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Five Fun Family Vacation Traditions to Start Now

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Five Fun Family Vacation Traditions to Start Now

1. Always do something new. This doesn’t have to be skydiving or anything like that, but whale watching, or hiking to a new spot is good. Just make sure you do something you’ve never done. A family first is a great way to bond.

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2. Make planning a family thing. Start a tradition of having a planning party once you’ve picked the location. We have the girls all do some research and bring their ideas of what to see and do to our planning party. This gets us all excited for our upcoming trip and the girls have discovered some things that I never would have!

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3. Always try new food. We look for some non-touristy places to eat at wherever we go. So far we’ve been to an all vegan Chinese restaurant in Las Vegas, and an all vegan sushi restaurant in San Francisco that nobody would normally recommend to tourists. Both places were amazing. Had we not ventured off the normal tourist path, we never would have found them. This is also true for visiting places known for certain foods… you have to try whatever the area is famous for! 

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4. Always take a family picture on the last day of your trip. We’ve taken this same picture in the same spot for 10 years now. But we also always take a picture on the last day of every vacation to keep as a memory.

5. Make it a tradition to buy a keepsake magnet to remember the trip by. We let Emmy pick out the magnet and she has the honor of adding it to our travel magnet collection around our microwave, but we all get to enjoy it and the memories it holds.

Another fun family travel idea is to stay in a vacation rental.

July is National Vacation Rental Month, the time of year when the greatest number of travelers enjoy this better way to get away. Vacation rentals offer so much, from extra space, privacy and greater savings to convenient in-home amenities like fully-equipped kitchens, living rooms and multiple bedrooms.

Many of Wyndham Vacation Rentals’ properties offer a range of valuable benefits for all types of travelers.

It’s nice having access to a full kitchens to prepare “home cooked” family meals when you are on vacation and having a more home-like atmosphere at times. Other amenities not found in typical hotel rooms are washer/dryers, multiple bedrooms, more space and privacy, warm and inviting home-like settings.

To enjoy your own vacation rental experience, visit WyndhamVacationRentals.com.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Heather Reese
the authorHeather Reese
Heather Delaney Reese is the storyteller and photographer behind the lifestyle and family travel blog, It's a Lovely Life®! For the past decade, she has vacationed over 150 days a year with her family. She is a vegan, and loves being by the water, spending time with her children, husband, 2 Shih Tzus and Cat.

47 Comments

  • We always make it a point to try new foods. It makes it more of an adventure that way!

  • These are great suggestions! I love the ideas of taking a family picture on the last day! It’s as fun way to remember each vacation!

  • I have been collecting fridge magnets from every where we go for 20 years now. They don’t always survive enthusiastic kids slamming the fridge door. but they are fun to pick out. We have not done the group picture thing. I think we will have to add that to our family trips.

  • I love the tradition on taking a picture on the last day of every trip. So fun!! Sounds like y’all had a great time!!

  • These are great ideas. I love family vacations and I always make sure we try something new. I love to eat at places we don’t have at home. We did a vacation home rental for Christ last year and had a blast. It was 16 of us and going forward that is how I want to vacation.

  • I’m still stuck on number one, see we always choose the same places to visit and partly its because my husband is a home body and likes his “things” or places…but I’m with you on doing something completely new and different each time! I’m going to have to talk things up with the hubs for vacation time next year! Hoping to do something completely out of the ordinary!

  • I will be sure to remember these. Good luck to the next family picture you will have!

  • This post was such a great idea, especially since people are always looking for great ways to make vacations memorable. I love the idea of always trying something new…and buy a holiday ornament to hang on the tree to keep track of your trips!

  • These are great ideas. I love including the kids on our plans so that they too can figure out what they want to do too. Including them is important in my opinion.

  • These are such wonderful tips! I love the suggestion to always do something new. I’m keeping that in mind for my family from now on.

  • What a great sweepstakes to offer and image the winner’s face when they get a winning phone call! I love when families can special quality time together! I remember the best times we had on vacation is just simply having fun, laughing and the trip we spent together provided for a lifetime of fun memories!

  • When my family goes for vacations, it is imperative that we look for food that is the delicacy of the place. It makes us learn more about their culture. Thanks for sharing these great tips!

  • Awesome tips for starting family vacation traditions! I especially like including the children in helping with the planning. This way nobody feels left out.

  • Planning the whole vacation or trip with your kids can be really awesome. This will make them more excited about it!

  • We always make sure to do what’s on your list whenever we’re on a vacay. We haven’t tried a vacation rental yet though. We will check it out next time.

  • My suggestion would be to try as much local food as you can wherever you go. I think the most fun part of a vacation is trying a new food dish from a local restaurant that isn’t something you would find in a big chain restaurant. It’s really a part of the whole adventure of vacation!

  • Great checklist! I think most of us would do this except that sometimes we miss yearly family vacations. All these are part of the memories you set for your kids to have though which are so lovely.

  • They say you haven’t been in a place if you haven’t tried their food. We love to try out the local food when we are on a vacation.

  • I always try new food while i am on vacation. It is a great to try the local cuisine. These are great tips.

  • We love trying new foods everywhere we go! Its always something we really love doing.

  • I really like the idea of taking a family picture in the same spot every year. What a great way to see how much everyone has changed over the years, and having a tradition that your kids always remember as they grow up and can look back on.

  • Great tips! We don’t go on vacations often but when we decide to again these will be great to implement into our trips!

  • Great post. We don’t get to go on many vacations but I really agree with you on all these traditions. It’s always great to include the kiddos.

  • Smart idea to get that last day photo. I always get a first day, not always a last day. I really should, agreed!

  • These are all great family vacation traditions to start now. I love the trying something new for everyone. It is nice to do something no one has every done before and do it together. Thanks for sharing.

  • Trying to avoid the franchise places is something we always do. If you always go to the same places in different towns, what’s the point of travelling?

  • 2016 is definitely our year to travel. Why, you ask? Because this website has made it so exciting, that we have to follow suit.

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