There is no one more deserving of a getaway than mothers. With the year almost over, why not gather together a few of your mommy friends and plan a momaction somewhere you can put your feet up.
Besides making you appreciate your little people more, being away from your family could also boost your relationship with your partner.
A study in the Wisconsin Medical Journal found that women who took holidays at least twice a year were "less likely to become tense, depressed or tired, and are more satisfied with their marriages.”
Club Med shares five tips for planning that perfect momcation:
Commit
There will always be reasons to stay home, and most of them involve taking care of the kids. Commit to the trip by paying a deposit for your accommodation or booking a flight, and you’ll be one step closer to packing your bags.
Plan who will take care of the family while you are away
If you’re their primary caregiver, you need to ascertain who’ll be looking after them in your absence. For writer and blogger Belinda Mountain, this involved giving her husband significant warning that she’d be away for 10 days, and that he needed to clear his work schedule to do the school lifts and other child-related chores.
“I also roped in my good mom friends and asked them to help out on occasion by arranging playdates in advance,” she said. Whether it’s committed grandparents or another family who’ll be moving in, your partner who’ll be stepping up, or friends you’d do the same for – sorting their care out is paramount, especially if you want to feel comfortable about their wellbeing while you’re away.
Leave the kids with a bit of fun
The thought of mom going away can be made a lot more appealing to your children if there is something to look forward to at home. Parenting blogger Hayley Malan said that before she left on her recent momcation to Spain, she made a little countdown calendar for the kids with a treat for each day.
“The treats were a hit, but at the same time, their excitement grew as the number of sleeps became fewer until Mom eventually got home,” she revealed.
Do as much or as little as you like
It can be tempting to try and pack in as many sightseeing activities as possible but try to resist. Chances are that as a busy mom you’re low on sleep, haven’t drunk a warm cup of coffee in five years, and wouldn’t mind the chance to finish reading that novel next to your bed.
Include a few top things you want to do while away, but be sure to include a lot of free time for relaxing too. Belinda said: “On our recent trip to Greece with my sister (also a mom), some of my best moments were when we took an afternoon nap on the couch, had a lazy breakfast overlooking the town square, and simply took things slowly. I can’t remember when last I had the free time to do this.”
You might be the type of mom who really enjoys being active and experiencing a lot of new things. Plan your trip according to what you enjoy- whether it is for rest, rekindling old passions or discovering new places.
Make tech your friend
You will miss them and they’ll miss you, so use technology to bridge the divide, as long it doesn’t upset them (very young kids may struggle to understand why they can hear your voice but you’re not physically there). Hayley said that video calling, voice notes, videos and pictures helped her communicate with her kids when she was away. “They loved seeing where I was and what I was getting up to and I could still hear about their day, just like I normally would,” she said.