For Birthdays or Special Occasions

I’ve talked before about cool gifts for adult children, and I have a LOT of younger kids’ party ideas too, but when my girls each turned 16 I wanted to do something super special. No one really wanted a ‘Sweet 16’ for some reason, so I thought, ‘what would be a memorable way to celebrate?’ I’m a big fan of shared activities that I also want to do- so it came to me- a trip!! If you’ve read my blog on our travel-themed wedding, you know I love to travel. Also along my theme of aways teaching kids about life- I thought this was a terrific way to expose them to travel; letting them know there’s nothing to fear and everything to love about it.

When planning these trips, here are my brief suggestions to make your trips fun, stress-less and really memorable! These tips honestly apply to any trip you take, with anyone!

• Plan together. It really creates excitement when you and your daughter can start making decisions about what you’ll do! A note here, if your kids are like mine, they have drastically different personalities- and one may have a million things they want to do, and others (the oldest if I can stereotype) don’t feel as comfortable saying, much less knowing, what they want to do. In that case, be prepared to offer up activities that keep their unique-ness in mind. My oldest daughter and I chose the Bahamas, and she had no clue. I suggested snorkeling, since she enjoys quiet activities like skiing and kayaking. It was hands-down the most fun thing we did on that trip! When planning, think the following categories, and absolutely RESEARCH when making any final decisions for sure.
• Special Activities. Sometimes these require pre-booking tickets or spots on a tour bus or whatever, so finding out what the best things are in an area, and what your child is excited about, is an important first step. Whenever I go to a new city, I use the City Pass app. You can find a bunch of interesting things to do, and book them right from the app. When I’m in a new city, I like to do a city tour bus as a first activity. You get a great tour of the city and it sparks ideas of more places to visit while you’re there!
• Accommodations. I’m a bit of a snob about where I stay when I travel, because there are so many amazing places with some great amenities. I’m a fan of VRBO and Airbnb for this reason. You can get seriously gorgeous houses, townhomes, or apartments- you don’t need to only look at hotels anymore. If I’m staying in one spot more than a day, I check these out first. Like a lot of things, I make some decisions first based on price etc- THEN share them with my daughter for her approvals. We have honestly never been disappointed with our choices, especially my trip to California with my middle daughter. We stayed in a VRBO in San Diego and a hotel in Agoura Hills- both amazing.
• Food. Once we knew where we were staying, it’s super fun to start exploring restaurants and the local cuisine. My daughter wanted her birthday dinner to be at an amazing restaurant on the water in Malibu. You can imagine the fun we had looking at the photos and menus. Experiencing local food is fun, and I try to make sure we try some dishes that may be out of our comfort zone but that the area is known for- ie poke bowls in Hawaii!
• Popular Spots. Places are known for certain styles of food or museums or other attractions that you may want to suggest but certainly don’t need to (if you ask my husband, you MUST see every famous attraction especially of any historical significance but kids – and I- could easily get bored 🙂 )
• Research. Research. Back in the day and without Internet, it wasn’t so easy exploring new and different places, but as we know now, it’s pretty easy with a million travel sites, and be sure to check out Pinterest, because people LOVE to share their experiences traveling there!  
• Narrow it Down. A snafu we had when planning a Hawaii trip with my youngest, was that there was actually TOO much information out there- different islands, a million activities. So in that case if you can narrow down your interests first, it would help you much better- trust me. It’s hard to do because you want to see everything (hello Italy trip with my husband) but you honestly will do best if you prioritize the top things to do. You can always come back!
• Leave Plenty of Downtime. Definitely work this into the trip whenever you can, for everyone’s sanity. I do a day by day itinerary and make sure I have a day or half of one at least of relaxing activities, mixed in with busy days of hustling and traveling. Things to consider are beach days, spa and pool days (choose hotels/homes with these options if you’d like), and otherwise just hanging out at the hotel or house. On these kind of days, we hit the local supermarket and get some stuff to make sandwiches, charcuterie boards, or some meat and veggies to cook or grill for a light dinner. I’m cool with the girls drinking cocktails at this age since they never overdo it and tend to enjoy sweeter drinks that are very light on the alcohol, if anything. When we were in the Bahamas, we felt like we had to make Bahama Mamas!

More later on our trips to the Bahamas, California and Hawaii (also traveling as couples and mature mom trip suggestions). Also more on summer cocktails and mocktails! 

ENJOY YOUR TRIP!!