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Friday, June 05, 2009

Catherine Deshayes

Going on holiday with Mum and Dad is something that many youngsters would actively avoid at all costs, but since the credit crunch hit it's a different story and suddenly hanging out with the parents (and their credit cards) is acceptable again...

A new survey from holiday home website Holiday-rentals.co.uk has found that more than half of Britons aged between 20 and 30 were considering taking a break with Mum and Dad this year.

Of course, some of them will be doing so for the sheer pleasure of spending some quality family time together, but a third admitted that it was because they knew their parents would fork out for the trip.

This new breed of holiday maker has already been given a nickname - HOMADS (holidaying on Mum and Dad) - suggesting the trend could be here to stay. A whopping 64 per cent of them went so far as to admit that they would go on holiday with family members they didn't even like if they had offered to pay.

Less than a fifth of HOMADs said the reason behind their decision was to rediscover their childhood.

I hadn't been on a family holiday for 10 years until last year, when my parents invited me to spend a week of their two-week holiday with them in Spain. (I'd like to add here that I did pay for my own flight and their apartment had a spare room!)

It was a great experience. I spent more time alone with them than I have done in years, without the distractions of home and we built on a friendship that was totally different to the parent-child relationship.

That's not to say I'm a HOMAD convert and will be going every year, but I can certainly see the appeal.

Courtney Wylie, Managing Director of Holiday-rentals.co.uk said, "As young people suffer in the credit crunch, more twenty-somethings than ever are choosing to go on holiday with their folks.

"Holiday costs can soon add up, but children - of all ages - shouldn't be embarrassed by turning to their parents for financial help," she added.

Not sure all parents will de delighted to hear that last snippet of advice...

Picture by gmonster25