How to plan successful family summer vacations which the whole

How to plan successful family summer vacations which the whole family truly enjoys

Remember when you were a kid, when your friends complained of the family summer vacation their parents had planned and which the kids were dreading?

Usually a result of poor planning. Parents might decide that a camping trip is at the top of everyone's family summer vacation desires, when it isn't.

Naturally, it's parents who work out the budget and foot the bill. It's a given that a finite amount of money is going to place certain restrictions on your destination and activities. That doesn't mean that the entire family shouldn't participate in deciding where to go and what to do.

Invite everyone to throw their ideas in the family summer vacation idea hat. Let everyone have their say. Sit down around the kitchen table and make a list of all of the ideas suggested. Some will have to be scratched off due to budget constraints, but you might be able to find a similar, but doable alternative. For example, if you live in California and one of the kids comes up with the idea of spending the family summer vacation in Yellowstone National Park. Yosemite, or the Grand Canyon are much closer and are equally spectacular.

Let's say three of the five family members are up for the camping trip idea, Mom, Dad and the oldest boy. The dissenters are the two teenage girls. Here again, the destination is key. A camping trip to Lake Tahoe should completely dispel all of the objections from the girls. Lake Tahoe is a world destination, with activities so varied, everyone will be raving about this family summer vacation trip for years to come. While Dad and son are off fishing, the ladies can take a horseback riding tour, from which there are spectacular views of the lake. In the evening, everyone can head out for one of the famous and sumptuous buffets at the casinos. These all-you-can-eat affairs provide a variety of dishes, to please every taste, at a reasonable cost. Cook the fish around the campfire in the morning.

If you live on the East Coast, a vacation in the Florida Keys may well meet with the approval of the entire family. Those beach paradise vacations provide parents with an opportunity to kick back at an umbrella covered table for some relaxing conversation and a cool drink, while the kids play volleyball, build sandcastles, swim and meet other kids. What's not to like about this family summer vacation?

When planning family summer vacations that everyone will enjoy, consensus and some compromise is required. If one of the kids is stuck on his or her idea, despite everyone else being in agreement, don't try to force the majority idea down that child's throat! Instead, ask that child what element that's important to his family vacation is missing in the majority choice. Some kids are born contrarians and may just be sticking to his guns out of stubbornness or a desire to have been the one to come up with the idea first! Maybe he wanted to go on a fishing trip instead. Ask him to get online and look up the destination with the most votes. If you're going to visit Washington D.C., Google 'fishing lakes rivers washington dc area'. Virginia has many fishing spots! If you promise to spend a day fishing, he might well change his mind. He'll undoubtedly also enjoy visiting the Smithsonian, the D.C. Zoo and taking the White House tour.

With a planning and idea swap around the table, you can plan a successful family summer vacation that every family member will enjoy.