Last minute and Men

[KAWS]

My dh packs for himself - BOY DOES HE PACK!! He brings about three times as many clothes as I do (and I'm no slouch either). He says he wants "selection". I say, go for it and pack, unpack and drag all those clothes around that you know you're not going to wear. There's no dissuading him anyway.

 

He'd never make it as a woman though - he only brings two pairs of shoes!:D

[cruiseman40]

Funny~! At least your DW doesn't pack for you like mine does. Otherwise, my suitcase would be empty she says! I tell her that they do have stores and can buy them there.

[Happy ks]

The best thing to do is for the DW to pack for herself and tell the husband you on your own. Do not help, do not run around at the last minute and if he does not bring what he needs it is his fault. Your are not his mother and if he is an adult he should know how to pack. By packing for him, falling for his excuses and running around for him you become an enabler for his behavior. And above all don't let his inability to pack ruin your vacation. If he did not pack the right clothes, leave him in the stateroom and go and have a great time by yourself.

 

 

 

If I asked my wife to pack or run around the day before the cruise all I would get is a look and not the loving kind.

 

 

Bill

 

I'd agree with you if I had the type of husband who is needy in every other way. My husband does so much around the house, works many hours, runs errands for me almost every day. He does laundry, housework, washes my car for me every weekend, makes the bed every morning....I could go on and on. We are a team and we do what each does best. That he can't figure out what to pack is fairly minor in the scheme of things :)

 

My dh packs for himself - BOY DOES HE PACK!! He brings about three times as many clothes as I do (and I'm no slouch either). He says he wants "selection". I say, go for it and pack, unpack and drag all those clothes around that you know you're not going to wear. There's no dissuading him anyway.

 

He'd never make it as a woman though - he only brings two pairs of shoes!:D

 

 

My husband would take his entire closet if it weren't for me. I don't pack extra clothes or shoes for either of us, my goal is to pack just enough, rewearing a few items twice.

[Dee777]

My darling husband no longer expects me to plan his wardrobe for vacations, pack for him or do anything else to get him ready for the big event. I no longer pick up his prescriptions, purchase his toiletries or do his laundry.

 

He does do his best to try to edge me into it, for instance, he will leave his packing until after midnight the night before we leave. When our children all became adults and moved away, I considered my cook / maid / chauffeur /laundress / slave days were over and done with. Now, he is a 50 /50 partner in the running of the house. And while it does drive me absolutely insane how he leaves the packing until the last possible second, I pretend otherwise and crawl into bed while he does it.

 

I could care less if he forgets his socks, dress shoes, etc. After spending the money to replace them on vacation, he won't do it again lol

 

Dee

[cigal]

Last night DH tried his trousers on and as i predicted weeks ago they are too tight Grrrrrr men. I'm so glad we have some late night shops to go to to get him some more. Why do men do this to us. :eek:

 

Yeah......DH and I played that game last night, only it was his suit - not just trousers. :eek: The suit's been sitting on the end of the couch for 2 months - and he waits until 10 days before we leave. :rolleyes: Fortunately for him, we found him one today, and he was really lucky because the sale price melted my "frosty" glare.:D

I do love him so - but I've learned to say, "Honey - could you just try on the suit before I take it to the dry cleaners ~ I want to make sure there is nothing that needs repairs......":D

[jnc411]

My DH does not pack at all, only time he packed a bag was for our honeymoon almost 40 years ago. Since then I do all the packing. He doesn't think he needs to take much of anything along, UNTIL we are gone then he wants to know "did I pack this or that" , so I have learned to just pack what I think he needs. He is a very big man 6"6" tall with size 15 shoe, so packing is a real challange. He would probably ware the same thing over and over, and I would have to do lots of laundry , so I pack what is easier for me to manage. When we cruise with Princess I know there is a laundry available to use and I like that option for longer cruises. I have learned to just do what makes it easier for me on vacation.

