Ah family holidays. You know the ones – you’ve seen them on Instagram; with sun-kissed parents and children who are all smiles on a sunny beach. An accurate representation of any holiday with kids. (Yeh right!)
Holidays with the kids can be so much fun, and some of the memories are absolutely priceless, but they also introduce a whole new level of Juggle Struggle. Here are my Juggle Struggle abroad tidbits for travel with little ones:
- Getting ‘a break’ is a bit of a myth
You book a holiday for a break from the norm, a rest from your to-do list and all your normal chores and routines. However, I’ve worked out that what actually happens is that the week before you’re due to go on holiday, your to-do list doubles with all the preparation you need to do. You may think you’re getting ‘a break’, but what you’re actually doing is condensing 2 weeks’ worth of to-dos into 1 week. Phew.
- You’ll get excited on the first day and buy a massive inflatable for the pool.
Your kids love it for five minutes and then you spend the rest of the week walking around it and tripping over it in your apartment. D’oh.
- You’ll have approximately 300 attempts at a nice family photograph throughout the holiday.
One of them might be quite nice.
- Water adds some more jeopardy to sibling rivalry.
Some sibling dust-ups can seem a bit brutal on land – fighting in the pool with the added risk of a little drowning is another level.
- Your toddler will get a random power surge.
This is almost guaranteed to be on your first night, when you’re completely knackered from travelling all day and would quite like to go to bed. They’ll have other ideas and have you chasing them endlessly round the kid’s disco.
- The kids disco songs will get stuck in your head
You’ll be singing them for days. You’ll probably think you look cool doing it. (That’s the sangria thinking for you.)
- You’ll learn new juggling skills
When you try to make it back from the pool bar to your sunbeds in one trip with 3 beers, a pina colada, a packet of crisps and a cornetto.
- One of your kids will probably throw up
If you’re lucky you’ll have a kitchenette in your apartment so you can grab a saucepan for them to vom in, while you apologise in your head to the next people who stay in the apartment and hope they don’t use it for actual cooking.
- Never use the saucepans in an apartment kitchenette.
(See above)
- Five minutes in a play area is never five minutes in a play area
While you’re waiting for the coach transfer, know that the five minutes you let your kids play in the play area to keep them busy is another five minutes of opportunity for them to fall over and hurt themselves just as you’re about to leave. (Of course.)
- Grandparent backup is a great idea.
If you’re on holiday without Grandparents present, you’ll look around at other parents who have brought Grandparents and think “Why didn’t we do that?!”. Invite them for next year!
- The passport control queue at Stansted airport on a Saturday afternoon is hell on Earth
It will take you over an hour to reach the end, and each of you will take turns losing the plot. May the patience of a thousand saints be with you.
You’ll also come back with:
- A new appreciation for a good cup of tea
- Hilarious family inside jokes that nobody else would really understand
- A sense of pride in providing your kids with happy memories
Have you got other tips for the Juggle Struggle of family trips abroad? Drop a comment and let me know!
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