Everyone loves a good family trip. These 5 family weekend getaway tips are exactly what you need to make your next trip a success.
A few weeks after Tristan passed, we planned a family weekend getaway to Hilton West Palm Beach. After his end of life celebration and being bombarded with phone calls, emails, and texts we just needed to get away. We needed to go somewhere where we could just relax and try to make sense of everything and home wasn’t that place.
This weekend family getaway was the perfect idea. We laughed, we cried, we played games, and we reflected on everything that happened. A family trip is just the thing I suggest if your family just needs a break.
Family Weekend Getaway Tips to Make Your Next Trip a Success
1. Plan or don’t plan.
We chose to not plan our weekend out. Usually for every trip we make an entire itinerary but this time we decided not to. We wanted to just relax and go with the flow. The best part about not planning an entire trip is that you can sleep and enjoy the amenities that the hotel has to offer.
2. Turn the phones off.
Most of the time when we’re home we’re so wrapped up in work or social media that we’re constantly on our phones or iPad. Turning the phones off or putting all of the electronics in a part of the room where they’re untouchable for a long period of time will allow you to spend memorable quality time with your family. This was probably the best thing that we could do. Besides using our phones to take pictures, they were unavailable.
3. Reflect.
Take time at dinner or at the end of every day to reflect on your day. We’ve been doing this every day since Tristan’s passing and it has made a world of difference. At the end of every day, we go around and we tell each other the best and worst part of our day. Then we share why and how the next day could be better. Every day we have with each other is such a blessing and we try to stress that to Tatiana. She loves our reflection time during our daily family meetings. It makes the day special.
4. Play games.
This goes back to tip number 2. Of course with no electronics, kids will get bored. This is where games come in handy. Hilton West Palm Beach had the perfect games on their lawn. Our family is so competitive, especially Tatiana. We played cornhole and connect 4.
5. Don’t complain.
This one is hard especially if you have a bigger family because it’s harder to keep everyone happy. Complaining will only make the trip miserable. I remember when I was a kid my family went on a group trip to Jamaica for the summer. It was a memorable trip but what I remember the most is people complaining. There were at least a dozen of us on the trip so someone found something to complain about every day. Try to go the entire weekend without complaining because the last thing you want your kids to remember are the complaints and not the fun memories.
Do you have any family weekend getaway tips that work for your family?
This was such a nice trip! I don’t have any small kids anymore but your tips are great and will def pass on to my other mom friends!
Oh my gosh! I love these pictures of you guys! I’m so happy you had a weekend getaway and got a bit of a breather.
The not complaining is definitely real but also the HARDEST thing ever! lol I’m from a family of 5 kids so having to take trips together is quite a struggle lol
Looks like you all had so much fun!
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I love the pictures, it looks like you all had a great time. I totally agree with the second item on the list. When you are on a family outing or something where family memories are going to be created then you need to leave the electronics out of the picture. I love my computer and my phone but they are not my family and I think that some people hold that phone in their hands more than talking to their own children.
Lovely post,
Thanks for sharing!
Looks like so much fun. The photos are adorable you all look so happy!
You have such a beautiful family! I love the rule about “turn the phones off”- my husband and I don’t have kids, but we try to implement the no phone policy on our vacations!
Such a great tips! We should all remember how to enjoy the moment and turn off our phones for a while!
Family holidays are the best. Great pointers. It is important to keep the phone switched off and not complain.
I love “no plan” trips and events! Just more fun! AND NO COMPLAINING! Haha!
I’m glad that you guys took the time to just get away. Sometimes we need to do that to recharge and reset, especially after life changing situations. Praying for you all.
These are great tips. I usually plan out what we’re going to do on a trip, but I’ve been wanting to just pick a location and go with the flow. I think we’ll definitely be doing that on our next mini-getaway.
Great tips and what looks like a great vacation! I am always for not having the phones on whenever there isn’t something that requires having them on.
This sounds like a much needed break. We just came back from vacation and for the first time we had no itinerary. We ate meals together every night for the first time in years. It was just what we needed.
I’m so sorry to hear about your baby. He clearly had a wonderful and loving family. I’m glad you guys were able to disconnect for a bit and get away. I don’t like to plan too much on vacation. Just go with the flow. Looks like you guys had a great time! Beautiful family 🙂
Family time is everything to me and I am so glad that you shared your time with us. Planned or unplanned time together to reflect and create memories is a great way to heal. Thank you again for sharing…
Beautiful family weekend. I have been traveling with my kids a lot more since my husband passed. So important to make life long memories.
Love your post on Hilton Head. I’ve never been there but definitely planning a trip there soon.
I absolutely love your family, so beautiful, and your daughter is so precious.
And most of all, I am SO sorry for your loss!
These are all great tips. We just came back from a weekend getaway where all of these tips were in place. I am laughing at not complaining. For my six-year-old that is a hard task. Sorry to hear about your little one.
It’s a hard task for my six-year-old too, it’s nearly impossible.