Our family loves to travel. We love to visit new places, meet new people, and share new experiences together. We’ve learned a lot of “dos and don’ts” for family vacations along the way, but one thing we had not thought about doing before was to have a vision for our trips.
Typically, we have a general idea of the itinerary, and go on our merry way hoping for the best. Most of the time that works just fine, and we have a great time together. But there have been times where it would have been helpful to discuss expectations ahead of time, so that we could all be on the same page, and avoid potential conflict while on vacation.
This year, we had a family meeting to discuss different ideas, expectations, and potential obstacles that would keep us from having the best time before we set out for our family vacation. We all came prepared to our family meeting ready to share our answers to the following questions:
- What’s a must do activity or place to visit for you?
- What do you hope to get out of this trip?
- What would make this trip meaningful to you?
- What potential obstacles can get in the way of having a great time?
- What can we do to overcome said obstacles?
It was so fun to dream about our trip together, discuss our expectations, and decide on ways to compromise when our expectations did not match. For example, my husband is like the energizer bunny and he can just go, go, go all day, and he loves to start the day early. However, our two teens would prefer to sleep-in a little because after all, we are on vacation! But we also don’t want to sleep the day away, so we agreed on a reasonable time to start our day that made everyone happy.
Another thing that was brought up was my photography obsession when we are on vacation. What can I say? Guilty as charged! So my kids agreed to cooperate for photos when we are around significant landmarks or monuments (which in fact they want pictures of), and I agreed to ease-up on the photo extravaganza every time I see different photo opportunities that just appeal to me. As for a request for my teens, they agreed to not be on their phones when we’re out and about.
In our family meeting we were able to discuss three areas of potential conflict and come up with a solution that we could all agree with. Should any of these things come up, we can go back to what we all agreed on. All of that pretty much covered questions 4 and 5. Of course discussing questions 1-3 was the most fun! And we came up with some really good plans to make this family vacation extra special. Among them, a date with my husband one night, tea-time with my daughter, a walk with my son, meeting up one day with a friend I haven’t seen in 20 years, and visiting with dear family friends for a few days, among other things.
Even if your family doesn’t travel much, you can still have a vision for your summer to make special memories with your family. The key thing is intentionality. Have a wonderful summer!
Your turn!
- What is one of your most memorable family vacations?
- What made it so special?
- What are some typical issues that come up when you travel as a family?
- What are some potential solutions to prevent those issues?
- What is the most important thing each family member wants to get out of the trip together?
- What are some compromises you all make?
Photo by Nubia Navarro
