Getting the most from your family holiday

Whether it is a beach break to Bali or a tent trip to Tobermory, planning the family holiday has become a yearly ritual and challenging goal for many families.

Planning often takes months, and parting with your hard-earned savings - to ensure that all family members have a great time - is not to be taken lightly. Making the most of the time spent together is paramount, regardless of where you may be going.

When choosing your holiday, be sure to involve the whole family. Decide on the destination and holiday type together and ensure that all family members feel included in the choices. Encouraging younger members of the family to research where you are going or what you may be doing will help to build up pre-holiday excitement and also give children a connection to their holiday destination.

Travelling with younger children can be stressful, so try to keep packing to a minimum; juggling bags, cases, buggies and tetchy two-year-olds may not be the tranquil start to the holiday that you had first envisaged! Make sure favourite toys, special blankets or any kind of comforter take top priority whilst packing and keep track of them at all times... an inconsolable child without their favourite comforter does not a happy holiday make.

Where possible, try to keep your schedule flexible, as planning a military-like operation with regards to outings and activities will inevitably cause friction at some point. Of course, routines with young children are invaluable within the rigour of day-to-day family life; however, children will enjoy and look forward to the unrestrained freedom they experience when routines are relaxed on holiday. Often the most unplanned and unscheduled activity will become the most memorable of your trip.

Kids' clubs are becoming increasingly popular within many holiday destinations and whilst it may be tempting to sign the children up and ship them into the nearest club as quickly as possible, it is important to get the balance right. Spending quality time as a family, creating memories for the future, will be fondly recalled by all in later years.

Coming to the end of your holiday, it can be all too easy to get bogged down with packing and organising for the journey home. Although it is a necessity, it can also be quite boring for other members of the family. Having some fun activities to complete on your last day will end the holiday on a high note and make it extremely memorable when looking back.

Whichever holiday you choose for your family, be realistic in your expectations. When you are travelling in a larger group it may not always be possible to keep everyone happy all of the time. This applies whether you are backpacking in the USA or considering one of the many cottage holidays UK travel specialists have on offer. The most important aspect is spending time together as a family, enjoying new experiences and looking forward to planning many more in the future.

Photo credit: Horton Group

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