You and your kids would barely remember getting Montezuma's Revenge in Cancun past the next month, but instead you are forging a link between your parents and your own great grandchildren. Your son will have a better answer when asked:"Tell me what it was like when you visited your grandparents when you were young, grandpa."

Social media is a killer on this one .... our older children did not have instagram and such so they had no idea what other kids did on vacation other than when they returned to school and talked about it, if they even did that. Our younger DC has been horrible since they see everything on a real time basis with beautiful photo shopped perfect moments (lol) to include private planes and all. Yes, I know, keep them off social media, not entirely practical with teenagers on break. The first few days are the toughest Op, I can sympathize with you.

Comparison is the thief of joy. I know a lot of people with a lot more money than me, but I wouldn't trade places with any of them.

The people do brag about it. Op, it can be annoying. We never even had spring break at our public schools, so I was shocked to see how many families travel for their kid’s break when I moved to DMV. I just never had heard or seen this behavior before. It was not a way of life in my childhood town. Not everyone travels, Op. Look in the spring break SACC. It’s packed and has a long waitlist every year. Remind yourself that not everyone is flying off somewhere. Some of us have to work the week of our kids’ spring break. Try to do other extra fun activities around these times. No one said that you had to fly hours away to have an incredibly fun time. We go on new hikes and visit different local sites on the weekends or during the weeknights. Go to the movies instead of watching one at home. Try a new zoo or adventure land. These things are less expensive and don’t require you to board your pet, pack tons of suitcases, stand in baggage, rent a car, check in to hotels, etc. And, at the end of the break, there’s no big laundry requirement, no one’s sick or tired, and nothing needs unpacking and sorting out. Traveling is exhausting, too.

I just don't, so I can't tell you how not to.

You should start here: why do you?

^ me again. I would add that if might be okay to use the $ to go on vacation once instead of seeing your parents if that is important to you.

My kids have zero living grandparents at 10 and 12. Nowhere to go for thxgiving and Xmas holidays. We all lack something. Be grateful for what you have.

Anonymous wrote:Tiniest violin etc I know but lots of other families travel to amazing places every break. Europe for skiing over winter and February break, then Caribbean for spring break and summers in Martha’s vineyard. How not to feel bad about your own family when you haven’t taken a real vacation in years besides to visit grandparents?

Jealousy and envy will eat you alive. Count your blessings. A visit to grandparents may not be the Riviera, Caribbean, or Nantucket but it is a visit with people who love you and people that you love. Again, count your blessings. Many of us would give anything to visit with long gone loved ones.

This is us. My kids are now 17 and 21. We have managed to get them places via travel with friends, study abroad, trips, funded by grants from college etc. But was only “family vacation” the whole time they were growing up aside from visiting grandparents. They are doing just fine and they are kind and grateful kids! of course I wish we could have taken beautiful family trips every year but it wasn’t possible given our budget. When they get to high school the sports schedules make travel much more challenging which made it easier in some ways to not have travel budget

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, that sounds utterly exhausting. I can afford all this but I get tired of so much travel.

Same here. Money not an issue but won't travel just to impress someone else.

OP doesn’t want to impress …she wants to actually go on vacations. I am poor and I want to take my kids to experience this and see them experience this, but I have credit card debt from grocery shopping so yeah …I too would like to travel.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, that sounds utterly exhausting. I can afford all this but I get tired of so much travel.

Same here. Money not an issue but won't travel just to impress someone else.

Honestly, that sounds utterly exhausting. I can afford all this but I get tired of so much travel.

That's so unrealistic to me. Even if I could afford to do all of that traveling, I doubt I would do it. How can you have something to look forward to when you are traveling every other month or so.

Crowds. Any place cool will be crowded.

Tiniest violin etc I know but lots of other families travel to amazing places every break. Europe for skiing over winter and February break, then Caribbean for spring break and summers in Martha’s vineyard. How not to feel bad about your own family when you haven’t taken a real vacation in years besides to visit grandparents?