The Working Mom's Guide to Family Vacation Planning (Pt.1)

Let's be honest. All moms are B-U-S-Y. Planning for a family vacation can be a taxing chore, ESPECIALLY if you are a working mom. At the end of the day, you might not have the time or mental energy to dedicate to planning that fantastic vacation that you and your family deserve! So what gets in the way? I think it's a few things: planning ahead is overwhelming, PTO, work pressure (optics, deadlines, etc.), & not knowing where to go.

In this guide I'm breaking down the process into manageable tasks to get your vacation juices flowing!

1. Prioritize

The first step is to prioritize your family vacation. Remember, no one is going to care about your work/life balance for you.

• Grab the academic calendar from your kid's school & schedule a call with your travel agent

• Highlight the days/weeks that you are going to target for vacations for the year

• Take that calendar to work and block off your Outlook calendar for those dates. Yes, now.

Working Mom Tip- this is also a good time to block off the calendar for things like early dismissals, school Thanksgiving feasts, Christmas programs, etc. Why do those always take me by surprise!?

Objection Handling:

If you are in a situation where you are receiving push back for your time off, stop and consider:

• Are you asking for more time than allotted in your contract?

• Are you not giving enough notice?

• Are you leaving during a peak busy season for your office?

If the answer is no, then your business case should be rock solid. This is a benefit of your employment- use it. If there are salty attitudes about your vacation time- so be it. It really has do be a MINDSET change. Why are you even working so hard if you can’t go enjoy a nice vacation(s) with your family?

2. Pick

The next step is to pick what style of vacation is right for your family, right now. Here are a few ideas to get the juices flowing.

International Guided Vacations- Curated, private or small group adventures all over the world.

All-Inclusive Resort- Resorts with included food & activities in destinations like Mexico & the Caribbean

Hawaii- A classic option for tropical, domestic travel. Easy to navigate, lots of family friendly beaches, hotels, & activities

Theme parks- Disney World, Disneyland, & Universal Studios. More of a "trip" than a "vacation". Magical memories & tons of fun!

Cruises- An all-inclusive resort in the water, but you have the added benefit of visiting multiple destinations!

Road trips- Not for the faint of heart. Looking to save a buck? Maybe look at road tripping to state/national parks. This requires a lot of work on the parents (driving) and lots of patience for the kids- don’t make this decision lightly!

3. Plan Early

This begs the questions "When is the best time to take my family vacation?" My answer is- it depends. It will look different for each family based on the kids' ages & your industry.

Examples:

• Preschoolers Vs Highschoolers (The older your kids get the more you will be bound by a school calendar, sporting events, testing periods)

• Accountants Vs Teachers (Tax season means Spring Break might be stressful & Teachers can always count on summers, etc)

• There will never be a perfect time or an “empty” week. Your calendar will always find meetings! You control your time, not the other way around! Review Step #1!

So why does this all matter? Why bother?...... Read Pt 2