Booking Holidays Abroad For Large Families, Why Must It Be So Difficult?

We've had a taste of sunshine and wasn't it nice. I bet there are many of you like myself now dreaming of holidays in the sun. Unfortunately for us we don't actually have one booked right now.

We were forced to cancel the one we originally had booked at the start of the year due to my husband being out of work for a few weeks (the contract came to an end) and we wisely chose to spend the money we'd saved on day to day living rather than the luxury of a holiday.

24 Hours in Porthmadog

Every now and again, it’s important to have a little break. With a family, it's never as easy as just dropping everything and swanning off for the weekend, so you need to have the perfect destination in mind before you go. If you want to clock out on Friday and spend 24 hours in an area with affordable accommodation and a plethora of family-friendly attractions, try Porthmadog in North Wales.

Assuming you've bundled everyone into the car and driven on Friday evening, you could be checking into a charming hotel or B&B in the beautiful bay of Porthmadog. If you want to try a holiday cottage, you might have to check in early on a Saturday, but the reward will be a more rural and secluded experience.

The Importance of Summer Holidays

The Summer holidays is a time that divide peoples opinions. Some think that they are too long and that both kids and parents become bored very quickly. Others, like myself look forward to them, we find them necessary. I find myself on count down for the Summer holidays as soon as my children go back to school in September.

There are a few reasons why I feel this long period away from school benefits both child and parent :

* Studying/learning from long periods of time can lead to boredom, kids not concentrating as hard. This last term for my girls was 8 weeks long, it seemed to really drag and now we are nearing the end my kids attitude towards school and work has really changed, they've gone from enthusiastic to can't be bothered. I think this shows that a break is needed, in a sense it gives them time to miss what they've been doing.

* A long break from school gives our minds time to refresh, to recuperate. I mean our body needs time to recover when it exercises so surely our brains should be given the same option. Learning is tough at times, especially when you struggle in a certain subject, so really the Summer holidays are just giving us time as a family at home to settle down and destress together.

Before You Were Born Meme

I've been tagged in a fantastic meme by twinmummyanddaddy. This meme makes us think back a little bit and asks about some of the things we used to do before our children were born.

In honestly it is tricky to remember a life before kids because once you have given birth, it feels like they have always been around!!

What is your favourite holiday destination and why?

See this is the good thing my favourite holiday destination is actually somewhere where we have only ever been as a family, Ibiza. We have been there 3 times as a family now but they great thing about this destination is that it is suitable for both families, couples, single people, anyone really.

There is plenty to see and do, whether you want to explore the old town, experience the clubbing night life or enjoy watching the sun go down.

What is your funniest memory pre-children?

This is a tricky one because I was pregnant after being with Daddy Hazelden for four months so I'm hoping it still counts when I was pregnant but my funniest and also one of my best memories would have to be Daddy Hazelden's 24th birthday. This was the day that he got extremely drunk and the end my poor old mum had to help get him in the bath and tuck him up in bed, funny for me, not so funny for him :) This was also the day that he proposed to me, not on one knee but two because the poor man couldn't balance on one knee by this point. Good job I love him otherwise I might not have been laughing.

What was your favourite thing to do in the evening?

My favourite thing to do of an evening pre children had to be take a long hot soak in the tub, you know the one, candles lit, nothing but silence to be heard.

These days I'm lucky if I even get the bath to myself. Even if the kids don't jump in, they are sat on the toilet next to me asking me all sorts of questions!!

What hobbies do you have that you can no longer do?

Now since having children, I haven't had to give up any hobbies. I like to read, I like to attempt to knit and I like to blog. All three things I still do, they just take a lot longer these days.

What do you think you took for granted before having children?

I think I took for granted our time as a couple. I love my kids and I love all the time we spend together as a family but I do wish there was a few more opportunities for Daddy Hazelden and I to spend together as a couple.

We struggle to not only find a babysitter but with Daddy Hazelden working in London, there aren't many days left because our free days are for family time.

I always say it but we really should make more of a conscious effort to spend quality time together as a couple because our relationship is important too.

So who am I going to tag next?

Deborah who blogs at Super Busy Mum
Gemma who blogs at My Mills Baby
Jocely who blogs at The Reading Residence
Gina who blogs at Cold Tea and Smelly Nappies
Jo who blogs at Sit Still Monkeys

xxxx

Holidays Traditions

I hate to remind you all but since school is now back in session, this means that the Summer is over, which in turn means that Christmas is in sight. I mean you must have seen the Christmas aisles in all of the supermarkets, no time like the present to get prepared I say :)

This got me thinking about holiday traditions, not just for Christmas but for Halloween and Bonfire night too.

I think in recent years, Halloween has become more popular over here, we have taken on the ideas of the Americans and trick or treating is becoming a traditional thing to do over here too. I try to take the kids out early afternoon as I don't think they are old enough to be walking around in the darker evenings. If the weather is bad then I always organise a type of treasure hunt indoors for them and they then go around the house with their pumpkin buckets collecting the sweeties that they find.

Anyone who knows me will also know that I am a sucker for costumes. Not only do I love dressing the kids up, I have also been known to put on a Witch costume myself.

Just take a look at this post from 2 years ago and the picture on the left is from 3 years ago, scary how time goes by so quickly.

I couldn't find the pictures from last year so I can't remember what the kids were wearing.

My 3 year old has already informed me that she will be dressing up as a cat and I am tad excited about dressing Layla up in a teeny tiny costume.

I wonder if this year's costume picks will be anything like the Halloween costumes predictions in this infographic from fancy dress ball? I'm thinking maybe we could choose a theme for the whole family this year.

Bonfire night isn't a time that I particularly like, I am not a big fan of fireworks, as a little girl I was extremely scared of all the banging and even now I refuse to hold a sparkler. My kids on the other hand love it. We don't have any traditions really, I think we try and go to a different fireworks display each year. Last year because it was raining, so we decided to drive the car to the top of the cliffs and watch everyone else fireworks, meant we got to stay warm and dry and an added bonus for me, it wasn't so loud!!!

Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I am one of those people that wishes it could be Christmas every day. I have even started a board in pinterest  to show just what I love so much about it. Christmas for me starts in November, this is when I break out all of the Christmas films and it is also a tradition to buy a new Christmas film each year to add to my collection. My favourites are Elf, The Snowman and Santa Claus the Movie.

Of course there is the traditions of leaving a carrot for rudolph and whiskey and a mince pie for Santa, as well as stockings at the end of the bed and the massive Christmas dinner which has to include brussell sprouts!!!

Every Christmas Eve I read The Night Before Christmas to my children as this is also what my dad used to do for me and I think it is nice to carry that tradition on.

Oh and not forgetting the costumes!!!

Each year I buy the girls new costumes to wear on Christmas day and sometimes I may go a little over board and they get costumes for Christmas Eve and Boxing day too.

I wear the same Mrs Santa outfit every year.

And last but not least we leave a key outside to make it easy for Santa to get in because we don't have a chimney for him to climb down, got to make sure he can deliver all of those presents ;)

So what are your traditions for the holidays?? Are their family traditions that you have carried on?

xxxx

*This is a PR collabaration*