How to Keep That Holiday Feeling After a Family Trip
The suitcases are open on the bedroom floor, the washing basket is overflowing, the children are back at school and squabbling, and work has picked up exactly where it left off. Within days, a week in the sun can feel as if it never happened. The return to normal life doesn't have to be quite so abrupt, though. These ideas help the whole family hang on to that holiday glow for longer.
Give yourselves a landing day
If you can, avoid flying home the night before school or work starts. A spare day at home lets everyone unpack, shop, rest and recover, especially if there is jet lag to deal with. Children usually need time to readjust too, after a week or two of later bedtimes, more treats and fewer rules. Ease back into the usual routine over a couple of days rather than all at once. For long-haul trips, our guide to beating jet lag with a young family includes advice on coming home.
Tackle the washing straight away
It is not glamorous, but getting the first load on as soon as you walk through the door makes a real difference. A mountain of sandy, sun-cream-stained clothes sitting in the corner is a constant reminder that the holiday is over. Get the children to empty their own bags; it is a good habit, and it makes the job quicker.
Turn the photos into something
Most holiday photos never leave the phone. Make a post-holiday project of choosing the best ones and printing them, whether that is a photo book, a few prints for the fridge or a frame for the children's room. Going through them together is a lovely way to relive the trip, and children enjoy picking their favourites and writing captions.
Make a memory scrapbook
Encourage children to collect small mementos while you are away: ticket stubs, maps, postcards, restaurant napkins, shells and their own drawings. Back home, give each child their own scrapbook (one each avoids arguments) to stick them into. If they kept a travel journal while away, add it to the collection. It becomes a keepsake they'll look back on for years.
Cook the flavours of your holiday
Food is one of the most vivid holiday memories. Many ingredients from popular family destinations are easy to find in UK supermarkets, so pick a favourite dish and recreate it at home. Let the children help, set the table outside if the weather allows and put on some music from the trip. Our holiday soundtrack ideas might help.
Bring the best bits home
Once you are back, sit down and note what everyone enjoyed most. It might be time together without screens, long walks, trying new food, the adults getting a spa afternoon or simply eating together every evening. Then think about how to bring a little of that into everyday life:
- a regular family day out, even somewhere local;
- a weekly meal where everyone sits down together;
- a language app or class if the children loved learning a few words;
- a little time for the adults, booked in the diary rather than left to chance.
Have something to look forward to
Before you go away, put a few small things in the diary for after you get back: a coffee with friends, a film night, a trip to the park or a visit to grandparents. Nothing big, just something to stop the return feeling like a cliff edge.
Start dreaming about the next trip
You don't need to book anything, but browsing ideas for your next holiday is a great mood lifter. It is also the best time to plan, while you can still clearly remember what worked and what didn't. Did the children love the kids' club? Was the transfer too long? Jot it down now. Our family holiday money-saving tips are a good place to start.
The tan will fade, but the memories don't have to. A gentle return, a few creative projects and something to look forward to keep that holiday feeling going well into the term ahead.