Cori

[bossmum1]

Can you believe this we where talking last night with friends about our cruise in June 2009, dh pipped up and said we will go shopping at the weekend, i want a new suit and 2 pairs trousers for our cruise and maybe a new white shirt, huh wait a minute did the sea air addle his brain when we cruised lol bless him maybe he just wants to look cool for me,

[Gathina]

I'd say let the man pack for himself...he has to wear the clothes, not the woman. If he forgets something "oh well"..the wives, in my opinion, forfeit the right to complain about it if they pack for him!:)

[Cruise Arizona]

I always say "Men never learn." But I'm happy to say that my husband finally did for once.

 

Two years ago he tried on his formal shirt on Friday afternoon, and we were driving to San Diego for the cruise on Saturday, embarking on Sunday. He tried on his formal shirt and it didn't fit. Not even close. The hard part is that he wears what I affectionately call "Gorrilla Size" 18 -18 1/2 37. Not always and easy size to find.

 

We also live 30 minutes from town. I called a couple of formal wear rental shops and thankfully found one that had a shirt in his size to sell me.

 

Well I'm not sure what happened to that shirt, because he wore it on that cruise and the sleave length was fine. Then when we took our next cruise he tried it on last minute again and the sleeve were an inch shorter (Shrunk in the wash?). It was too late to get anything at that point and since he did have lay down collar shirt that fit him he just wore that formal shirt both nights as there were only two formal nights on that cruise.

 

Well back to the "Men never learn" thing. Finally he did for this cruise that we are taking in 4 weeks. He tried on everything last Saturday morning and we went out to Dillards Saturday night and bought him everything he needed for the cruise and a general wardrobe update. He was able to try on slacks and shirts at Dillards for a perfect fit, and bought the styles and colors they had in stock. When we got home he was able to add to that by purchaing different colors in the same style from the online store. One of the best parts was that since he still needed a wing collar tux shirt, I was able to order him one from the internet for a fraction of the price I would pay for one in town. The tux shirt is already here, and we are just waiting for the Dillards stuff to arrive. Plenty of time left before the cruise!!!:D

[Centex]

1. He researches and plans the entire trip except for excursions which we decide together, Sets everything up and pays for it! Yeah me!:D

2. I pick up new shirts and stuff the few months before and we gather anything we may need toiletry wise together.

3. I make sure that anything he might need is washed and hanging in the closet.

4. I ask him if he needs items that he might not use often (swim suit). Then if he needs a new one, I remind him when we're out and he picks out his own.

5. When it's time to go, he picks out pants and shirts. I'll toss in a couple extras plus socks, underwear and jammies.

6. He is in charge of all things digital and electrical.

7. He packs all of his toiletries the morning of and we're off.

 

We usually manage with 1 suitcase ea. and 1 carry on ea.(which is usually his camera cases and laptop) and books,makeup etc. for me.;)

 

We both read CC months before just to help with our excitement.

[simplelife]

Sure wish my DH were like those in the last couple of posts. On our holiday cruise last year, DH packed his bathing suits (which he had not worn for several months) and discovered at our hotel on our night-before stay, that they were too small. Luckily we were able to find a mall in Cocoa Beach that was open on Sunday with a store that sold bathing suits in December (good thing we were in Florida) and carried Big Men's sizes (Thank you, JC Penney!) so he could buy some new ones before we finished our drive to Ft. Lauderdale.

He will try everything on ahead of time next time if I have to twist his arm to make him do it!

[Happy ks]

I've seen so many old posts resurrected in the last few days. Happy to say this one is still relevant for a lot of us.

[sjquilter]

Many years ago my DFIL decided he was going to pack for himself. Day 2 he realized he didn't pack any undies, and he was a huge guy. So he ended up washing out his undies every night. My DMIL never let him forget it!

 

Holly

[Iluvmypuggle]

Many years ago my DFIL decided he was going to pack for himself. Day 2 he realized he didn't pack any undies, and he was a huge guy. So he ended up washing out his undies every night. My DMIL never let him forget it!

