The Benefits of Family Trips

Can you remember the first time you went abroad with your family? What did you see as you were sat on the plane, or stood on the ferry, watching as your holiday destination came closer into view? How did it feel to arrive in a strange location, with a different language, foreign people, and new ways of doing things?

Looking back at your old holiday snaps helps you to connect with and re-live these precious memories of your early adventures. If you’re planning another family trip soon, you’ll want to take plenty of pictures. You can then capture your once-in-a-lifetime experience in a photo book to share with everyone who didn’t get to go.

Time for a Family Trip?

Wondering if it’s time to go on holiday again? In case you’re not convinced, here are some of the desirable benefits you and your loved ones will experience when you go on holiday together…

Time to Rest & Relax

Working 9 to 5, 5 to 6 days a week takes its toll. Most of us haven’t figured out how to find equilibrium with the whole work/life balance thing, so it’s only natural that we get burnt out. This is all well and good, but we can only take so much before we seriously need a break. Family trips are a highly enjoyable way to escape all the 9 to 5 drudgery and give your mind and body time to rest and relax. It’s like hitting the reset button; after a good family holiday, you return to your daily schedule with renewed vigour and motivation.

Time for Family Ties

How much quality time do you really get to spend with your kids? When you come home from a long day at work, do you have the energy and motivation to connect with your family in a deep and meaningful way? Even if you do carve out time regularly to spend with your loves ones, your family relationships can be further strengthened by going on a family trip.

This is your chance to break out of the cyclical monotony of your everyday life. You get to spend real quality time, conversing and getting to know each other better in the context of an unusual, exciting, new location, (which also allows you explore new parts of yourself.) No matter how much a family holiday costs in financial terms, the chance to strengthen your family ties is priceless.

Time for Feeling Good

It’s been well established in various studies that going on holiday is associated with the release of feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain, like dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. This has a host of other beneficial effects on health, including reducing stress and the likelihood of lifestyle diseases that are exacerbated by stress. Of course, your probably don’t need these studies to know that going on a family holiday makes you feel good; you’ve undoubtedly experienced it for yourself.

Time for Something Different

Author and playwright Hans Christian Andersen once said, “to travel is to live.” How right he was! Interacting with new languages, cultures, cuisine and customs requires a step outside of the comfort zone. This can be challenging, but it’s also the best way for you to grow, expand your mind, and strengthen your self-confidence. Travel is a chance to step out of your cocoon and both literally and figuratively broaden your horizons. The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change…

It’s also a time for something different for your kids; taking them on holiday is a powerful way to stimulate their desire to learn new things. Suddenly, when the kids are having fun, they’re in a novel, brand new environment and the world is their classroom, they can become a lot more genuinely interested in what’s going on around them, which is a beautiful thing.

How to Capture the Magic

Memories fade quickly when you return home from your family holiday, being shaken off by the rhythm of everyday life. That’s why it’s important to take plenty of photos when you go. Here are some tips on how to capture the magic when you’re there.

Travel Light

Take as little as you possibly can. Sure, tripods are a great addition to any photographer’s creative arsenal, but with limited luggage space (and weight) you might want to reconsider packing other essentials, like clothes, instead. Try just taking one camera and if you can, one lens. This limited set-up will promote creativity and encourage you to master one configuration.

Don’t forget to pack your charger/batteries (and the relevant adaptor for foreign countries with different plug sockets), and ensure there’s sufficient space on your memory cards.

Be Spontaneous

When it comes to snapping your kids on holiday, you never know when that golden photo opportunity is going to come along. Be vigilant for photo opportunities, but remember you’re on holiday, so make it a relaxed vigilance. For this reason you should always carry your camera with you. Let your kids be free to be themselves, this opens up the space for authentic photographs.

Have Fun

If you’re a photography addict it might be difficult for you to put the camera away. Remember that the primary reason you’re here is to spend quality time with your loved ones in a new and exciting environment; make sure you give them the attention they need.

Create Timeless Memories

It’s a joy to go through your travel photo album with your kids and recall all the great times you spent together. Your precious memories and fun adventures can now be safely kept between the covers of luxury Italian fabric, or a high quality magazine style softcover.

Personalised photo books are a beautiful artefact, presented with such finesse that they’re a joy to pull off your shelf and admire. Your family (and even people who weren’t on the holiday) will marvel at your immaculately presented photo album, while you relive and relish in your most endearing holiday memories.