Today is our second last day in office before heading out on HOLIDAY! Hooray!
Our holiday plans are always pretty chilled. We’re not about to fly all five of us anywhere anytime soon (because money still doesn’t grow on trees – science is totally failing us on that one). So our family holidays are basically synonymous with chilling at home or if we are going somewhere for a weekend, an epic road trip.
This post is brought to you by Wimpy, our fave road trip stop
In fact just thinking about the holidays has me excited for our upcoming trip to Frog Mountain next week. There’s something magical about getting away from the normal routine of life and chilling with friends in a totally different space.
Planning on leaving early in the morning on our road trip, but always leaving 2 hours after we wanted to. Early morning coffee chats or sleeping in because the kids are entertaining each other without us. Big fry up breakfasts. Long walks in the forest or down to the dam. Wet hair and sunscreen. Screams from being splashed with cold water. Eating sweet watermelon with the juice running down your arms. Braai smoke filling the air with the sound of children giggling in the background. Tired children bundled in the car with snacks on the road trip back home again. All of these things are holiday to me.
But before you can get to any great holiday you have to endure the inevitable road trip to get there. Just knowing we’re going on holiday means that I am already preparing myself to be locked in the car for 3 or 4 hours with children that repetitively ask when we’ll get there. Or desperately need to go to the loo even though we went 10 minutes ago. (How they can wait for an entire movie at home but in the car can’t go more than 10 minutes will forever boggle my mind!)
Our family has been fortunate enough to have been on many a long road trip, and in that time we have come up with some great ways to make it a fun time.
How to make the best of your family road trip:
- The MOST IMPORTANT part of any road trip is to have good music! In fact I’d go so far as to buy a special CD specifically for that trip and it will forever remind you of that fun time. Our go to faves are anything Michael Jackson, Sam Smith (the old one), ALL of Kings Of Leon and Lorde. An eclectic mix, but it works. Plus seeing the kids singing ‘I’m Bad” at the top of their voices is just precious!
- Plan your food stop! I don’t often plan far in advance enough to bring along adequate padkos but we DO always plan to stop off at one of the roadside petrol stations and get our Wimpy on. In fact I’d go so far as to say that we plan around that stop. We need that stop. Do you know why this is an important stop? Because eating there is the official holiday signal. Time to let that your hair down and relax!
- Pack toys for the kids! Although we encourage our kids to just be bored, we aren’t complete monsters. So we let them bring a few of their fave toys and colour in books. This keeps them busy when they need a bit of “alone time” in a space that doesn’t give them any of that at all.
- Don’t forget the sunglasses! The most frequent and annoying complaint that I get from the kids is that the sun is in their eyes. And there ain’t nothing I can do about it unless I’ve remembered to pack in their sunglasses. So these are a total must.
- Remember that you’re on holiday! Just chill. Don’t rush and freak out at the kids (easier said than done I know). But seriously, it’s all good, you’ll get there eventually and if you’ve been chill about it, then everyone will be in a good mood instead of a bad one. Which is ideal when you arrive in a new space. You don’t want your new neighbours already plotting how they are going to get rid of you haha.
And that’s it! Enjoy your time away from the hustle and bustle!
If you’re wanting to win an awesome family getaway, then visit the WIMPY FACEBOOK PAGE and let Momo know about the summer activities that you and your family enjoy. You could WIN 1 OF 2 FAMILY HOLIDAYS! How great is that?
4 comments
I know your kids are all older now but when they were younger, how did you keep them in their carseats? That for me is the main problem although now the kids are older so it shouldn’t be a problem for us this trip!
We just let them scream to be honest. They knew it was not an option to get out. In fact if they put their arms out of the seat belt we’d even stop the car! We were a bit hectic but it was not something they could even discuss.
I have read that having a small tote with some simple snacks is a good idea. You could include snakcs like Goldfish, Cheez-its, Ritz crackers and more.
Great tips, thanks!!