Surviving travel with the whole family…

Have you toyed with the idea of bringing your parents along as a built in babysitter? Wondered how everyone would survive a week without personal space? You wouldn’t be the first or the last. Traveling with our parents, our children and sometimes our siblings and their crew is the new trend. This can create lasting memories for us and our children if done well. The trick is finding the balance between just enough time together and please get me out of here!!!

Whether it is your family, your spouse’s or both it can be stressful or so much fun. We have tried at different times with both of our families. For us, we have learned to think through all of the what if’s. It may seem a little silly to plan for something that may never happen, but it never fails, if we don’t ,it does. Here are a few tips that have served us well by either planning in advance or by failing to do so and suffering a consequence that leads to family fodder for years.

1. Know your time limitations. Even in the best of situations a break is good. Take a time out for yourself. Talk a walk, ride to the grocery store or perhaps an extra long shower. Mental health moments are good for everyone and are also an opportunity to remember this is supposed to be fun.

2. Don’t overcrowd yourself. We have four children and never enough room, we barely fit in one car. It is a wonderful excuse to always need our own room. Bedtime conflicts, personal space or the need for more bathrooms are great excuses not to feel the need to cram it all in one room. We will often create the expectation that we don’t want our family dynamics to crowd anyone else. That lessons the sound of “we don’t want to room with you”. More importantly, you can turn what could be an amazing adventure into a miserable experience for everyone. Adjoining rooms or a two bedroom villa are nice options.

3. Do plan a few treats for you and your spouse or your parents. Send them to dinner one night alone as a treat or ask them to watch the kids while you and your husband have date night. If you want to take your parents to dinner, many resorts do offer a babysitting service for the evening or use the children’s center if your resort offers such an amenity.

There are many ways to really enjoy your time together. My husband’s parents are soon celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. We knew that what his parents really wanted was time with their children and grandchildren. The best solution for us that would allow everyone their own space and time schedule was a Disney cruise. Everyone can be together as much or as little as we each desired. We would like to try and have dinner together as a big family every evening but it takes all the pressure off too much together time and conflicting schedules. The ages of the grandchildren range from 3 to 13 so Disney was a fun option for us. It will allow the grandparents to watch the excitement of the grandchildren but when they have had enough, they can do something else. We are very hopeful that both ends of the spectrum will have a very memorable vacation.

If you have any travel needs, I am happy to help you plan your next adventure!

Wendy Hershey
Trees N Trees Travel
Wendy.tnttravel@gmail.com
704-340-3533

Any great travel trips, please feel free to share.