How to Plan a Successful Family Vacation
With a little planning, you can have the family vacation of a lifetime and live to tell the tale.
This post is sponsored by Alamo Rent A Car. All opinions are my own.
It may be winter but I am longing for warm sunny days. When I am just about over the winter weather, I start thinking and planning our summer family vacations. But that can be a little tricky for us, between our busy baseball seasons and schedules, it can be a little difficult. At times, it can be a daunting task but in the end it’s so worth it!
By starting our planning now, I know that our vacation will be stress-free (well, as stress-free as it can with 2 kids) and enjoyable! Here’s how I plan a successful family vacation!
How to Plan a Successful Family Vacation
Get the family involved! This is my number way to make sure everything goes smoothly! By having the entire family involved, I take all the pressure off of myself to get it all done! Everyone wants a trip to remember, and by getting input from each family member as to what they enjoy, what they’d like to do and where they’d like to go, it can be successfully planned.
Once you’ve got your plan mapped out, keep your kids involved by putting them in charge of at least one aspect of the trip. They may be good with landmarks and direction. If that’s the case, have them be your navigator. Maybe they love to take pictures and would love to be the official vacation photographer. You’ll feel less overwhelmed by everything that needs to be covered during the trip, and they’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment in tackling their assigned project.
Start saving! To help lessen the burden of paying for your vacation all at once, start saving now! Whether you are saving to pay for flights or souvenirs, add to your savings a little bit of time. DIY Travel Savings Bank For the Family is a fun way to get the entire family to help with saving! Everyone can throw in their spare change and dollars. You’d be surprised at how fast it all adds up!
Now that you are saving up your pennies, set a budget! It’s highly unlikely that your time or monetary budget will allow you to do every single thing that everyone wants to do on the trip. Work together to narrow the list, and place those things that everyone would like to do toward the top. Research admission pricing, parking fees, and don’t forget about food and drinks! It all adds up quickly. If you do a little planning beforehand, you can plan out how you are going to spend your money.
Set your master to-do list! Figure out what clothes need to be packed, which neighbor or friend is going to check your mail and water your houseplants, and what bills need to be paid prior to your leaving. Put your children in charge of figuring out things like how much dog food you need to bring along for a vacation that will last for ten days, and make them responsible for locating their swim trunks, travel games, favorite books and music CDs.
Need more helping planning your ultimate family vacation? Alamo has got you covered! Visit their Scenic Route page for more helpful hints to make your next vacation a successful one!
