Got back on Friday night and am now back down to earth in unsunny North Yorkshire. We had a lovely week, so I thought I'd share with you a few tips that made our annual family holiday work.
- Consider going away with your parents or another family. This might be utter torture. Or it might spread the load and give you a break. You don't have to spend every minute together.
- Limit your journey time. We found that two and a half hours in the car is long enough for any of us, even with a break. So, just don't go very far. Bet you can find somewhere great within a three hour radius. If your kids still have naps, fit the journey around them.
- Stay on the ground. Ash. Strikes. Stay in Britain.
- Bring new story CDs and compilations in the car, as well as some of the old favourites. Roald Dahl's stories are popular with our two, as are My Naughty Little Sister by Dorothy Edwards (shown above).
- Plan the food in advance if you are self-catering. This avoids the usual nightmare of trying to work out what to eat every day of your holiday, especially if your parents don't eat rice or pasta and your kids don't really like Meat and Two Veg. It also makes packing and shopping easier.
- Remember to sort out Ebay selling/buying and any other internet/ email commitments before you go, whilst not announcing to all and sundry that your house will be unoccupied for a particular period.
- Research your destination before you get there so you know where the supermarkets are, and the nearest leisure centre. Find out what's showing at the nearest cinema or theatre; there might be soemthing on for families. It's good to get the chance to go swimming at a local pool even if the sea is baltic, and there might be special family splash times. Have some plans up your sleeve in advance, for bad weather, rather than trudging about looking for places to go in the rain.
- Take back-up medication, such as spare inhaler or Prozac (if you are me) and keep it separate from everything else.
- Keep to the routines you normally do, if that helps you. I find the kids are less settled if mealtimes and bathtimes go out of the window, so I carry on with the usual bedtime routine. Yes, no lie-ins, even on holiday, but we are used to that. If your kids share a room on holiday and don't normally, just accept that they will talk and mess about for a couple of hours. It isn't worth going in and moaning at them to go to sleep, unless they are upsetting each other. They'll catch up on sleep in the end.
- Book yourself a treat; it's your holiday too. I had a rebalancing facial on my holiday at the Ocean Club in Seahouses- felt like I came home with a new face (in a good way!) - make sure everyone gets a chance to do something they like.
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