Extended family WDW trip....Question

[kimwim8]

I'm not sure which board to post this on, so I'm trying here first.

As you can see from my counter, our trip is quickly approaching (woo hoo!) We are a group of 11:

My family - DH, DD5 & DS3
My sister's family - her, her DH, DS6, DS3, DS10 months
My older sister
My mom

Mom & older sister are sharing a studio with the older kids of our group.
The rest of us are in a 2 bedroom unit (all at OKW)

Here's my question...
We are having our driver stop at Albertsons for our grocery stop. We have the option of faxing ahead our list & they will have it ready for us, just go in, pay & leave.
I've made up a list of food that we have all agreed upon, but how do I split up the cost? Would it be easier to just let everyone run in the store (and not use the fax ahead option) and get what they want & pay for their own? But then we could possibly be dealing with "I paid for that, why are you eating some?".

UGH....I just don't know. (remind me next trip....just my family!!!)

TIA for any advice!

 

[simonmunro]

I would just split the bill in equal parts by adults only.

 

[Amirah95]

I agree, split the cost of the bill among adults. If they want extra stuff then they can buy it when they get there.

 

[kimwim8]

thank you!

 

[BevS97]

we tend to use a kitty system when we are on trips like this - all adults contribute an amount, between$30 and $100 depending on length of trip

we use that for communal things like grocerys, drinks etc, anything that is shared between the group. If there is anything left at the end then we would use it to pay for a meal out, or else divide it all back out again.

 

[Papillon]

We always go with the kitty system. Splitting the bill really isn't fair for the smaller parties, and there may be some resentment about it. Whatever you do, DON'T try to keep a tally of each family's spending. It's impossible, for one thing, and way too much trouble for a vacation.

 

[CLASSICPOOH2002]

We are going in Jan with about 16 of my DH family. I have 4 studios and a 2-BR booked. My DH, DS, FIL, MIL, and myself will be in the 2-BR. We do trips like this some and when we do I always cook. I love it. For me there is nothing like being able to cook while I am away. We are staying at BWV. In the past we have gone with my family and I know how they eat and all, but this side will be different. We are in the South and most of my DH family is from the north. What my DH and I have discussed is; I will have the menu planned out for 4 nights of the 5 we are there(dinner). I will do breakfast every morning except the one we are all doing Chef Mickeys. I normally do waffles(homemade), eggs, biscuits, bacon and such every morning. We are not ones to head out to the parks in a rush. And I will have lunch meats and such for lunches. My inlaws will not be doing much in the parks because they are not able to get around much. They will be hanging out in the room most of the time. They can keep an eye on the food I have going and let the others in for lunch and such.

I thought that with this trip we would use the "we-go-shop" people and I would send the menu to everyone going. They will have until 2 weeks before we go to let me know what meals they will be attending. I would cook for them each time and not mind. I will have a set dinner time for each night. So they can do their days around it. I will take $5.00 per room per meal. That would be about 10.00 per day for each room. Most of the rooms will have 2 people in them. Also I will let them tell me anything that they would like to have purchased to have in their rooms. Alot of them are flying and can't bring much with them.

Sorry this is long, but does this sound like it would work? I appreciate being able to get your ideas. Thanks!!!

 

[kimwim8]

CLASSICPOOH2002:

You are a much better woman than I am! I don't even like to cook while I'm home, let alone on vacation! We don't eat out much when we are home, so vacation is one time I can get away with spending the money to eat out.

I think your plan will definitely work, and will be a nice treat for everyone in your group, to have home cooked meals, without having to do the cooking!

We've decided to split the total cost of food by the number of people, including kids, but excluding the infant. We're at about $100 according to my online order, so that is only $10 each for my mom & sister that are staying in the studio.

Have a great trip!

 

[Gillian]

That seems very fair, especially considering that kids foods can be quite expensive and some eat as much as adults (my daughter )

Have you seen the price of milk lately? We went from barely finishing a gallon a week with DS4, then down to half a gallon when he wouldn't drink it for a while. Then DD1 began drinking it and DS started again. Now we're going through a gallon every few days!