Planning a Weekend Break with Children

A weekend away with your children can be a great break from routine, can give your children the opportunity to explore a new area and try new activities, and give them something different to talk about when they go back to school on Monday!

There are several things that need to be considered when planning a family weekend break, especially if you have younger children. The location of your trip, your choice of accommodation and the available activities tend to take up most of the planning time, with each factor being equally important to ensure that your trip goes without a hitch.

Where to Go?

The location you head to and the things that there are to do in the area should be planned well in advance of your break. You will need to have enough activities planned to cover the weekend, but of course you will want to minimise travelling time to avoid the dreaded “Are we there yet?” question from those stuck in the back of the car! Ensure you pack enough activities for the journey, such as games consoles, books or portable DVD players.

Where to Stay?

Accommodation will form a major part of your break, even if you are only staying for one night. In order to get the most stress-free short break possible, you should look at the facilities which are on offer from family-friendly hotels. Hotels such as Gullivers Hotel in Warrington, Cheshire understand some of the more common difficulties involved when taking a break with children, such as the extra equipment that is needed, and they go the extra mile in ensuring that they meet your family’s needs.

A family-friendly hotel with all of the additional facilities you may require (such as a cot, highchair, baby monitors and even games consoles to keep your child entertained in the evening) will help your break run smoothly, as well as significantly cutting down on the amount of things that you need to take with you. Food can prove to be an issue, especially if your child is a fussy eater, so check out the menus of the hotel’s restaurant and places in the local area before you go, and search for those that go the extra mile in catering for children.

What to Do?

As you will know, children can get bored very easily and the best way you can combat this during the break is to plan ahead and fit lots of different activities in across the weekend. You need to account for both wet and dry weather; it is the UK after all, and the last thing you want is for all of your planning to go to waste if it is too wet for outdoor activities. If your child has a particular interest, perhaps history, animals or science, you should check the area’s days-out guides to see if there is anything that would interest your child. The more tailored to your child’s interests the attractions are, the more successful your weekend will be.

Alternatively, if your child is more into the outdoors, sports or adventure then theme parks in the country with adventure courses may be more suitable.

What next?

Once you have put some time and effort into planning your break, the only thing left to do is to go and have fun!