cereal, extra two loaves of bread, extra two packages of bacon. I thought we discussed it.
I’m not going to be a mule just because your kids don’t like their own food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about a lovely, well stocked fruit bowl on the breakfast bar? No need to enter the kitchen and scrounge for your bacon. Just take a delicious piece of beautiful fruit into the backyard and enjoy!

Yes, because when the little children pigs are scrounging, THE KITCHEN IS CLOSED!

Burger King is a 15 mile hike up the road if you must stuff your face with gas station chili cheese dogs at all hours of the day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
It’s too late for”share a grocery list” option.

So I’m leaning towards “boring healthy breakfast” option or saying no to the poor kids who don’t want to eat their own breakfast.

Why is it too late for the "share a grocery list"? If you haven't shopped or planned the meals yet since you are leaning towards "boring healthy breakfast" seems like there is still time.

In any event, this doesn't have to be so complicated. If you really want the separate breakfast and lunch (btw we have been focused on breakfast and bacon, I assume that means lunch wasn't actually a problem last time?), send an email ahead of time saying you want to avoid the running out of food problems of last time and here is what you are bringing for your family if others want to do the same for theirs.

Then if kids ask for stuff once there, just say no, people are eating their own stash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I like the idea of one box of cereal per day! OP won’t because she shouldn’t have to bring any extra. Hauling two extra boxes of cereal is too much effort and she shouldn’t have to.

Yeah, I don’t want to bring extra two boxes of cereal, extra two loaves of bread, extra two packages of bacon. I thought we discussed it.
I’m not going to be a mule just because your kids don’t like their own food.

We get it OP. You want to complain but take no action to alleviate the situation.
Honestly, it’s far less effort and stress to bring extra cereal and bread. Skip bacon entirely.
But you just want to complain about rude selfish kids.

[Anonymous]

Who willingly goes into the forest with limited food rations? Befuddling!

If Burger King is within driving distance, then I doubt this is truly a middle of the forest situation.

When I've been subjected to these sort of "vacations" in the woods or remote areas with other families, I'm the first to volunteer to make a food or beverage run. I'll happily hop in my car and disappear for a little while to get some alone time and then return a hero with treats. I thought everyone felt that way? The moms practically fight each other for the task of running an errand. We leave the dads in charge and disappear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are ridiculous and being unnecessarily mean to OP. Your kids are probably the ones who would beg for other people's food because they have no home training.

OP, can you just talk with the other adults before you go? Mention what happened last time, and that you'd like to avoid a repeat of that. IF you all insist on not sharing for breakfast and lunch, they need to prepare their children, and you should be prepared to say no to greedy requests. I would call out there parents every time. "Oh Karen, it looks like Larla is hungry, what did you all bring for breakfast today?"

An easier solution might be to do more coordinating with the other families so that everyone can share and you dont have this problem. That doesn't have to mean you do all the cooking, just handle 1 meal each day. If you have the type of friends who let their kids eat all your food, didnt bring any extra themselves, and would sit back and watch you cook all trip, they suck and you shouldn't travel with them.

Do you bring your own food to a party, pp? Because sharing a vacation home is sorta like that: communal fun.

Question: how do multiple families cook meals separately when sharing a kitchen? Presumably only one person can use the stove at a time. So I’m supposed to wait 20 mins for you to finish with the stove?

Ridiculous.

This is the problem I can't get my head around. There are going to be three separate bacon cooking sessions? Hard to go hiking if breakfast takes all day to make.

THIS.

These people are clearly doing it wrong.

If you are at a beach house and everyone can wander in and out whenever without adhering to a schedule, that's one thing.

But if the group plans to go hiking at a set time, then everyone presumably needs to know what time they should be ready to roll. In that scenario, there's a game plan for breakfast and lunch.

While I've never vacationed in a forest, I have vacationed with multiple families at a remote lake house. Because everyone needed to be ready around the same time to go out on boats to the sandbar, we discussed the schedule each night so people knew what time to be showered, who was handling breakfast, who was handling packing lunches and coolers, who was watching the kids, who was doing sunblock, etc. We didn't resort to excel sheets. Everyone loosely discussed meals weeks in advance and brought food for the group, and then we ended up making a grocery store run at some point. Plenty of food, and everything was served family style.

Because we are people and not machines, there were some quirky/picky eaters. Those parents brought special food for those kids along with extra to share. NBD.

This really isn't hard.

Personally, I think the OP has a bizarre hatred of poor Johny. I suspect he's very popular, athletic and/or smart, and OP feels some weird inferiority when she compares her own kid. I can't think of any other reason why an adult would make an issue of sharing food and go to such lengths to personalize it to one kid.

[Anonymous]

I think the issue is OP isn't really up for a group vacation. She wanted to go just with her family but couldn't find a small cabin and was forced to rent a larger one with fellow travelers.

She is trying to maintain the vacation she wanted - just her family - in a group setting. I am also sensing a lack of flexibility and hyperbole - bringing two extra packs of bacon and two boxes of cereal turns her into a pack mule and SAHM chained to a stove on her vacation.

Options are:

1. take the advice offered through 26 pages on here

2. be more assertive when kids want your supplies.

I get it, its a pain to police other families kids, and it would be nice if they adhered to your rules without prompting, but that is life sharing space with other people - be a little flexible or you will need to spend some time and effort correcting behavior that differs from your views. Your choice.