The Ultimate Guide to Kid Focussed Vacations

When planning a vacation, it is important that you go to great lengths to come up with a destination and vacation plan that suits everyone in the family. After all, most vacations are expensive, not just in terms of the financial outlay, but also when you look at the time it takes to organise the entire trip. If you don’t do this, you could end up wasting a lot of time and money on a trip nobody enjoys. So if you want to plan a fantastic vacation your kids will love, here are a few top ideas.

The Difference Between Kids and Adult Vacations

Kids and adults look for different things on a vacation. Adults generally want nice restaurants, bars and a fancy hotel whereas kids are likely to be happy anywhere as long as there is plenty of exciting things to do, and in the case of a hot country, a beach and/or a pool. Thankfully it is easy to combine the two, but you may need to spend more time looking for the right destination.

Theme Park Vacations

All kids, no matter what their age, love theme parks. To be fair a lot of adults love theme parks, too, so a theme park vacation is probably a win-win destination for all members of the family, with the possible exception of your elderly grandparents. The main disadvantage of a theme park vacation is that they can be prohibitively expensive. Trips to Disney World in Florida are the stuff dreams are made of, but if you plan a vacation there, the costs will soon rack up. A cheaper alternative is to go to a theme park a bit nearer to home and plan your vacation around a few days spent enjoying the attractions.

Christmas Winter Wonderland Trips

Everyone loves Christmas. The twinkling fibre optic Christmas trees, the food, the gifts, and the chance to spend quality time with friends and family. Christmas vacations are a wonderful idea for small kids who still believe in Santa Claus. There are lots of package tours to Lapland, which is the ultimate winter wonderland destination for kids. You can take the kids on a sleigh ride and let them meet Santa. They will have an amazing time and the whole family can enjoy some Christmas spirit.

Sun, Sea and Sand

For a cheap and cheerful vacation, plan a trip to a beach resort and let the kids soak up the sun for a week or two. Younger children will be happy virtually anywhere as long as there is a beach, but if you want some time off from being a parent, make sure you book somewhere with kids entertainment. Older kids are harder to please, but as long as you pick a resort with lots to do and see, they should be happy.

The best way to approach a family vacation is to take the view that if the kids are happy, then you will be too. Don’t make the mistake of going somewhere that is primarily aimed at adults because the kids will be bored silly and will end up making your life miserable.

Jenny Douglas is a writer. She has three children and last year she took them on a special trip to Lapland. The kids all love everything about Christmas, from the fibre optic Christmas trees in the stores to the pretty festive lights hanging from the neighbour’s house, so Jenny knew a trip to see Santa would be a wonderful surprise vacation.