Hobbies

Vacation memories

It’s vacation time! Yeah! Since vacations don’t last forever, here are creative ways to keep your memories alive. Another great family activity!

Basic Essentials

 

 


  • Buy a notebook for each child. This way, they will write down their observations, vacation secrets, and personal thoughts. Why not keep one for yourself? When was the last time you kept a diary?

  • Put all the flyers and information brochures in a big envelope. Keep everything: identification bracelets, entry tickets, and roadmaps. You will sort everything out later at home.

  • Create an album and write in it every day during your vacation: dates, sunrises, temperatures, daily activities, visits, itineraries, observations, etc. Writing in a diary every night before going to bed is a good tradition to keep. Younger kids can draw in their diary.




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Why not?

  • Do you have a video camera, a smartphone or a tablet? Perfect! Let your children become journalists. Bring the camera to your children’s sports practices and ask your older child to interview the players! At the zoo, why not ask the veterinarian some questions and have it on camera? Are you heading to the beach for two weeks? Every night, make a family video recap: exactly one minute per family member to summarize the day’s activities and anecdotes! No censorship and everyone participates!

  • A special outing to the museum? To be sure that your children enjoy this activity, buy disposable cameras. Your kids will be concentrated during the entire tour and will have a personal souvenir at the end. Compare everyone’s pictures and discover what everyone enjoyed the most.
Back home
  • Why not try scrapbooking to create unique albums with your best vacation memories? For a personal touch, add pictures, vacation brochure cut-outs or even tree leaves from the place you visited. There are no limits… let your imagination run wild!
  • Plan a family movie night to watch what you have filmed during your vacation! Don’t forget the popcorn and let yourself laugh and enjoy the home movies!
  • Why not create a little exposition of your vacation memories? Make your own little museum. Children love to showcase their discoveries and adventures! Crafts illustrating your journey (put up a roadmap illustrating the actual distance you traveled!), a souvenir exposition (the souvenirs you bought and the ones you found, such as seashells) and let each child tells a part of the trip! Grandparents are always huge fans!

 

 

Summer themes

Here are a few project ideas to print out your memories!

  • Megastores and specialized arts and crafts boutiques now have a large variety of scrapbooking material or printing book options. Go check them out as a family. You will leave with your head filled with ideas!
  • Tasty memories? Why not! Buy local products or even the region’s local recipe book so you can bring the wonderful flavours home with you! On a special weekend, make a meal that will remind you of your trip!
  • What’s better than nature? Children have a blast examining rocks, trees and flowers. Let them bring back a few! Before leaving, bring an empty container and fill it with sand from the place you visited. Identify the container with the name of the location. You will start a sand collection of where you’ve been in no time!
Not going away for your vacation?

Just because you are staying home for your vacation doesn’t mean you can’t travel! Organize a big expedition on a far away land. Choose a destination and discover it by going on the Internet, finding books or reference articles! Let the younger children draw what animals could be found there and make the older children compare the living habits of this exotic land with their own! Why not find a restaurant that serves exotic food? A great way to break the routine and keep good memories of this home….and “exotic” vacation!

Image de Nadine Descheneaux

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