How to have a happy half term holiday!
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With half term on the horizon, many of us parents are already contemplating how to keep the children amused and our sanity in tact over the school holidays. It seems however that taking the family on holiday is one of the best things we can do.
While some folks (that would be me then) consider the packing and unpacking element of going away to be relatively stressful, recent global research commissioned by Booking.com shows that travel gives us such an emotional boost, many of us consider planning and going away on holiday more vital for our happiness than other big life occasions such as getting engaged (45%) and even our own wedding day (49%)! It is said that travel experiences bring more lasting happiness than material things such as clothes, jewellery and gadgets. In fact, a huge 77% of us book a holiday just for a happiness boost.
The findings also include some interesting family-travel insights, including:
· 75% said travelling with family makes them happier than travelling on their own
· 34% said spending time with their family is one the key ingredients to a happy
· 47% say they get on better with their family when they are on holiday
I am forever telling my husband that holidays are memories for our children (although he frequently counters with the fact that they can't remember where they left their school bag most days) but I am a firm believer in having family holidays allows us to simply enjoy being a family without the stresses of day to day life. I love the anticipation of a holiday, from finding the perfect location to the excitement of actually getting on the plane. According to this recent research, over a third of people admit to researching holidays months in advance (35%), with an eager 5% planning over a year in advance.
When I was a child, we were lucky enough to have holidays ranging from camping breaks, holiday parks to luxurious exotic holidays and I want those same experiences for my children. We don't need to go abroad every year but I do think having a "holiday" from every day life is something that is good for us as parents and for their childhood memories.
Holidays don't need to be expensive to be memorable, although having a break from the daily search for the school bag or shoes sounds pretty perfect to me!
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