Hör auf! Hör auf! I can still remember hearing the frustrated shouts of a young child when a water fight got out of hand. The yells got more emphatic, forcing me to reluctantly look up from my book to see if I could get away with doing absolutely nothing.

To my surprise, the noise was coming from my five-year-old who’d learnt the command for ‘stop’ from his new German friend on holiday and had perfected the pronunciation and intonation so well I hadn’t even recognised his voice.

He also learnt a smattering of other words on our jollies last summer – Fußball? (do you want to play football?), Nein (no), Bitte (please), Danke (thanks), Bitte (you’re welcome), and German numbers up to 10. Learning the lingo is easy when you’re young, uninhibited and desperate to befriend other kids.

So, it begs the question, when children get so much from being away – learning how to overcome language or cultural barriers to help them make new friends, trying new foods, experiencing different lifestyles and visiting places of educational interest, let alone just enjoying precious time together – why do family holidays become such a costly headache once youngsters reach school age?

I’ve asked myself that question numerous times recently. With Christmas behind us, it was time to turn my attention to The Holiday 2016. Having taken my children abroad for the first time last year (except for a long-haul trip when my first-born was too young to require his own seat), I was determined to continue the overseas adventure this year.

But, despite searching hard for that amazing, affordable but elusive deal, I couldn’t find anything cheaper than about £2,500 for a week abroad in summer. In the grand scheme of life, that is an obscene sum for just seven nights away, and that was at the bargain basement end of the spectrum. I’m not playing the poor-is-me card here.

Even if I had several thousand to spare, I object in principle to the huge peak season hike in prices. Then, throw in the need for a new car and a boiler this year, and I’m resigned to planning a staycation.

In all fairness, if I gave my boys a stick each with which to do battle, an ice-cream at the end of a long walk, and a stream to splash in, they honestly wouldn’t care what country they were in. They don’t care because they live in a blissful bubble where they know no different.

My childhood was different however. We lived in Germany, had a campervan and it was easy, or so it seemed, to take off regularly. Other countries were within easy reach simply by driving across a border, rather than having to factor in costly flight or ferry journeys. As an adult, pre children, I was able to indulge that taste for travel, though never as much as I would’ve liked.

When our boys were born, it was easier and more relaxing to just export our home life and daily routine to a holiday cottage in this country, without much upheaval. But they’re older now, capable of doing so much more, and will actually remember anything we do in years to come. The possibilities could be boundless were it not for the almost prohibitive costs of peak season travel.

City of York Council said this week it only fined 10 families in 2014-15 for ‘unauthorised absence from school’. “Fines are used only as a means of enforcing attendance where there is a reasonable expectation that their use will secure an improvement,” they said.

The admission almost paves the way for even the most conscientious parents to risk it and ‘do a bunk’. Even factoring in the added cost of a £60 fine, holidays in term time would still be hundreds of pounds cheaper. However, our work commitments prevent us from doing that.

So, the UK it is.

With one decision made, there were still so many to ponder. Should our main holiday be for a week, or a fortnight? On our own, or with family? If ‘with family’ wins, will the other side of the clan feel put out that we haven’t offered to spend a holiday with them as well? That is certainly an option too, at another time, but...

After much discussion and web browsing we plumped for a big family reunion-style holiday to coincide with my eldest brother’s visit from New Zealand in summer. Wales won the vote on destination, and after much searching I finally found a hillside holiday home, overlooking the bay and beaches of Barmouth bay.

It might not be as exotic as The Bahamas, but it’s a fraction of the cost, without any luggage weight restrictions, and the good company will hopefully create memories to hold on to for a long time.