7 Ways to Have Fun Before the Family Vacation Starts

February 22nd, 2011 · No Comments

Got your Spring Break Family Vacation all planned? If so, what are you doing to build excitement BEFORE you go? My favorite part of a family vacation is building up the excitement about our trip with the kids. I know, as parents we’re busy before a big trip. We get so wrapped up in planning, packing, and last minute preparations that we forget that the fun can start now. Remember, enthusiasm is contagious. If you aren’t excited about an adventure, you can’t expect a child to be, so set aside a little time to make your vacation even more special this year.

Here are some easy ideas on how to have fun with the family before you even leave the house on your adventure.

Build Excitement:

1. Get the kids excited about the destination by reading books about where you are going or what you’ll see. Take the kids to the library and see what’s available. On our family trip to Boston, we knew we would see Paul Revere’s house so we wanted the kids to know about Paul before we got there, so we read John, Paul, George and Ben.

2. Watch a movie about your destination. Going skiing? Watch a Warren Miller ski film or Snowball Express with Dean Jones. Going to the beach? Watch an old Beach Blanket Bingo movie or Surf’s Up. Going to Washington DC? Watch Night at the Museum 2.

3. Visit the website of your resort or destination city. A lot of ski resorts have a kids section to their site with games and activities for kids. If you have teens, let them do some online research for the best places to eat and visit to get them more involved.

4. As a family, create a list of places or things you absoultely MUST do on the trip, WANT to do, and extra ideas if there’s time. That way you won’t miss anything.

5. Going someplace exotic? Cook a special meal that’s typical of where you are traveling.

6. Create a countdown calendar. X off the days or “sleeps” before the trip to build anticipation. The TomKatStudio.com has some very nice free printable calendar pages. Going to Disney? Create a Disney Character calendar.

6. Draw your route on a road map and let the kids color in the route.

What do you do to get the kids excited about a trip?