9 thoughts every parent has during a family holiday.

Sound familiar?

We all remember the holidays we went on as kids. So we know that when we take our kids on holidays now, we’re making memories that will last a lifetime (especially as we’re taking photos of every single cute moment and posting them on Facebook).

Family holidays are what we dream about when the alarm goes off on a cold winter morning and we drag ourselves out of bed. And then once the holiday finally arrives, these are the thoughts that go through our heads…

1. Road trips are awesome. Oh, wait…

Road trip! I love road trips. We did so many when I was a kid. We used to play I Spy and sing 10 Green Bottles…Oh yeah, and about 15 minutes into the trip we’d start getting bored and asking, ‘Are we there yet?’ and punching each other.

That’s right. I remember now. Thank God someone invented iPads.

2. Family holiday? This calls for some serious selfies.

The Big Prawn? Of course we’re going to stop and take a selfie of the whole family in front of it. It’s compulsory, isn’t it? (I wonder if France has the Big Croissant, or the Big Frog’s Legs, or the Big Stinky Cheese? Probably not. And you know what? That’s why I love Australia.)

3. It will be so nice to get back to nature.

Aren’t holiday cabins great? The kids love the bunk beds and the kitschy seashell ornaments. It’s nice to get back to basics for a few days.

No dishwasher? Fine. No clothes dryer? Fine. No coffee machine… Wait, whaaaat?

4. Now for some family bonding…

This is what holidays are all about: sitting here on the beach, sand between my toes, watching the kids playing together. There’s nothing better than seeing a brother and sister getting along. There they are, building a sandcastle with shells and bits of driftwood. Now they’re digging a moat.

Now my son is jumping on the castle and my daughter is hugging him… or maybe she’s strangling him. Yep, definitely strangling. Ah, kids.

5. Why can’t we be on holidays ALL THE TIME?

The kids are burying their dad in the sand. He’s loving it. We all have such a good time when we can get away like this. If only we didn’t have the stresses of work and school, life would be pretty much perfect.

6. Time to pass on some of my knowledge to the kids. Um…

Wow, look at the stars. You never see stars like this in the city. I’ll tell the kids about the constellations. Let’s see… now there’s the Southern Cross. Or is that it over there? Oh, whatever. Hey, kids! Let’s all just stand here and look at the stars together. Beautiful, huh?

7. Two words: board games.

Oh, look, here’s a cupboard full of board games! Chinese Checkers… with only half the marbles. And here’s Test Cricket and Squatter and Poleconomy. Okay, maybe not. Hey, here’s a pack of cards. I’ll teach the kids to play Cheat. Actually, this is scary. They’re both really good at it.

8. This holiday will be the perfect opportunity to disconnect from technology…

Oh, so the kids want to get out their iPads now? Well, I wouldn’t mind checking Facebook myself. Hey, this is who we are. We want to get connected, even on holidays. It was a pretty smart idea to pack the internet with pre-paid mobile broadband. No need to worry about whether this place would have wifi. Happy kids, happy parents.

9. We’re still on holidays, but we need MORE HOLIDAY TIME. Please.

You know, this has been great. We really have to do this again soon. Maybe we could buy a holiday house. Even better, we could buy a campervan and drive around Australia for a year. We could take leave from our jobs and rent out our place. Nothing’s better than spending time together as a family. I’m going to look into the price of campervans as soon as I get home…

What thoughts run through your head come family holiday time?

Get in the mood for a fun family holiday with these classics… 

Want more? How about:

“We took our kids out of school for a year-long ‘holiday’.”

The 7 truths about going on holiday with your children.