Family vacations are supposed to be core-memory material, but let’s be real: they can also be a blur of airport snacks, sunscreen battles, and someone asking, “Are we there yet?” every 11 minutes. Still, it doesn’t take a Disney-sized budget or a perfectly curated itinerary to make a trip feel extra special. Sometimes, the small stuff — like bunking on sleepover beds in a mountain cabin or catching fireflies after dinner — sticks with you.
Whether you’re heading cross-country or just a few hours from home, these simple ideas can help sprinkle a little extra magic into your next family adventure.
1. Let the Kids Plan a Full Day
Instead of giving kids random say-so during the trip, let them be the boss for a day. Give them a budget and a few guidelines (like it has to be within X miles or open on Tuesdays), and let them build the day from scratch. They’ll get surprisingly into it, especially if you make it official with a silly name like “Captain Lily Day” or “Max’s Magical Monday.”
Encourage them to research options beforehand or flip through a guidebook. Even if they plan something totally random (mini golf, a donut crawl, a museum of odd local history), it becomes part of the adventure. Bonus: it teaches decision-making and gets them invested in the experience.
2. Pack a Mystery Bag of Surprises
Grab a reusable tote or pouch and fill it with wrapped surprises: travel games, card decks, window clings, gummy candies, glow sticks, tiny puzzles, temporary tattoos — anything silly and fun. Set a rule: every time someone gets cranky or the wait gets long (looking at you, TSA line), someone gets to pull a surprise.
Even teens get excited about a surprise bag when they’re bored out of their minds in the back seat. You can even make a few items “family” surprises, like a new game to play together or a treat to share. Think of it as your emergency vacation toolkit — and no, you don’t have to spend a lot. The dollar store is your friend.
3. Start a “One Photo a Day” Family Challenge
Each person gets to snap one photo a day that shows their favorite moment. No retakes. No “say cheese.” Just pure, unfiltered joy (or chaos). Maybe your youngest captures the lizard in the hotel hallway, while someone else snaps the view from the top of a hike or the pile of pancakes taller than their head.
At the end of the trip, scroll through everyone’s photos and talk about the stories behind them. It’s a way to see the trip through each other’s eyes, and the final “album” becomes a keepsake that’s way more fun than a bunch of posed group shots in matching shirts.
4. Plan One Awesome Night With No Screens
Declare one night the “screen-free spectacular.” No phones, no tablets, no Netflix. But here’s the catch: don’t just ban screens, replace them with something better. Bring a few board games that travel well (Uno, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Exploding Kittens), or create a DIY trivia night using random facts about your family.
If you’re outdoors, plan a flashlight tag game or lay out a blanket and do constellation spotting (or make up your own). Indoors? Build the ultimate blanket fort and tell spooky stories. Order pizza, let the kids stay up late, and make it feel like an event. It’s not about going full Amish but making one night of connection feel like the thing they’ll want to do again next time.
5. Invent a Family Tradition (and Make It Ridiculous)
The weirder the tradition, the better. It doesn’t need to be heartfelt or meaningful. It just needs to be yours. Maybe it’s doing a silly handshake every time you cross a state line. Maybe it’s buying the ugliest souvenir magnet you can find, or singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” every time it plays, no matter where you are (yes, even in the grocery store).
Give the tradition a name like “Vacation Rule #7” or “The Sacred Sock Shuffle.” The point is to create inside jokes and little rituals that only make sense to your crew. Years from now, when someone randomly says, “Remember the pancake chant?” — that’s the magic.
Make the Memories You Actually Want To Remember
You don’t need five-star resorts, perfect weather, or a color-coded itinerary to have a memorable family trip. What makes vacations magical is the stuff that wouldn’t make it onto Instagram: the weird traditions, the lopsided group photo, the time someone got gum in their hair during karaoke night.
So, try one idea, add your own spin, and see what moments stick. You might be surprised which ones turn into lifelong “remember when” stories. And if all else fails? Ice cream for dinner usually works.