6 Tips For Perfect Family Holidays

Everyone has stories of family holidays that were less-than-perfect. Still, the reality is that you can have a holiday that the whole family enjoys and looks forward to doing it all over again—wondering how to do it? 

Here are six tips for having perfect family holidays:

Build the Anticipation

Looking forward to the holiday is part of the fun of going on one, so while you count down the days, ensure that the children are equally excited. Show them pictures of where you will be staying and talk about the journey, when you will be leaving and arriving and, once there, what everybody would most like to do and read up on the activities on offer nearby.

You may be looking forward to nothing more than stretching out on a beach. Still, you can be sure that young children will love the idea of being active, so it can be a good idea to talk beforehand about what everybody wants out of their holiday and reach an amicable compromise to avoid whiny children and shattered parents.

Be on Holiday Mood Immediately You Walk Out Your Front Door

Once you leave your home, make a real effort to be mentally on holiday and leave all your pre-holiday organizational stress behind. Rather than wishing away the journey, it is possible to train yourself to relax and enjoy your trip with a bit of mental effort.

The older and more adaptable your children grow, that becomes a lot easier, but plan with pit stops, non-messy snacks, and entertainment. At the risk of sounding smug, altering your mindset means relaxing and enjoying the minor mishaps and calamities that will inevitably happen after going on holiday as a family.

Children Love the Familiar

Exotic beaches might be what you are dreaming of, but children can have just as great a holiday without dealing with the hassle of time differences and long-haul flights. 

Children also like looking forward to the expected but slightly different each year; book a break at My Hotel Break Durham – whether it is grabbing bedrooms in the self-catering cottage that you have stayed at ever since they were toddlers or pulling into view of their grandparents’ house.

Spend Time Together to Give Your Children New Experiences

You don’t need to spend a fortune to do this. Take camping, for instance. While the thought of spending the night on a blow-up mattress with communal showers might not be one that you relish, 1 or 2 nights still counts, and children love the entire camping experience, from toasting marshmallows over the fire to banging the tent pegs in and even cuddling up to tell ghost stories.

Staying on a working farm can be another amazing solution, especially if you are an urban family, and give yourselves and your children the chance to relax and get back in touch with nature. Besides the obvious attraction of being up close to the animals and feeding lambs, seeing cows mixed, and hunting for eggs for breakfast, many farm stays boast adventure playgrounds, games rooms, and swimming pools.

Studies reveal that new and fun experiences help to improve children’s attention, concentration, and mental and physical health. It can also be good to take many pictures to refresh your memories of the happy holiday times before winter creeping up.

Consider Holidaying with Other Families

If you have long-term friends who have children that get on with yours or are new mum-mates with, importantly, similar attitudes when it comes to raising children, then it can be well worth it to consider joining forces for a holiday.

The benefits are massive – more late-night entertainment for you, more playmates for the children, dull self-catering becomes more companionable and less onerous if you take turns cooking and cleaning up, and it is usually much cheaper to share food and accommodation costs. In addition, you don’t need to be one big mass the entire time and can also go on family-only adventures from your base.

All of You Should Unplug

Having fun together, building a bank of happy memories, and nurturing relationships with chats, laughter, and shared experiences is the point of a family holiday so that you can all arrive home relaxed and recharged. However, that will be much trickier to do if one or all of you are glued to your phones, constantly checking updates.

Try ditching your phones during the day and spending time with one another. Simple holiday pleasures such as playing cards, monopoly, poker, and other games after a day outdoors are the glue that strengthens your bond as a family.