A few years ago, when our eldest kiddo was almost 9, Dan and I decided we wanted some more one-on-one time with them, and also that we wanted to prioritize experiences together. We felt like our family had plenty of … Read More
After moving to London, I was fortunate enough to join a wonderful book club. I found out that they have an annual book club weekend trip themed around a specific author. Last year, they visited the Peak District in honor … Read More
I absolutely loved my short 3-day trip to Athens with K, my older daughter! When our kids turn 12, they get to take a weekend/long weekend domestic trip with one parent. Since we live in London now, the 3.5 hour … Read More
While I always say the best countries for you to visit depends on YOUR interests, I also know that it can feel overwhelming to decide where to go when you’re venturing to a new country, especially if it happens to … Read More
Like many of you, we try to focus on experiences over things, but there are certain items that have helped make those experiences easier and more fun over the years. These are things that are useful, durable, and stand the … Read More
I get asked so often where the best places are for a first international family trip and, for the most part, I’ll reiterate what I always say – it depends on YOUR interests! If you want tons of art museums … Read More
Over a decade ago, we had a trip planned to Egypt that we unfortunately needed to cancel due to political issues that began. We were so disappointed, as Egypt had already been on our bucket list for years. So it … Read More
I absolutely loved my short 3-day trip to Athens with K, my older daughter! When our kids turn 12, they get to take a weekend/long weekend domestic trip with one parent. Since we live in London now, the 3.5 hour … Read More
Visiting Virgin Islands National Park with kids is definitely a once in a lifetime experience! This was a special trip for our us, and Virgin Islands with kids was a hit with the whole family. We’ve loved finding the best … Read More
I often get asked for the most kid-friendly places to travel with kids. But in truth, our family’s travels rarely revolve solely around our kids’ needs and interests. Instead, we seek out places and activities that serve and are enjoyable … Read More
While London itself is amazing, there are also so many fantastic places nearby that make really wonderful day trips. For a first time visit to England with kids, I highly recommend leaving at least a couple days for the best … Read More
We have a newly minted 7 year old in our home! It was so fun to gift these 7 year old boy’s birthday gifts to A yesterday on his special day. He was thrilled! Experience: YES DAY Have you ever … Read More
A few years ago, when our eldest kiddo was almost 9, Dan and I decided we wanted some more one-on-one time with them, and also that we wanted to prioritize experiences together. We felt like our family had plenty of toys and other stuff, and we felt like our kids were growing so fast. With our busy family life with 6 kids, as well as work and other responsibilities, we thought it would be amazing to start a birthday trip tradition with our kids.
We decided wanted to do 4 trips with each of our kids kids (2 with each parent) before they left home. We settled on doing them at ages 10, 12, 14, and 16. I know the last couple years of high school can get so busy so we figured we’d get them in a little earlier!
This is largely due to logistics! With 5 other kids, it would get quite complicated (and expensive) to figure out care for the rest of the kids. Plus, there’s something special about the dynamic of one parent and one kid – it really puts the focus on the child instead of the parents talking and the kid jumping in. I love letting my kids lead and really getting that special one-on-one time.
We decided we would let our kids choose the destinations, within reason! Ages 10 and 16 are bigger international trips (up to a week), while 12 and 14 are shorter, domestic trips (typically a weekend or long weekend).
Since we moved to London last year, we decided that “domestic” could include a lot of Europe, since there are relatively affordable flights and you can get a lot of places more quickly than we could’ve gotten to New York from California.
So far, our eldest chose to go to El Salvador for his 10 year old trip, and Paris for his 12 year old trip. We’re still trying to work out the timing for our daughter to go to Brazil for her 10 year old trip, and she and I visited Athens for her 12 year old trip! Our 3rd kiddo has chosen Japan for his 10 year old trip, so we need to get planning!
They do! The best part of these trips is letting them take the lead in figuring out what to do, where to eat, and how to structure the time. Both my older two picked cities they were interested in, and enjoyed some great food, too. It’s so fun to see what piques their interest!
We don’t have a set budget for these trips, but we try to keep things within reason. For the further trips, we either look for a flight deal or use airline points through a credit card to make it possible. We’ve also used points for hotels, or booked an Airbnb. Our kids haven’t tried to do anything really extravagant; of course, just doing the trip is a big privilege, which they fully recognize, and haven’t asked to do anything big that we wouldn’t do when traveling on a budget as a family. It’s actually really sweet seeing their expressions when I offer to get them an ice cream or a soda all to themselves – it’s not something we usually do and they’ve both been surprised and grateful. It’s so fun!
What other questions do you have? I’m happy to answer!
