The "C" Word!

With only a couple of weeks until the summer holidays are over, dare I even mention the “C” word. For those that are interested Christmas Day is only 132 days away. As soon as September arrives, and the kids are back at school, the real count down begins, and the shop decorations and annoying Christmas tunes will be hitting the high street before you know it and everyone starts charging around like lunatics buying up the shops like there is no tomorrow.

In my opinion what better gift to give your children at Christmas than the gift of travel and experiences and a lifetime of wonderful memories. That is what we have done as a family for the past three years and will be doing again this year and have never looked back. We live in a material world, with so much emphasis on brands and the latest gadgets, gizmos and fashion and often the real reason for celebrating this holiday is overlooked and engulfed by commercialism. We made the decision as a family to escape this and spend our main family holiday and quality time together doing what we love most, travelling the world and sharing unforgettable experiences instead of overindulging in presents, food, alcohol and everything that comes with Yuletide excess. Don’t get me wrong we certainly eat well and absolutely love trying the local food and of course a few cocktails wherever we go but it is different to being at home.

The past few years have seen us fly off to tropical climes, escaping the cold and experiencing different cultures, food and some very different Christmas Day activities, namely paddle boarding in Tulum last year, water skiing in Sri Lanka the previous year and surfing in Costa Rica the year before that. This year we are ticking off another bucket list destination and taking the girls to Tanzania and Zanzibar where we will encounter a 4-day family friendly safari. These experiences are absolutely priceless and ones that my children will remember for a very long time, hopefully forever, far more than what toys they were given and as quickly as Christmas comes and goes end up being forgotten about when the next new craze hits.

The Festive Season for many can be a stressful time, when everyone tries to please everyone and so often you end up getting pulled in so many different directions trying to see everyone, or host everyone and it becomes far from relaxing. Take it from me getting away from it all and coming back rested and relaxed in January and ready to start the new year a fresh is the best decision we have made and one that I recommend to anyone.