1. When planning your vacation, try to book it early since the best deals on packages are 30-90 days out. You can get the best deals if you bundle your hotel, airfare and rental car. Some good websites to research prices are expedia.com, travelocity.com, orbitz.com, kayak.com, cheaptickets.com, and trivago.com to name just a few.
2. If you are boarding pets for your vacation, make sure that you make reservations early and that your pets shot records are up-to date or they will not board your pet. If using a pet sitter, have them visit your pets ahead of time and make sure you leave them an emergency information sheet with important numbers like your phone, your vet’s number and a friend or family member they can call in an emergency.
3. Reserve your kid’s day camps early. There are plenty of ideas for summer camps including your local gym, recreation centers, trampoline parks as well as private daycare. Overnight camps book very early; however, many church camps have last minute openings.
4. Creating a summertime calendar is a great way to stay organized. Keep all camps you have booked each week on the calendar as well as the times for drop off and pick up. Also record day trips that the kids may take so you can be prepared the night before with towels, sunscreen and lunches. Have a plan for drop off and pickup. If your kid’s friends are in the same day camps, arrange with other moms and dads to help each other with drop off and pick up each day.
5. Prepare for lunches ahead of time. Before you shop, have your kids help you make a list of creative ideas for lunches each day so you are not making the same thing every day.
6. Plan a weekly evening meal schedule so that you won’t be rushing home each night trying to figure out what to prepare for dinner. Have some quick last-minute dinner meals on hand or even better, prepare some meals over the weekend and freeze them.
Lastly, take time out to enjoy the summer with your kids, whether it be having a picnic at the pool, taking an evening bike ride, or checking out the latest summer movies. The more organized you are ahead of time, the more you can enjoy the summer!
