Nowadays, it looks like having a busy life is a norm, especially if you have kids and you raise a family. You often juggle multiple responsibilities for your work, household chores, and other personal commitments. And so, the thought of taking a break seems like a faraway dream. But despite your hectic schedule, you need to remember that taking a break is necessary. Otherwise, you might end up drowning yourself with stress and other overwhelming emotions that life throws at you.
One way you can take a break and reconnect with your family is by planning a weekend getaway. This short but sweet adventure can be anything: going to the beach, camping in the mountains, or having a road trip. As exciting as these may be, a family weekend getaway can also be challenging as you’ll never know if the journey will be memorable or will only cause more stress. Thankfully, thorough planning can significantly help achieve a hassle-free trip.
Check out these tips for a stress-free, relaxing, and memorable weekend getaway:
1. Plan Together
If you’re travelling with kids, remember to include them in the planning. This doesn’t mean they’ll be in charge of the decisions. Instead, you can ask them for ideas or opinions and see if going on a countryside or city tour sound appealing to them or if they prefer relaxing on a beach. The last thing you need is handling kids throwing tantrums because they find the weather too hot or find the place too crowded.
Another essential thing to include in the planning is your itinerary and schedule. These will be your basis in planning the rest of the trip like what things to pack and what food to bring. You can also be as detailed as you can such as planning the stores to visit when shopping for your food or souvenirs. For instance, if you want to know which souvenir shops or stores are best for your getaway budget, you can refer to I Like Sales and other similar websites to help you.
2. Set A Travel Budget
Nothing more can ruin a weekend getaway than finding out that you’re running out of money in the middle of the trip. To avoid this from happening, plan your travel budget ahead of time. List down all the possible expenses you may incur for the trip such as lodging, ground transportation, gasoline, flights, entrance fees, food expenses, entertainment, and so on.
Aside from thorough budget planning, make sure to also set aside a budget for unexpected expenses. This way, you won’t feel a spike of stress whenever certain situations demand some unexpected costs. After all, you wouldn’t want to scrimp during the entire trip, so you might as well free up some of your extra funds.
3. Consider Everyone’s Conditions
If you’re on a weekend getaway alone, planning may be a bit easier as you’ll only need to plan and prepare for your own needs. But if you’re travelling with your family, you need to consider everyone’s needs. If you’re with your kids, keep in mind that they’ll still crave a routine or a familiar pattern despite being on a trip.
For instance, if they’re used to having snacks every afternoon, make sure to keep up with their snack time. If they’re used to going to bed by 8 in the evening, then strive to tuck them into your hotel bed by that time, or they may throw tantrums in public places.
4. Prepare The Basic Needs
While it’s more exciting to plan travel activities and destinations, don’t forget to plan and prepare for the basic needs. These include water, food, snacks, and nap, especially for kids. Between the trips and sightseeing, make sure you allow a short downtime for everyone to recharge themselves.
5. Sort Important Documents
If you’re planning to fly to different states for the weekend, remember to sort all the travel documents needed for the trip. This may include your visas, passports, insurances, flight tickets, train or bus tickets, and other vital papers. Don’t forget to review the validity of your travel documents to ensure you don’t have any problems before boarding any transportation.
6. Come Up With Safety Rules
The biggest worry that most parents feel about family getaways is the safety and security of their children during the trip. To lessen your fear and anxiety about bringing your kids on your weekend getaway, it’s ideal if you come up with safety rules for everyone to hear and follow. For instance, you can equip your kids with your calling cards in their bags and instruct them to give this card to the hotel receptionist or a travel destination manager if they got lost or separated in the group.
You can also come up with a meeting place at every destination in case one of you gets lost. Most importantly, always remind them never to accept anything from strangers and never go with someone unless you or your spouse accompanies them.
Takeaway
Once you’ve gone through these tips, it’s time to enjoy, feel excited, and stop sweating the small stuff. Remember that this weekend getaway is about fun, bonding, and relaxation, so make sure you’re making the most out of it.