 

Holly

 

LOL That is priceless!

 

I have to say, my SO does really well packing. My role is to remind him what he needs for the trip about 2 months out so he can start thinking about what fits, etc. He picks out all his outfits and I help by folding (something he just isn't good at). And then I just remind him about the extras. So a little bit of a team effort but he does pretty well. :)

[comoxvalley21]

I tried the "let him make mistakes and he'll learn " approach....the only one who was bothered was me! My husband thought he looked just fine!!

I do all the planning and packing and have it down to a science...he basically just shows up and enjoys the trip. Before you think I'm some sort of martyr I must say that this is the same man who brings me breakfast in bed every morning (even on a cruise) and makes dinner most nights.(we're both retired). After thirty years of marriage we've figured out our strengths and needs and try to make ourselves and each other happy.

[JanineM]

I keep wondering where these old posts are coming from ... but this one is timely.

 

I asked DH many times this weekend to just humour me and try on the new pants I bought him a few weeks ago. He was not happy but finally agreed and guess what - they don't fit. :mad: Am very, very glad I pushed since I'm doing all of the packing this week and I can't imagine having to buy the super expensive pants that they sell on the ship. That would just add insult to injury!

[simplelife]

I keep wondering where these old posts are coming from ... but this one is timely.

 

To me it doesn't matter if the post is old if someone has something relevant to ask or add (Perhaps there are some people new to CC or who otherwise missed it the first time around). Maybe the resurrection of the posts is the result of a search (I often see posters complain that people start new posts without searching first)

[lel5344]

I'm the DH. I do all the trip planning. I do all my own clothes selection and packing. I give DW advice on what she should or shouldn't bring, and I help her pack.

 

I also purchase all my own clothes (but take note, please - I am a salesman for a major men's clothier).

 

What does DW do? She loves me beyond belief and keeps me sane!

[househunter]

The best thing to do is for the DW to pack for herself and tell the husband you on your own. Do not help, do not run around at the last minute and if he does not bring what he needs it is his fault. Your are not his mother and if he is an adult he should know how to pack. By packing for him, falling for his excuses and running around for him you become an enabler for his behavior. And above all don't let his inability to pack ruin your vacation. If he did not pack the right clothes, leave him in the stateroom and go and have a great time by yourself.

 

 

 

If I asked my wife to pack or run around the day before the cruise all I would get is a look and not the loving kind.

 

 

 

Bill

 

 

I agree! I don't pack for my my husband for cruises or any vacations. He is a grown man, I am not his mother and we are both equally busy at work etc. If he forgets something, oh well. He goes without. Same for me. We have always managed to do fine so far!

[Krystal Kleer]

I can't tell you the number of times we've started on our vacation (even to the airport on the way to cruises) when we've had to stop because DH forgets to shut the darn trunk.

 

I always lay out my stuff in the "staging area" (guest room), then DH's. I ask him what he'd like and he tells me to pack "what looks good" - that gives me lots of leeway. So far DH hasn't looked bad in any of our photos and hasn't once complained about any of the clothing he's worn on our vacations. We share tasks - I pack for the trips, he pays for them . . . works for me!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

I completely agree with the sharing tasks here. Everything goes great this way. lol

[Happy ks]

I agree! I don't pack for my my husband for cruises or any vacations. He is a grown man, I am not his mother and we are both equally busy at work etc. If he forgets something, oh well. He goes without. Same for me. We have always managed to do fine so far!

 

 

We all have our own methods for what works best for us.

 

I'm the one who does have the extra time, my husband puts in extra hours before leaving on vacation and he does favors for me all year round. I prefer to think of us as working as a team.

 

If I left the packing up to him, I'd not have any packing space, he always wants to bring way too much. So for us, me doing the packing is the best way.

[Keith1010]

LOL. All husbands are not created equally as all Wives are not created equally.

 

In the end, each person whether single, a couple, married or whatever should do what works best for them.

 

In some cases both will pack. And in other cases one will pack.

 

Keith