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Family
Fun - One Day Getaways
Real Families, Real FUN: Get Out!
One-Day Get-Aways
By Elizabeth Wells for Real Families, Real Fun
Yes, that's the sound of the school bell again, but don't
despair--you and your family can still build in a fun variation
of the family vacation on the weekend or their next day
off. Mini-vacations offer the same spirit-renewing benefits
as their longer counterparts. The LaClairs of upstate New
York said that one-day trips are a good match because "they
fit into our time schedule and budget."
And there are plenty of fun things to do right in your own
backyard. The trick often is in finding them and getting
everyone behind the idea.
Give each family member the task of suggesting his or her
favorite place to eat and something he or she would like
to do. If their favorite restaurant is McDonald's, that's
okay, but suggest to them that this is a great time to explore
places they haven't been before. A picnic also qualifies.
The main objective is just to allow everyone to pick his
or her best idea for a fun time.
They may have plenty of ideas on their own, but if they
would like to explore the possibilities, check out your
city's Web site on the Internet. By logging onto any of
the major search engines, you should be able to search for
your city by name.
The Laclairs found that searching the Internet for a trip
to a state fair simplified things. "I got my whole
driving route mapped out. It was very helpful," Peggy
reported.
Be sure to let the kids know how far away their choices
can be. Is it practical to say within 60 miles or would
it be better for you and your family to stay within the
city?
Have everyone place their ideas on 3"x 5" cards.
Separate these cards into a stack for food-related activities
and one for other activities. John Hannan cut up construction
paper to make the cards. Their family color-coded the activities
into the categories of food (yellow), indoor activities
(red), and outdoor activities (blue). Fold the cards in
fourths and place them in two separate containers. There
will be more suggestions than you will have time for in
one day, so explain that these are now your official good-time
get-away boxes. Lynda Hannan said their indoor activities
will be a treasure this winter.
When the time is right, designate which family members will
draw the ideas from which box. Perhaps the youngest will
get to take a card from the restaurant box and the oldest
drawing one from the activity box. Depending on the activity,
you can pick ideas for lunch and dinner with an activity
in between. Or your activities may lend themselves well
to a mid-morning activity, lunch and then another activity
in the afternoon. The object is to make the day fun, not
stressful, so plan your agenda accordingly.
Amy M. of California said that this is a great idea to formalize
activities. "Sometimes it works for us to be spontaneous,
but other times it works better to plan ahead," she
said. "I love the idea of writing down the suggestions
on note cards and picking, and of course the competition
between who gets their card picked is huge in our family."
Post the one-day vacation plan in a place where everyone
will see it. There will be little dissent since everyone
has had input and will eventually have his or her ideas
used. The California family also found that discussing everything
in advance helped everyone know what to expect in terms
of car ride, departure and special needs of some family
members. "They also knew we had to leave by 2 p.m.
so (the 18-month-old) could take her nap," she explained.
The only thing left is to grab the camera and make some
memories!
TAKE IT FROM ME:
We modified this one a little for our target audience of
1.5 and 4, but it definitely went well. John and I concurred
that posting the planned activities a day in advance would
produce constant badgering from our young and impatient
Jack (4), so we explained the mini vacation concept on Sunday,
the day planned for fun. --The Hannans
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