After returning from Disneyland one summer a friend of mine
remarked that it was NOT, "The Happiest Place On Earth" when
traveling with a horde of young children. I laughed, and proceeded
to take our family vacation to Disneyland at Christmas only to
find that it was not, "The Merriest Place on Earth", either!

What made the trip so terrible? We learned that "getting there" is
not always half the fun! Luckily family vacations tend to be like
delivering a baby - give it some time and you seem to only remember
the best part of the experience!

Still, there are lessons I learned from our vacation that
could benefit other would be family travelers ready to embark
on their perfect trip.

First, there is no perfect trip! Do not expect kids to act any
differently than they do at home. In fact, the opposite may be true.
Some children do not handle change well, or may not get enough sleep
from the excitement and act out on vacation. Here are some tips
to help the travel part of your vacation be more enjoyable for the
kids and the parents too.

TRAVEL AT NIGHT
Notice I did not merely say - travel when the kids are sleeping. If it
is daylight outside you run a much higher risk of them waking up.
Not only that but during the day there are activities you can take
time to enjoy. Instead of rushing to thee destination, scope out
several interesting places to see along the way. Saadi said,
"A traveler without observation is a bird without wings"!

WHERE'S THE ENTERTAINMENT PACKAGE?
If children are entertained, parents are much more likely to hear
"Are we there yet"? 50 times - instead of 1000! Try these travel
games and ideas.

- Pack a box of small wrapped packages and allow each child to
open one per hour of the trip. Wrap up activity books, hand held
travel games, treats, puzzles, books, music cd or gum. Kids might
also enjoy playing a guessing game to figure out what is inside the
presents before being allowed to open them.

- Buy a sheet of window clings for each child and let them decorate
the car windows. Or try giving each child a travel container of baby
wipes and miniature colored soaps and let them draw pictures on
the windows.

- If it gets to noisy in our van my husband always says, "Order in
the court, the skunk wants to speak"! That sentence guarantees
blessed silence for at least 5 minutes giving parents a much needed
sanity break.

- Prepare a list of words often found in songs titles. Pick one, and
then everyone shouts out all the songs they can think of that also
has that word in the title. The last one to think of a song title for
that word gets a point and chooses a new word. This song works
well for most all age groups.

- Have a family band! Give everyone a kazoo, cowbell, harmonica,
spoons, maraca's - any unusual instrument coupled with a familiar
song and the kids will be entertained for as long as you can stand
the noise.

- After you have driven through a city let everyone guess the
population. Find the answer on the map to see who is the closest!
The kids might even stay busy counting people as you drive by.

Vacations allow families a much needed change from daily routines
and regular activities. Sharing new experiences with each other and
strengthening your family values. Not only are building and making
these memories important but as Thoreau put it, "traveling is good
which reveals to me the value of home, and enables me to enjoy
it better."

Author Rachel Webb designs Large 100% Magnetic
Fridge Calendars Guaranteed not to slide off when the
kids slam the fridge door! visit: http://www.Note-Ables.com
or e-mail Rachel@... for a $2 off cou

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