The toughest thing about going on any vacation is that the family is pulled in a number of different directions. One child wants to do one thing, but your partner feels they need to tick off something from their bucket list, so if everyone was going on a nice relaxing vacation with very little on the itinerary it would make life easier, wouldn’t it? The fact is that vacations come around only once a year (or even fewer than that depending on your earnings), therefore, you want to get in as much as possible. What does it take to ensure that everybody is on the vacation of a lifetime?
Do Enough Prepping
Of course, we need to prepare, but we have to recognize that there can be such a thing as doing too much preparation. When it comes to finding hotels or restaurants, this will make life a lot easier based on where you are going. But you also need to look for kid-friendly activities that everybody will be happy with. For example, of the many things to do in upstate New York, you and the family can zipline on one of the fastest and longest zipline canopy tours in the US, which will undoubtedly create so many wonderful memories.
When you are doing the preparations, you've got to make sure that you're not overstuffing the calendar, but also ensure you don't do all of the preparation by yourself. It's important to let everybody in your family have a say. The best thing you can do is to let each child pick out an activity for the family to do together, which makes you all feel like a team, and this means that you will naturally build in that sense of compromise, especially if you've got two siblings that you are hoping don't argue throughout the entire vacation!
Think About Your Values
It's something that we don't always consider because we just want to head on a vacation and relax or hit the beach, but you need to give some consideration as to whether it will line up with what you envision. Many parents feel that it's a perfect opportunity for the family to come closer together, but this doesn't always work in the way you want. A good vacation can potentially change your family's lives and is a wonderful way for you to become closer together, especially when you plan certain activities that the whole family can do.
The biggest dread most of us have is spending a lot more time with each other can bring a lot more tension to the surface, but think about what everybody would benefit from when you go on vacation. Look at the things that are important to every single one of you and choose the appropriate activities, while also giving enough breathing space for you to spend quality time together and not feel like you are bound by an itinerary.
Be Age-Appropriate
Another major mistake parents make is thinking that they need to cram a lot in because they've spent a lot of money on it. But if you've got kids that are under the age of three or they get tired legs pretty quickly, it can make for a very miserable experience for everyone. Plan your trips based on the average age of your children, as well as your stamina.
You might think that your child will have the vacation of a lifetime if you get to one of the big theme parks like Disneyland, but if they're not old enough to truly appreciate everything it's just a very expensive photo opportunity! Instead, make sure that you don't push your children to enjoy things until they're actually ready!
Think About the Subtle Ways to Educate Your Child
You don't need to hit museums, but instead, you can expose your children to the wonders of the world by doing other things. There are so many subtle ways to educate your children, for example, by giving them some learning materials in the car, but also taking them to places like the zoo that stimulate deeper conversations than what you're normally used to.
A vacation is the ideal time to get your children to ask more questions. When we start to educate our children and naturally nurture their inquisitive nature, this can hopefully create a far more eventful vacation but also start your children on a whole new path.
It is tough to try and put everything possible into your vacation, but there are many ways that you can have the experience of a lifetime.