And a little trip down memory lane for me…

Few things beat the excitement of booking a last-minute holiday. Whether life gets too much or you just find yourself with a free week; this is a fantastic way to treat yourself at a moment’s notice. Looking forward to a break is lovely too, of course, but there’s something about the spontaneity of last-minute options which highlights those relaxing benefits.

When you have kids, though, it can seem as though vacation spontaneity flies out the window. You have responsibilities now, after all, and it’d be careless to whisk your kids away. Besides, the amount of prep which goes into travel with kids could leave you feeling as though trips like these wouldn’t even be practical.

I’m not going to sugar coat this; spontaneity indeed becomes harder with a family in tow. But, that by no means suggests trips like these are off your cards. Instead, spontaneity merely changes faces when you’re considering family trips. If you still crave that last-minute buzz, you need only take care of basics like these –

Learn how to travel light with children

…and maybe leave the Clown shoes at home?!…

Travelling light and children don’t often go together. {They REALLY DON’T!}. Many parents give themselves a week or more for prep alone, especially with babies. As such, your first step towards spontaneity here should be to know how to cut that prep in half by learning to travel light despite your youngsters. For babies, this might mean investing in an all in one travel system that can sustain you for car journeys, walks, and more in one easy package. For toddlers, it might mean learning how to pack toys like iPads which bring endless entertainment instead of bags filled with toys they play with for ten minutes. Either way; the chances are that you’ll be able to find a light solution for your child if you only look for it. And, once you have this in the bag, you should be able to get ready in an hour or less.

Keep spontaneity out of school time

…even better, how about keeping your toes out of your brother’s face, Robb?!!…

No matter how much you want to ‘live in the moment’, and believe you me when I say I do…,you should keep spontaneity out of school time. The importance of learning aside, you have a legal obligation to keep your kids in school. Rather than killing spontaneity altogether, though, this structure could encourage you into more last-minute trips than ever. That’s because, when you know you only have limited weekends and school breaks with your kids, you’re more liable to embrace these moments when they come. And, that could see spontaneous breaks becoming a staple for your family weekends.

Have a list of kid-friendly options

Lists might not normally make for spontaneous trips, but when you have kids in tow, booking at any available hotel doesn’t always end well. Instead, facilitate spontaneity by making a note of kid-friendly hotels and locations when you hear about them. This way, you can select a break your children are guaranteed to love without wasting hours on the internet. That alone could see you saying goodbye to responsibility and hello to spontaneity.

And you find yourself with a photo of one of your kids looking like Mr Majeica…😂