Homework… ugggh, right?

Most people recoil at the thought of researching anything, but when it comes to planning your best family vacations, it’s an essential element.

And, best of all, it can honestly be enjoyable!

You see, what most people forget is that half (at least) of the excitement of a family vacation is in working through all the details. Sure, it can be time-consuming, but as long as you’re doing it together, it can also be a wonderful time spent as a family.

Here are some great ways to get you started to making your family vacation homework a blast!

1. Give Everyone Something to Do!

Even little ones can help plan the next family vacation getaway by looking through vacation guides and travel magazines. If they can’t read yet, they can at least point to pictures of beaches, forests, snow-capped mountains, anything that catches their eyes.

By making everyone responsible for some aspect of the vacation planning, it ensures that one family member isn’t saddled with all the work. (Which isn’t fun at all!)

2. Be Open to Suggestions

During the initial homework stages of vacation planning, avoid telling one another, “That’s never going to work! We don’t have the budget/time/ability to go there!” Such negativity will immediately squelch everyone’s desire to pitch in and be a part of the vacation planning machine.

Instead, allow a “sky’s the limit” attitude, at least during the investigation into travel locales.

Remember — the fun of these exercises isn’t to necessarily be “practical” right away; it’s also to dream a little! (And you might be surprised at how affordable some of those “out of reach” places can actually be for savvy travelers.)

3. Plan Your Vacation at Regular Intervals

Finally, don’t let the momentum cease as you gear up for vacation planning! Often, just as everyone starts to get really “into” the whole experience, the proverbial “ball” is dropped for several months.

Make sure you have a certain night or day of the week set aside where everyone can sit down and talk about their travel planning homework assignments. It can only be once a month, but it should be set in stone to ensure that it really happens. That way, your troupe of travelers won’t lose steam.

Have travel tips of your own? Share them today!

(image source: Wikipedia commons)