It’s that time of year when holidays, weekends away, staycations and roadtrips become more popular – which is a really love way to spend some quality family time. If you have young children then the staycation journey part can be tricky – but here are some tips to make your staycation journey a little easier.
Pack Snacks
Children are fickle creatures and cries of “I’m bored” can usually be sedated with a snack. Think about how many snacks you might need for the duration of your journey and then take a few more. It doesn’t have to be all sweets and crisps, packing sandwiches, fruit and even little pieces of cheese usually go down well with kids while travelling. Have a look online for snack inspiration, you won’t be the first parent in this predicament – and therefore they will be plenty of advice.
Take a Break
If it is a long staycation journey then taking a break where they can get out and stretch their legs works well. Service stations don’t always have play areas but researching the area around where you want to stop means you might find a park or green space not too far from the motorway where you can just deviate off for half an hour to give everyone a break before you carry on the rest of your staycation journey – if you’re lucky they might even take a nap at this stage.
Get Them Involved In The Staycation Journey
Depending on their age, getting them involved in the staycation journey planning and navigation helps them feel important and definitely keeps them interested. Talk to them in advance about the journey you’re going to take and even show them on a map your route. When driving along you could ask them to look out for certain signs – for the next motorway for example. Whilst it isn’t wise to actually rely on their navigation skills, giving them the impression that is what you’re doing really does help.
Take Entertainment
Packing entertainment is more definitely a good idea – tablets are great for watching their programs. We’ve also recently been sent these fun playing cards from Aura Print. The idea behind these is that they have a number of things that you might see while on your journey and/or your summer holidays – so they can be used as prompts for your kids to spot things – they can even compete to see who can spot the items on the cards first.
It’s actually a game of pairs, so once the spotting is over you can use it to entertain the kids while you wait for pub lunch or even during the evenings in your hotel – after all, who doesn’t like a competitive game of pairs?
It’s possible to have a range of playing cards design made at Aura Print; so you can design them to be tailored towards your journey and/or holiday. They’re really well made – we were impressed at the quality. They’d be great for keeping kids entertained throughout the journey; which sounds like a good idea to us!
Make The Most Of Your Own Garden
A staycation journey can be surprisingly short if you have a little imagination and work with the outdoor space you already have at home, with a little imagination you can make your own tropical paradise. The obvious start is a BBQ, maybe a few blankets and a parasol. If you lack privacy, a beach windbreak can make the perfect hideaway that only adds to the beach feel.
After some lunch, the perfect place to relax would be a hammock, but sadly not all of us have two handy trees in the garden from which to suspend one. This is not a problem as hammocks from Tropilex can be ordered with a clever tubular steel stand that takes up no more space than the hammock itself. Available in a range of vibrant and subtle colours the genuine South American hammocks are the perfect addition to your own home staycation and add a touch of Bohemian glamour to every summer staycation.
If you have any tips on how to make your staycation journey a little easier we’d love you to share them
*Collaborative post
About Debz Louise
Debz Louise is a UK-based lifestyle expert and the founder of several lifestyle blogs. Specialising in everything from interior design and home renovation to body-positive fashion and parenting, Debz brings a wealth of hands-on experience to every guide. Her mission at Stereotude is to simplify the modern world for her readers through expert curation and fiercely honest advice.