By Jessica Swanda 
With the arrival of summer break, photos of exciting family vacations have begun to fill my social media feed. I see photos of a trip to the beach one day, a cruise the next, and another trip to Disney World nearly every other week. The longer that summer stretches, the more I feel like I should be planning a magical vacation for my little family too.
But between balancing my husband’s vacation days from work and planning around a preschooler’s interests and my own physical limits from pregnancy, going on vacation seems a little hard to do. And I know it’s not just me who feels this way. Whether it’s a matter of not having enough time, or avoiding the high expense of travel or having small kids who make a long road trip sound less like a vacation and more like self-imposed torture—big, exciting vacations are not for everyone.
Sometimes, I feel sad or even a little guilty about that. But then I see how much fun my son has when we do something new or unusual. It could be as simple as playing together as a family at a new park and then having a “backwards dinner” where we eat our dessert before our real food. It’s nothing fancy or expensive but it earns the highest praise my son can give, “This is the best day ever!”
Seeing his delight in the simplest things reminds me how little glamour kids need to have a great time. Growing up, my family never stayed at all-inclusive resorts, went on cruises, or took cross-country trips. But we did go camping, take weekend getaways, drive to the mountains, and make the occasional trip to the beach. It didn’t matter how big or small it was—we were just excited to do something different together without the distractions of work and school.
The times we did travel, our favorite part wasn’t the exciting activities or tourist attractions. It was the hotel stay. We didn’t care how many stars the hotel had; we just loved staying somewhere new. I can still remember how excited we would get walking into the lobby on the first day of vacation. We would run around, checking everything out, and race to see who could find our hotel room first. Honestly, we would have been content staying there the whole time, leaving only for meals. We had an indoor pool, donuts from the lobby, a breakfast buffet, and a TV we could watch from our bed—what else did we need? Living somewhere new for a few days and having family time all day long was all the fun we needed.
It reminds me of a cartoon episode I recently watched with my son (Bluey, anyone?). The cartoon family arrives at their beach condo for a family vacation and the mom keeps saying how she can’t wait to start relaxing. They hustle the kids into the room and instruct them to put on their sunscreen right away so they can head to the beach.
But the kids are quickly distracted by their new surroundings. The bunk beds, the jewelry safe, the bathtub—even the toilets—amaze them, and all they want to do is play in the condo. The mom ends up going to the beach alone while the dad and kids make a bubble bath in the room, but she finds herself having a hard time relaxing. She returns to the condo to see her kids giggling and playing and using their imagination in all sorts of ways, and she says, “You kids just go about it, don’t you?” Finding the fun in everyday places (or making their own) comes naturally to young kids. All they need is a new bathtub, apparently, and they just go about it.
I see the same response in my son. The idea of a “trip” thrills him, but it doesn’t matter where we are going. Give him water to play in, new sights to see, undistracted parents, and—if you want to get him excited—a new room to sleep in, and it’s suddenly the “best day ever!”
So mamas, it really is okay if all you can do this summer is take a weekend getaway, or do a day trip, or set up a tent to camp in your own backyard. My family did all of those growing up, and we grown kids still have fond memories of the times we spent together, simply doing something out of the ordinary. My own little family has enjoyed “staycations” over the past couple of years, visiting local attractions, ordering pizza for dinner while we watch a movie, taking small day trips, and enjoying picnics in the park.
Really, all any of us need is a break from our daily routine and normal surroundings to see things a little differently and enjoy each other a little more. To let go of the usual expectations, obligations, and schedules and enjoy more playtime and extra rest.
Mamas, it doesn’t take amusement parks or action-packed trips to make magical moments for your family. It just takes all of you being together, choosing to find magic in the most ordinary places. And if you’re not quite sure how to do that, let your kids take the lead. They know just what to do.
by Jenny Albers 
by Katy Fisher 
