I like planning a vacation several months, or years, ahead of time. The anticipation and the building excitement are a big part of the fun for my kids. Countdowns and discussions of what to do and where to eat and will we wear matching shirts one day are some of the things they love to plan. I love the time to think ahead and plan for things we will need or want while away from home. We started planning this coming Disneyland trip back in December. I began looking at options right away and waited until I found the right package and best deals for our family before booking the details. We are taking the kids' favorite uncle with us so there will be a total of 10 people. My 9 year old son is the only one still considered a "child." We are driving 2 cars and need 2 hotel rooms. We decided to stay in a hotel 2 blocks from Disneyland so we could easily walk to the park. We chose one with a hot breakfast buffet, included with the rooms, and free parking. We also chose 2 suites with enough beds for 6 in each room. I was able to purchase the City Pass for less money than the 3 day park hopper tickets and 1 day Universal Studios tickets that we were originally planning, so we got to throw in 1 day in Sea World for free and actually saved an additional $113 by doing so. We booked through GetAwayToday travel. I love this company! I have spent a lot of time putting together packages on my own and have never been able to get the price lower than what they offer. (I am not a paid spokesperson for them.)
$300 + in beach towels for 75 cents plus $10 s/h:
At the beginning of this summer I was thinking of our trip and the beach. I started thinking about how our beach towels are getting a little raggedy and thread bare. I wanted to purchase some new ones, but wanted to find a really good deal and then I remembered Kohl's Cash. We were planning a day in July to take the kids up north to do their school clothes shopping and go to 7 Peaks Water Park, just waiting for a Kohl's sale and coupon to come in the mail. Sure enough, we soon received a 30% off your entire purchase coupon and planned our shopping/swimming day. I received $80 in Kohl's Cash that day, which I could spend the next weekend. The following weekend I looked online at the Kohl's site and was excited to find that their $29.99 beach towels were on clearance for $6.99. I was able to use my Kohl's Cash to buy 11 beach towels for 75 cents total, plus $10 s/h to have them mailed to me. We got a great deal on some of our back to school clothes and free towels!
I like to keep things simple and organized for traveling so I went to the dollar store and bought these colorful drawstring bags for everyone. They will hold a towel, swimsuit, beach shoes, sunscreen and sunglasses for each person. Then when we hit the beach we won't be searching through duffel bags looking for stuff. We'll grab our bags and be ready to go!
I also decided months ago to buy each of the kids a nice, sturdy duffel bag for traveling. For years we have used mismatched, small suitcases and bags that we have accumulated here and there. I have noticed that the favorite bag and the first one chosen each time is an old UDOT duffel bag that Mike received one year from work. I found a style of duffel that I really liked and began to watch for a sale. Sure enough! I found the $39.99 bags on sale a while later for $15.99 with a free shipping code. Each child got to choose their own print for their duffel and I ordered them. I will show a picture of them when I post my "packing tips." The point is to think ahead for what you might want or need and watch for good deals!
One more idea is to plan what activities you will want to do while at your destination. I love making sand castles at the beach! Before a trip we took to Disney back in 2003 I did some research on sand castles and how to build a really great one. I found a company online that sold special castle building tools and a video on how to use them. I spent $25 and ordered the kit. We watched the movie and learned what to do. When we got to Huntington Beach, I built an awesome castle! The tools and kit really helped! It made it a lot of fun. We are taking the bucket and tools again this year and we will try to recreate another great sand castle. We have had a lot of fun watching the how to movie and relearning.
Plan ahead! It's fun and adds to your vacation experience!
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