Keeping Kids Engaged on Holidays: Creative Travel Tips and Bringing the Holiday Spirit into Everyday Life

Travelling with children can be an exciting and memorable experience, but it often comes with the challenge of keeping them entertained and engaged throughout the journey. Whether you’re on a long road trip, flying abroad, or simply heading out for a weekend break, children can quickly grow restless, making it essential to plan activities that hold their attention. Fortunately, with a bit of creativity and planning, you can keep your little ones entertained during your holiday and even incorporate some of their favourite activities into everyday life once you’re back home.

Here are some tips for keeping kids engaged while on holiday, with ideas to extend the fun into their routine once the trip is over.

1. Active Play on the Go

Children love movement, and staying active is one of the best ways to entertain them. Whether you’re staying at a hotel, renting a holiday home, or camping, it’s important to give them opportunities to burn off energy. If you’re visiting a holiday destination with ample space, consider bringing along compact outdoor equipment, like a portable trampoline. Trampolines are fantastic for energetic play, offering children a fun way to bounce off some of that pent-up energy after a long car journey or flight.

Once you’re back from your trip, a trampoline can still play an integral part in keeping your kids active at home. Setting it up in the garden offers year-round entertainment, allowing them to enjoy the same kind of outdoor fun they had on holiday. It’s a great way to incorporate their holiday activities into their normal life, ensuring they remain engaged and healthy through play.

2. Create Holiday-Themed Play Spaces at Home

If you want to bring a little bit of your holiday back into your everyday life, consider creating themed play spaces based on your children’s favourite aspects of the trip. For instance, if you visited a nature-filled destination or spent time in the mountains, try building an indoor adventure zone for your kids. A pikler triangle set, with its versatility and ability to mimic climbing and balancing activities, is perfect for creating a mini climbing adventure area inside your home.

While on holiday, children can use a Pikler triangle to keep active indoors, especially during downtime or rainy days. To stimulate their imagination, you can even pair it with sensory play items, such as soft mats, tunnels, or even nature-inspired toys.

Once you return home, the Pikler triangle becomes a wonderful tool for maintaining their sense of adventure. It encourages physical development and helps them practice the motor skills they explored while away. Plus, it keeps them active indoors during colder months or rainy days, making it a perfect addition to their regular playtime routine.

3. Interactive Games for Travel and Home

Long travel days often mean a lot of sitting around, whether in airports or cars. Keeping children entertained during these downtimes can be tricky, but interactive games are a lifesaver. Pack a travel-friendly selection of card games, puzzles, or brain teasers to keep their minds active while on the move. Another idea is to create scavenger hunts based on your holiday location. For instance, if you’re visiting the seaside, create a list of items for your child to find, like shells, certain types of boats, or seagulls.

These interactive activities can easily be continued once the holiday is over. Incorporate some scavenger hunt themes into everyday life by creating challenges in your garden or around the house. You can even expand the themes based on your child’s holiday memories, keeping the excitement of the trip alive.

4. Bringing Back Mementos

Collecting souvenirs from your holiday is a great way to engage children in the travel experience. Whether it’s seashells from a beach, postcards, or small trinkets from a local market, these little treasures can remind them of the fun they had during the holiday. Once you’re back home, you can work with your child to create a holiday scrapbook. Let them arrange their mementoes, photos, and tickets, allowing them to reflect on their favourite moments and share stories with friends or family.

Another idea is to bring back books or toys that represent the culture or environment of your holiday destination. If your children became fascinated with a certain animal or activity during the trip, find a corresponding toy or book to bring that interest into everyday life. This not only keeps them engaged but also expands their learning through their travel experiences.

5. Maintaining the Holiday Routine

Holidays often come with fun new routines that children quickly get used to – like daily ice creams by the pool, evening walks along the beach, or regular playtime in the park. While it’s impossible to recreate every holiday routine back home, you can introduce elements of the trip into your normal schedule. If your child loves a certain outdoor activity, like jumping on trampolines or exploring nature trails, consider making this a weekly or bi-weekly event.

Incorporating their favourite holiday foods into your meal planning can also be a way to keep the holiday spirit alive. Maybe you tried a new local dish or a fun dessert that they loved—why not make it part of your regular menu at home?

Conclusion

Keeping kids engaged during holidays doesn’t have to be a struggle. By incorporating active play with tools like trampolines and Pikler triangle sets, planning interactive games, and bringing back meaningful mementoes, you can ensure your children stay entertained throughout the trip. Even better, these fun holiday memories and activities can become part of your everyday life, offering your kids a sense of adventure and play long after the holiday has ended.