MULTI-GEN FAMILY VACATIONS
By Ilse Haag
HOW MUCH DO YOU VALUE YOUR TIME AND MENTAL HEALTH??
When you planned your last extended-family vacation, did you rent a centrally located VRBO with a pool and hope for the best? Did you meal-plan for the week, accounting for everyone's individual food preferences and restrictions? How did you divvy up the chores? How many cars did you need to rent to transport the whole gang, every time you wanted to experience something other than each other's company? How expensive were those car rentals? What about public parking (if you could even find parking!)? Could you all agree on what to do together?
Click HERE to see unadulterated JOY emanating from three generations of Haags! Yes, that's Grandpa in the maroon jacket, (totally sober) stealing the show! (If you need it, the Vimeo password to access the video: Rhine2022)
My biggest tip for anyone planning an extended-family trip is to go on a group tour. There are SO many creative options, in every group size, in every price point. There is no reason you should be experiencing any stress around planning a group vacation!
The first time I traveled in a group was when we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was my dad's brilliant idea to do this, for exactly the reasons I mentioned at the beginning of this post--and it was perfect. There were 8 of us, 3 generations, and we traveled with Tauck to experience the National Parks in the American Southwest.
We were in Zion NP for Father's Day. Bart always gets chocolate Poptarts for Father’s Day breakfast (among other things), so we surprised him in the middle of our hike with cards and Poptarts:)
I'm sure I don't need to tell you what absolute treasure it is to watch the younger generation connect on these trips! Click HERE to see Big Cousin teaching Little Cousin how to shake hands ... watch through to the end, to see *that* smile--that smile we all live to see in our kids. (If you need it, the Vimeo password to access the video: NatlParks)
When my in-laws started talking about their 2022 60th wedding anniversary trip 3 years ago, the conversation quickly devolved into respectful chaos; each family unit had a different idea of where we should go and how we should travel. My in-laws are loyal Viking cruisers, and they finally stated that they had always wanted to cruise the Rhine River.
And just like the trip we did with my side of the family many years before, this trip was perfect--it brought us all closer together, and no one had to do any work (except our travel agent, yours truly). Sometimes we separated during the day, choosing different shore excursions, and at other times, we were on the same excursions.
But we always ate dinner together; our table of 10 was electric--we all had so much to share and laugh about every evening:)
My in-laws said that the best part of their trip was just watching their 2 sons and their wives, and their 4 grandkids interact and enjoy each other's company.
It's an extraordinary gift when we have a chance to connect with our extended family! But you know what? When no one has to work to put these trips together or be in charge of what the group does or where the group goes, we also get closer to the people in our immediate family. That, my friends, is truly priceless.
When we step out of our usual roles, we get to press the "REFRESH" button.
