Granny Power Keep The Family Together For Annual Holiday

As parents feel the financial pinch it’s grandparents who save the summer

The traditional British family holiday is back and the grandparents are coming too – because they are the ones paying for it.

Grannies and granddads will be digging deeper into their purses to save the summer holidays for the sake of the children as more and more families simply can’t afford to take a break.

That’s according to Grannylook.com – which offers help and advice to thousands of grandparents every day.

Escalating fuel and food prices, coupled with the credit crunch, means that desperate mums and dads are turning to grandma and grandpa to bail them out.

“Grandparents are finding themselves with more disposable income than their children,” says granny guru Juliet Hambro, the brains behind the grandparent advice website www.grannylook.com.

“Couples with children – especially younger parents – cannot cope right now and are having to go cap in hand to their own parents for cash.”

“We have got a huge email-bag full of questions from grandparents seeking advice about taking their grandchildren on holiday,” says Hambro.

The site has fielded hundreds of enquiries on the topic and says there is a clear message that the traditional annual extended family break is back.


There is also evidence that some parents are taking cheaper holidays on their own and leaving their offspring in the hands of their grandparents.

“The truth is most children don’t care whether they are playing on a beach in Spain, Florida or Norfolk,” says Hambro. “What they really enjoy is being with their grandparents as they get spoiled rotten.”

The evidence – from more than a thousand emails – shows a dramatic U-turn in status for grandparents and means they are once again finding themselves having to support both their children and grandchildren.

“Grandparents love to dote on their grandchildren but they will now be paying more for that privilege,” adds Hambro, herself a proud grandmother.

“The British seaside is an evergreen choice for young and old. Families are being more realistic and holidaying closer to home to save money. Where once a foreign holiday was a cheaper alternative, that is now not the case.”

“Family holidays that extend to three generations are becoming more common, with large families renting houses to save money. This is great for the grandparents who get to spend more time with their loved ones, and only fair when they are footing the bill.”