I remember being a little girl and heading up to the Scottish Highlands for a week away with the whole family. Dad always drove. My sister and I would bicker all the way up, while my mum would repeatedly shush us. My brother, with his cool Sony Walkman on, would be blocking out the incessant squabbles by listening to Bon Jovi. Ah, those were the days.
When we arrived at our Scottish destination, we three kids would leap out of the car and head onto the resort grounds to find some kind of entertainment. There was usually an onsite games room, space to play hide-and-seek, some local animals and a huge playground. It seemed like such an adventure and brought us excitement beyond belief. Even today, so many years on, just thinking about it brings back some memories I’ll never forget. They were simple, happy times.
I don’t have any photos, unfortunately, but the sights and sounds of those highland excursions are etched in my mind forever.
Positive memories are important for our transition from childhood to adulthood, and should be cherished. Writing this post got me thinking about all the different ways that you help keep them alive through the years, giving you and your family a touchpoint of shared experiences. Here are a few great ways to keep your holiday memories fresh and awesome.
A Holiday Memory Jar
Organising your great holiday memories in a jar may sound odd, but it can be a tidy way to collate notes from each family member for future reminiscence. Every holiday you take, each person with you should write their best memory of that holiday, along with its time and place, fold it up and place it into the jar. In years to come, you’ll smile at the funny ones, and feel that bitter-sweet nostalgia about others. It’s a little library of your holiday life.
Travel Collage
This one’s easy – just collect some bits and pieces as you travel around, create a great big holiday collage, frame it and put it somewhere in the house where everyone can see. It’s the type of art that breaks the dinner-party ice and starts conversations buzzing with great holiday stories.
Photo Box
Don’t want to frame it? Box it. Buy a nice storage box and place holiday notes, photos, maps and tickets in the box. This will become like a time capsule of travelling greatness. When you’re feeling nostalgic, just pull the box out and turn it upside down. Those wonderful memories of exploration and experience will come flooding back (and possibly get you thinking about your next vacay). The whole family can join in on this one.
Travel Journal for Kids
This is a great idea for the mini travellers in your crew. Before you go away on holiday, pop out to the shops and pick up some blank notebooks and art gear. When you arrive home, get the kids to decorate each journal with their name and whatever else they’d like. This is now their own holiday journal that they can carry around with them on their holiday, and use to write in, draw on and stick fun stuff into. It make the kids creative, and gives them a keepsake they can hang on to forever.
A Map and Travel Scrap Book
You know when you’re on holiday and you get bombarded with maps and flyers of places to visit? Well, take a closer look. Some of those brochures are feature really nice pieces of art. Why not keep the best ones, cut them out and place them in a scrap book?
Some of the theme park maps are the best, with cartoons and other cool additions. It’s a shame to just throw them out. You can paste tickets, entry stubs, stickers, bottle tops and other travel souvenirs into the book for safe-keeping. Just think – how great it will be to look back and peruse through it in years to come!
So next time you’re about to pack your bags to head away on a holiday, why not consider one of these great ideas? You’ll keep those holiday memories alive long after you get back, and maybe even have a bit of fun doing it.
