Family Planned Trips

The Fun Starts Now
 

How many times have you looked back on a trip or vacation and thought, oh, yeah, that was a nightmare, when it had potential to be the best trip ever?

All you need is one afternoon in an amusement park to experience first hand how quickly an event can turn from fun to not fun. One would expect to see cranky and hot children crying, but look around carefully and you'll see much more than that. What you will see is upset surrounding expectations not being met.

When I took my children to an amusement park recently, I wasn't surprised to see families arguing before even getting into the park. I knew all about that kind of stress and had stopped myself from experiencing it just hours before.

In my house, the fun starts...now! Now, is how I like to begin these short, but high expectation trips. I mean it literally, though, from the time we begin breakfast, to packing the car and even our drive there (traffic or no traffic). I get excited about the snacks, the candy, the lunch and even the music on the radio. It's all part of the trip, because as I said, the fun starts now!

Do you ever wonder why even with the best intentions, the excitement of even the best planned trip wanes into upset? How even when you want the fun to begin, the emotions of the day seem to take family members down one by one?

Well, the next time you're about to head into the land of fun, ask yourself these questions:

1- Are your goals realistic?
2- Is the time you've planned to start your trip critical?
3- Are there any rigid timelines that could be more flexible?
4- Have you accounted for the things that could go wrong?
5- Have you created a Plan B, just in case you need it?

If you have answers to all of these questions, you will be more likely to create a fun outing and actually have it. Remember that the best family planned trips only account for events, not emotions involved and that you can't take emotions out of any trip, so be prepared.

By Lesley Geller