Settling In On Vacation -Creating the best Family Vacation - Part III
Last time we talked about all things Know Before You Go; choosing your location and its proximity to your activities, what amenities are available and deemed “must haves” and getting the best deals. Then we talked about the pre-vacay sprint to get everything done and ready to leave and come home. Today, let’s dive into making your stay the very best!
I said it in my first blog about vacation planning and I’ll say it again here, we want to create a magical vacation experience. We don’t want to endure the same stressors of everyday life just in a new location. This applies to getting settled and organized. When you have weathered your travel day or days and are finally checked in, to what I hope is the most perfectly suited spot for your family, it’s a strategic decision to get settled.
What do I mean to get settled in? I don’t mean throw everything down and lie face first on the bed hoping that TSA or the trunk of the car hasn’t shuffled everything around so terribly that you can’t find anything in your own suitcase. It’s a little more work on an already tired body but well worth it for every day after this one.
Unpack! If you’re going to be at your spot for more than a couple days, unpack. Hang up your clothes, use the drawers and other spaces to settle in. This will be your home, your base, your respite from the outside world while you’re traveling. Vacation is exciting and a lot of times we get overstimulated. By the time we get back to our hotel room we are tired, hot, hungry and overwhelmed with all the emotions of a fun day of vacation. Let’s be real too, some days are hard, especially if you are mom or dad to littles. Their schedules are changed, their environment is different and what appears to be meltdown after meltdown some days is not an out cry of a bad vacation, it’s too much stimulation and not enough consistency.
Unpacking allows you and your family to get organized, create a new consistent routine and allows for the moments of overstimulation on everyone’s part to not derail the fun over finding jammies or some Tylenol. It makes the mornings easier and also identifies if anything important has been left behind. Share out the drawers and hanging space amongst the family. I tend to pack in outfits. If you don’t do this you can no easily put together outfits in your kid’s drawers so getting ready will be a breeze. If anything needs ironing get ahead of it now. Designate a shoe spot for everyone to line up their little grubby shoes that you don’t want all over the sheets. Plus, it’ll save you from tripping over them if they’re kicked off and peeking out from under beds, chairs or other precarious locations when you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Meds & First Aid -Decide on a spot to house all the medicine for the family. Whether it's just a simple first aid bag or you have some serious medicine takers in your family, put it all in one spot. I have a hanging makeup bag that we use as a hanging medicine/first aide bag. It houses everyone’s daily vitamin organizers plus tylenol and ibuprofen, allergy meds, eye drops, bandages, neosporin… you get it, all the necessary things in one location. It cuts down confusion and in a crisis you know exactly where to go. (I also recommend having a small first aid kit to keep with.)
In the same vein I also have found that setting the bathroom up is helpful as well. Get your toothbrushes out, your hair accessories, special soaps and lotions, make-up, anything you need when you get ready in the morning. Get it all laid out. You’ll be faster, which is great especially when you’re sharing a bathroom with your family. Plus, again it will also identify anything you’ve forgotten or if there were spills… anything that might need to be replaced for the remainder of your trip is identified early and you can make a plan to get that done.
Our family gets a little crazy, we even set up a wake up order for each morning. When there’s six people sharing a mirror or two you have to make a plan, especially if you have deadlines to be somewhere. We start with the slowest of our tribe and cycle through from there. I will say having everything prepped and ready in the bathrooms, outfits gathered and shoes collected to one location makes even our slowest morning mover much faster. Part of the increase in speed is the elimination of distraction, decision making and the pressure knowing others are waiting.
Beyond the physical location of where you’ll be sleeping and getting ready, my last big tip is checking in with the front desk of your hotel/resort and getting any materials they have on the location. Some places have a map of property, menus if there is onsite food, times for special activities etc… Often you can find brochures in the lobby about other local events or attractions and I highly suggest grabbing the ones you are planning to see and maybe a few that just pique your interest. Often in our digital world the TV has a channel that houses this information as well. As you’re prepping your new space turn on the info channel and soak in what’s available.
The night before system is also a game changer and so easy to implement when you’re on vacation. Everyone before bed takes a couple mins and makes sure they have all the things they left with that morning. Then make sure every knows what the plan is for tomorrow, choose their clothes and even get as far as breakfast options. The fewer things you have to decide on in a hurry the better for everyone. Especially if one person always feels like they’re begging everyone to get ready, listen, make a choice, etc… This is a vacation for everyone, make it so. One more thing for the night before system is spending a few mins or more talking about everyone’s favorite activity of the day, favorite meal, favorite moment and more… Expressing gratitude in the moment and really stopping to reflect on the fun allows everyone to remember what a blessing it is to be able to take a vacation and enjoy each other’s company along the way.
At the end of the day, literally and figuratively, you’ll have made everything easier and more enjoyable for yourself, your spouse, your kids so much easier by putting systems in place. It reduces the stress for everyone which in turn reduces the chaos so you can really focus on the fun of being on vacation.
