23 Swindon Way
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada
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Tranquil Family Vacation Tips

By Blair Kaplan

It's that time of year again where our cars are plugged in, our goose bumps are raised high and we daydream about tropical and warm destinations. For some families, you have your vacation routine figured out perfectly and for some families no matter how hard you try to plan the vacation it becomes chaotic. Chaos is perfectly fine but vacations should be stress free. I've done a lot of vacationing in my years, both alone and multi-family destination trips, but follow these tips to help leave vacation stress behind.

Organized Travel: Sometimes the most stressful part of going on vacation is making sure that you make your flight (and your connections). Last winter 11 of us (2 families and 2 extra friends) all had to get from Winnipeg to Florida for a weeklong cruise. Not only was there a blizzard and our flights were cancelled, but we weren't all travelling together to begin with. Due to the silly blizzard it took me, mom and sister four flights and a long shuttle ride to get to where we needed to be. The others took a total of 3 different routes to arrive.

Without my mother and neighbor, and their A-type personalities and over-organization we would have never made it there. They each had all of the travel itineraries printed out (a few times), developed a great relationship with their travel agent (who helped us get on new flights) and stayed glued to weather reports. By being organized, 11 of us managed to set sail around the Caribbean for 7 days.

Budget: Doesn't it always seem more rational to shop on vacation? Shopping is even easier when you find those "things" that you can't get back home. What is not fun is running out of money on your vacation. A good tip to help you spend less money shopping on vacation is to ask yourself "do I really need this?" I know, we all need the touristy shirts and mugs but we don't all need a giraffe shaped lamp that does not fit with any of your home dècor. It is also great to try and buy items for the whole family to use instead of a lot of little trinkets- that way you are buying less and practicing the value of sharing.

Alone Time: If you are going to a resort or on a cruise, and you have young children, try and book something that has programming for children (a kids club, pool activities, etc.). Your children can spend a few hours, half or full days participating in fantastic activities and meeting new friends, which leaves you some much needed adult time. You may want to invite your kid's friends along with you on vacation so they can play with each other while you relax. It is great to spend time with the whole family, but we all know how important alone and "grownup" time is.

After you read these tips and eagerly book your winter vacation to somewhere in the sun I want you to remember one last thing: Chaos might happen on vacation and can explode at any time but just stop, look around, breath and remember that you are on vacation and life ain't so bad.