Taking Your Nieces or Nephews on Trips

I distinctly remember in the 90s that people used to call divorced Dads who had their kids on the weekend “Disneyland Dads.” The term was pejorative and refers to the fact that the Mums did all the hard stuff during the week. The Dads just took their kids to Disneyland and did other fun stuff, and didn’t have to deal with things like homework and discipline. I guess the term originated in California – the land of divorces and … Disneyland.

Anyway I digress….

When you’re an auntie and not a parent, there are lots of opportunities to be a “Disneyland Auntie” (in a positive sense). You can do all the fun stuff with your nieces and nephews, including exposing them to travel.

If you’re going to be taking kids across international borders, then you’ll need a signed letter from both parents of the child. Right, now you’ve got that set, what types of trips can you take them on.

Weekend Mini Break in Europe

The weekend mini break somewhere in Europe is a great starting point. It’s a great break for the child and their parents. If the children are accustomed to staying the night with you at home, and have taken flights with their parents before, then it should go smoothly. Make sure they’ve slept over at your home regularly before you take on a trip abroad.

Any city you can find cheap flights to will be hugely exciting for them. Plan delicious food and not too many museums or other activities involving lots of standing, waiting, or crowds.

A 1-2 night trip is a great place to start.

You could also just go someone within the UK on the train, but that’s probably not quite as exciting, unless they’re train nerds.

Orlando – Theme Parks HQ USA

Orlando is an easy trip to do from the UK as there are direct flights and lots of options. Stay away from the parks that offer scary roller-coasters as I’m sure the kids’ parents wouldn’t be impressed. However, there are tons of options that are just fun an not scary.

If taking your nieces and nephews on a trip without their parents present seems like too much, you could always travel with the family. This allows the parents to have time to themselves, something they probably never get at home. Tip: if you take kids when they’re 9 or under, they can usually get cheaper entrance prices for the theme parks.

Camping.

At the other end of the budget travel, a camping trip is a great thing to expose your nieces and nephews too. This is especially true if their parents aren’t into camping but you are. If you’re not a great camper yourself, you can always fake it. Try a trip for 1 night initially. Somewhere close to home. Give them the experience of toasting marshmallows on a camp stove and they’ll be hooked!

Don’t plan too much hiking. A quick car camping trip that doesn’t involve them carrying backpacks is the best option to start with. Plan a short hike but something where they don’t have to carry gear.

Introduce theme to some of these camping hacks and they can call you Auntie MacGyver.

Have you ever taken your nieces or nephews on trips?

Photo credit: Don LaVange CC