If you’re picturing your family sitting on a deck overlooking a sparkling blue lake while the kids splash in the water and the smell of grilling hamburgers drifts by, you’re not alone. A week at a cottage in Northern Ontario is what summer is all about. And, you don’t need to be a cottage owner to pull this off; you just need to rent a cottage, and everything will work out fine. Or will it?
Renting a place for the whole extended family, from grandparents to grandchildren, can seem idyllic, but it can very easily go off the rails. How do you avoid disaster, assure tranquillity, and make sure all the work doesn’t fall to one person?
The key is to have an action plan from start to finish, managing expectations, and knowing the group dynamics. Here's your handy guide to planning a stress-free family holiday.
So, where to start? The property, of course!
Start by browsing waterfront cottage rentals across Northern Ontario’s regions to get a sense of what’s available for your location and budget. Explore cottage rentals in Northern Ontario, browse options in Sunset Country, discover resorts and cabins in Superior Country, or find cottage stays in Algoma Country and Northeastern Ontario. If your group is focused on fishing, look for dedicated fishing lodges and angler-friendly resorts. Prefer hiking, golf, or small-town exploring? Choose a property close to the activities that matter most to your crew.
Create a checklist of wants and needs. Things on this list could include having a good swimming area for all ages in your group. Something with a shallow entry is always suitable for small children, and remember, no one likes weeds! Do you need a dock for a boat you might bring? What about outdoor amenities, including decks, firepits, and lawns or wide-open spaces for games? Interior considerations should include the number of bedrooms and, critically, the number of bathrooms.
Consider sleeping arrangements carefully. Be honest here: you might be thinking that a younger sibling or the single daughter who is coming without kids will be happy to crash on a couch. They aren’t! Make sure everyone has enough space. Remember, it’s essential to share the floor plan and room assignments with all participants so there are no surprises on arrival.
Give some thought to the size of the common areas, just in case everyone is chased indoors on a rainy day or two. The size and amenities of the kitchen are critically important as you’ll be feeding a big crew. How far is it from where everyone lives? Finally, if you are in doubt, bigger is always better! If you can’t find a place with enough common space, consider a large bug tent to serve as a temporary gazebo.
Once you have the place and agreement its time for the money discussion.
Who pays, and what’s the budget? In many cases, parents want to host and pay for the family week at a cottage. But realistically, if your children are adults with their own kids, it is more than acceptable to ask them whether they want to participate and, if so, to pay for their portion. At the very least, this establishes commitment, so they don’t back out at the last minute, but it also gives them a sense of ownership in planning and execution. Do this early in the process, not after you’ve already booked and paid.
How much to spend is an area fraught with danger. Different family members may want varying levels of comfort—so how do you cross that bridge? Frank family discussions are the only way and sometimes Mom and Dad, if they are able, can offer to kick in the difference. Everyone should kick in their share for the deposit before booking, and the rest when it’s due. Pet owners have to pay their own damage deposit.
Okay, the place is booked, everyone has paid, and the trip starts in a month. It’s time for the meal plan.
Planning and making meals can easily fall to the matriarch of the group and be a considerable burden. Some are okay with this because it's their thing, but many would rather be sitting on the dock enjoying the sunshine than slaving over a stove.
The first step to avoiding this issue is to separate breakfast and lunch from dinner—these two meals should be “fend for yourself”. This allows people to eat breakfast and lunch whenever and wherever they want. This requires that each person cleans up after themselves, as well!
For the main meal of the day, the easiest solution is to assign nights to various family teams. Create a sign-up sheet for each night of the week, with each team responsible for grocery shopping, preparation, cooking, and clean-up. So, Team A does Saturday night, Team B does Sunday night, perhaps Monday everyone gets a break, and you order in a pizza or Chinese food from the nearby town. Be sure to designate Thursday or Friday as “leftovers” night; you’ll be shocked at how much food you’ll have to serve.
To avoid having to tear yourself away from the summer sun, make part or all of the meal you are responsible for in advance for your night and freeze it. Then, all you have to do is take it out of the freezer in the morning and warm it up.
Pro tip: Use the BBQ. Most cottages don’t have air conditioning, so try to do as much cooking outside to keep the place cool in the dog days of summer. If your place is remote, use the most vulnerable fruits and veggies up first.
Buying food for a group can be surprisingly expensive; however, when you split it out amongst everyone, the price per person is actually quite low. Ensure everyone keeps their receipts for whatever they buy. At the end of the week add it up and split it up by family group. To save money and to avoid duplication, create a list of consumables, things like condiments, paper products, coffee, sugar, etc, and assign one group to bring them.
Owing to the cost and variety of drinks available, it’s best to handle this individually, or in other words, BYOB.
With eight, ten or even twelve people all living under one roof for a week, it’s easy to overlook this key element. One way to handle the mess is to have the group preparing the evening's dinner do a mini power clean-up.
Another good solution is to nominate one person to be the trash master—perhaps an early teen who’s into recycling.
Don’t forget about checkout day; depending on your rental agreement, you may have to leave the place as you found it, which could take some time. Everyone should be in charge of cleaning their own sleeping quarters. Use a checklist to delegate and break up tasks to clean up the yard and common spaces.
Managing family dynamics can always be a challenge, but the area that seems to present the most problems revolves around activity levels. Some people are homebodies (aka “relaxers”) and want nothing better than to unwind with a paperback and lie in the sun. Others like to be busy, and it's where these two groups intersect that problems can arise. The key is not to let the busybodies interfere with the relaxers and force them into doing things they don’t want to do.
Sometimes, the main issue with the busybodies is that they are rudderless and not sure what to do with themselves. To solve this issue, plan a couple of events or have a daily list of optional activities.
Check out these articles for some ideas:
Successful ideas that have worked for our group include
a pottery class—check the town website, Facebook or the local library's site for your chosen destination for classes and events.
a week-long card tournament (euchre works well for this)
an afternoon of kids’ summer Olympics.
Send the weekly schedule out in advance, and then have a whiteboard in the main room so people can check and see what the options are.
This plan will make any cottage rental easy and fun for everyone. At the end of the trip, debrief with each group to identify what worked and what didn’t. If everyone had a good time, and chances are that they will, just book the same place again for next year and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back.
