A great way to spend time with your kids is to plan your family vacation together
Plan Your Family Vacation Together:
I love to go on vacation! I love road trips, adventure, and seeing new things – I even enjoy driving. I love all things related to travel, but one of my favorite parts is the details and planning before we leave. We didn’t travel much when I was growing up, so I lacked the skills necessary for healthy travel. I was fortunate enough as I began to travel to meet someone who helped me along the way, teaching me a great deal. You may or may not enjoy all the preparation that goes into vacation planning, but this will be a valuable life skill to teach your child. After you – or the family – have picked your family vacation destination, begin working with your children on all the details of the trip. Some of the details you can work together on, while some you can assign for them to do on their own. Their age and maturity play a big part in their role, but you can do this date with a child at almost any age. They will love being involved and helping you!
Some things you can involve them in:
Choosing the destination
Shopping around for and picking the best prices for your flights, car rental, and hotel
If driving, researching the best – or most memorable – route to get to your destination
Travel points: how they work and determine if they’re valuable for your trip
Deciding what activities to do by researching reviews and online feedback from others
Talking to friends and family who have been on similar vacations to get their input
Creating a budget for the vacation and allocating an amount to each area of the trip
Researching places to eat, both on the road and at your destination
Finding creative ways to capture the memories once you get home, such as scrapbooks, videos, travel journals, etc.
WMTDS (What Makes This Date Special):
Family vacations are unique in their own right. If you had them growing up, I’m sure they’re the setting of some of your favorite childhood memories. When you involve your children in planning your vacation, you teach them invaluable skills while also making them feel like an intricate part of the family in that they helped plan what your family is doing. When they look back on that vacation, they will also remember their role in planning it. It gives them a sense of pride and responsibility rather than merely going on vacation as a participant.
Teachable Moments:
Travel planning and skills
Money savings opportunities and budgeting
Developing travel skills will benefit your children for the rest of their lives, saving them money and often allowing for the best travel experiences they can have. I have found, as with so many things in life, that the more work I put into planning beforehand, the better travel experiences I have.
Variations:
If your children are old enough, you can have them plan out the majority of the trip. They may even plan the entire trip with only your minimal supervision and input. You can also have them take a category or a day to plan on their own. You may decide to do this date in one day, or you can break it up. The planning can begin on your date and continue over several days or weeks – whatever works best for you and your family.
Expense:
This is a free date! You can pick up some Chinese takeout as you plan, but otherwise, you can do this date at no cost.
A great way to spend time with your kids is to plan your family vacation together
Planning:
The only advanced planning needed is whatever you want it to be. You can go into the date with no prior preparation, or you can have planned specific details leading up to it.
Reference Websites:
How to plan a family vacation step by step
8 Tips for planning memorable vacations on a budget
Amazon Resources:
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Alternatives:
#1 Things to see and do (Bucket List)
#2 Pretend to play tourist in your town
For a list of other ideas on how to spend one-on-one time with your child, see the full list here.
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