Stop struggling through the holidays with young kids (5 tips to actually enjoy them)

Holidays with young kids can be tricky. Whether you’re still working around nap schedules or trying to keep different age groups entertained, while trying to get a bit of a break yourself, let me share my tips to actually enjoy your holidays with little ones.

holidays with young kids

5 ways to enjoy holidays with young kids

1. Leave your expectations at home.

I remember our first holiday when our eldest was only 8 months. I’d imagined our holidays would feel blissful and relaxing. He would love the beach and I’d get to hang out there with him for hours. I expected that he’d nap longer (from all the fun at the beach) and I might actually get to do some yoga uninterrupted.

Spoiler alert. None of this happened. My expectations were built on my own memories of holidays as a much older child.

In reality, my 8 month old (who had never seen the beach and was terrified of the ocean), and the not super kid-friendly apartment we stayed in, ended up making daily life with a baby harder, not easier.

My expectations of how I thought it would go were so far off how it actually went. And all this does is set everyone up to feel bad.

Now, I try to plan as best I can for the ages of my kids; think snacks, activities, space for them to be somewhat unsupervised (there is nothing worse than having to be “on them” all holidays because the environment isn’t kid-friendly).

But after that, I try to drop my expectations about holidays with young kids and just enjoy each day for what it is.

When I stop expecting my kids to magically need me less on holidays to make snacks, temper arguments and find all manner of things they’ve lost; I’m able to just enjoy the experience of being in a new place with them.

Try letting go of your expectations around holidays and see how much more enjoyable your holidays with young kids are.

2. Save up in advance.

Kids are expensive. Kids on holidays cost three times more. I don’t make the rules. It’s just maths.

The cost of holidays used to trigger me badly. I spent so much of our holidays feeling stressed about all the things we were spending money on.

Now, I save three times what I expect it to cost, and then give myself permission to spend the money allocated.

[Yes I realise this is an entirely privileged statement to make, as not everyone can afford to save up for a holiday, let alone three times that amount.]

Maybe it takes you longer to save and you take less holidays each year. I think that’s worth it to actually enjoy the holidays you do have.

I’ve found it’s also helpful to give my kids a set amount of money that they can use during the holiday for additional snacks, activities etc. If they don’t spend all of it, they can have the remaining amount at the end of the holiday.

When it’s “their” money, they actually consider whether they really want all the things, instead of just constantly asking.

3. Don’t forget to plan lots of unstructured time.

It can be tempting to plan out every spare moment when you go on holidays with kids. But my kids have the most fun when we take them to open spaces and just let them run. Yes, this can feel a little bit frustrating. Like why did we fly to Portugal for you to play hours of backyard soccer, when we could have done that, in our backyard!

My advice is to just embrace it. They’ll have a good time and so will you. Lots of normal everyday downtime in new spaces gives you a break from having to parent (and helps you to actually feel like you get a holiday).

We recently went to Perth (a 6 hour flight from where we live). So much of travelling involves telling kids to “not touch that” and “stop shouting” and “walk over here”.

But kids need lots of time where they can just be. Playgrounds are great for this, but as my kids are getting older, they get sick of these spaces pretty quickly. Bushland, creeks and beaches on the other hand; they’ll play for hours without complaint and without needing parenting which is a win-win for everyone.

4. Plan to have kid-free time.

THIS strategy gets the gold star for actually being able to enjoy your holidays with little kids. Go away with family or friends who also have kids AND who are prepared to share the parenting so everyone gets a break.

You have their kids one night so they get a night off, and vice versa. If you’ve got tiny babies who make night dates tricky, remember day dates can be just as fun. Cocktails by the pool, go on a hike or take a long drive and explore the area.

Holidaying with other families also means you’ve got built in playmates for your kids. This takes the pressure off you to be their constant entertainment. Instead of looking for you to swim and play, they’ll be happily entertained with their friends, and (hopefully) you’ll be able to read a page or two of that book you’ve been meaning to get to.

5. Make one on one time for everyone.

Holidays can be a giant ball of everyone doing everything together at all times. Which is great… but also exhausting. This constant together-ness also makes for some fun sibling dynamics. If your kids are anything like mine, you might find yourself having to referee one-too-many sibling squabbles.

I’ve found one-on-one time (for each parent) with each child, helps reduce these fights. It doesn’t have to be complicated or lengthy. A short bike ride or trip to the shop to get a sweet treat, is often all that’s needed to make sure each child’s cup is full and they’re less likely to be so tetchy.

Let the record state that I say “less likely”. I can’t guarantee this will fix allllllll the moods on holidays with young kids (especially those hyped-up on extra sugar and no schedule.)

But we’re dropping our expectations about holidays anyway!

Happy Holidays!

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