Traveling during the holiday season has never been easier. You have to face traffic jams, cold winter weather, delayed flights, crowded airports, railway stations, and bus stations. Expenses increase and you also have to worry and care for your baby.
However, there are still many families who plan to enjoy the year-end vacation with a long trip. Because this is the best time to visit relatives, meet old friends or go on vacation with family in a sunny place. The secret to having a perfect vacation when traveling with children is to always be flexible and calm. Doing that is not easy, but if you follow the advice below correctly, you will definitely succeed and have a relaxing day with your family.
1. Prepare before going
Let this plan involve the whole family right from the beginning of preparation. Don’t wait until the last minute to let your kids know about your family vacation. If you involve children in the planning process and give them small tasks, it will make them feel important and appear more obedient.
You should also remember to put the child at the center of the trip. Telling them about the plan for the trip will help them feel safer knowing in advance what to expect every day. In addition, you need to warn children about situations that easily cause them to panic, such as security checks, or getting lost in airports, bus stations, etc.
Before, you should carefully arrange your schedule and time so that you will have a few days extra than planned. This will help you easily handle unexpected situations such as bad weather, sick children, flight delays, bus delays, etc.
Check the property in advance when you bring your children. If it’s a trip back to your hometown, you should ask your grandmother if there are any dangers for your baby? And do you have all the usual medicines? And is the food prepared? To save the best for your baby, you should be careful. In case you take your baby on vacation, ask the hotel in advance about equipment to ensure safety for children.
Pack items in plastic bags. You should clearly classify each outfit you plan to wear for your baby into different plastic bags. That will help you easily and quickly find what you need and keep dirty clothes in your suitcase without affecting other items until you return.
Bringing snacks is a good idea when traveling with family. Preparing food yourself will not only help you reduce costs but also ensure safety for the health of the whole family. Especially, if your baby doesn’t like the food on the plane or at a new destination, a few snacks will help him feel less hungry and stop nagging his parents. In addition, make sure your baby’s drinking water is clean, it’s best to bring bottled water.
2. While you are away
Pay attention to the time to help the whole family feel comfortable. Don’t calculate the schedule in too much detail, you should prepare a day so that everyone feels less tired and ready to participate in the activities.
When traveling or going away, your family will have a lot of activities compared to a normal day. Therefore, children become more tired and exhausted at the end of the day. Plan dinner around 5pm before the kids get too tired and fall asleep. And eating dinner early also helps you not waste time waiting for the food. Many restaurants even get discounts when you eat before 6pm.
Children should not be allowed to play too much. While traveling, many activities and games will attract children. The whole family tends to devote themselves to all the games that can be played. But instead of participating in small games, you should direct the whole family into big activities every day and create a detailed schedule to avoid downtime. Thanks to that, the children will not be exhausted when returning home after the trip, and parents will also be able to relax and feel comfortable.
For many people, traveling with children is often a nightmare that makes them just want to stay home during the holidays. However, if you know how to plan and follow the above tips, your whole family will surely have a happy and meaningful vacation with many memorable memories.
