There is not very much that is more enjoyable in life than a fun summertime family vacation. But how do you decide where to go and what to do? Most families have only one week a year (worth of time and money) to enjoy a vacation and since the world is so big and there are so many amazing places to see and share with our children, how can we ever choose?
Personally, I love to involve my girl in just about everything we do as a family – from cleaning her baby sister’s room to picking out the wallpaper that will hang in her new big kid room and from selecting the annuals for her own garden to making the call on what’s for dinner. It is only natural then that I will allow her to play a role in the vacation planning – after all, it is her holiday as well.
There are many ways to get your kids involved in the planning. One easy and fun way is to have them think about what they would most like most to do on vacation (ski, lay on the beach, see a museum, etc) and ask them to draw a picture of what they see in their mind. Then, crack open the atlas or log on to Google Earth and chart your course to the area and/or place that can best accommodate your gang’s many wishes!
My brother and his wife recently decided to employ a different strategy for their upcoming Floridian getaway. This is an absolutely brilliant and super fun way to take your kids on a vacation, and also happens to be the exact opposite of my first idea. They packed the kid’s bags in secret and had them loaded into the car the night before they were planning to depart. They checked into a hotel near the airport (but not AT the airport) for the evening before their early morning flight on a whim (or so the kids thought) and then the next morning, my brother proposed that they head on over to the airport, you know, to watch planes take off and land – little did my eight-year old niece and six-year old nephew know that they would be the ones taking off on their way to Tampa/Sarasota for four nights of sun and fun!
I couldn’t even imagine how cool this would be for a youngster. To be swept away and taken down to the beach (or anywhere, really) and to Busch Gardens for a very long weekend. What a fun way to have your kids NOT help plan the family vacation!