Blog

As many mothers will probably testify, going on holiday with a young family is rarely a form or rest and relaxation to help you recuperate from the stress of every day life. Whether you decide to stay in a villa or a hotel, both options have the downside when it comes to family holidays.

A hotel will remove the burden of cooking and cleaning, but depending on how many children you have, suddenly your living space is reduced from the size of your family home, down to a couple of rooms.

A villa will give you the space you are used to, but then you are back to running a household, washing, cooking and cleaning and watching the kids 24 hours a day again. This is not a holiday.

Photo by Rachel Claire: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-leaning-out-of-a-window-train-6761976/

Describe your dream holiday

The following is a description of a perfect holiday scenario for the mother of a large family (no expense spared!)

In the run up to the holiday, all the laundry is miraculously completed on time, the suitcases got down from the loft, and enough items fitted into each family member’s while still being able to close the lid and zip it tight shut without having to sit on it.

On the day of departure, everyone is up and about in plenty of time, the passports are all in the place where you last left them, and the car service you ordered from the various East Malling taxis you researched is outside your front door on time.

The journey to the airport passes without incident. No one gets car sick and vomits over their clean travel clothes, there are no accidents en route, traffic jams 10 miles before the airport exit, punctures, breakdowns or climate activists slow walking along principal routes. You arrive at the airport with plenty of time to spare, your flight is on time, and the check in queue only has half a dozen families ahead of you.

Once you arrive at your villa, via a chauffeur driven car with working air conditioning, you are welcomed by a posse of staff who remove and unpack your bags while serving you cold, fresh drinks, and feeding your kids on your behalf.

Now this is the perfect villa holiday. A home from home, except that you have a team of dedicated professionals looking after your every need, from shopping, cooking and washing up, to ensuring that you and your family have clean, freshly washed clothes every day. There is nothing that you have to worry about, other than relaxing and restoring your wellbeing.

The best part of the holiday

A the long, languid days of a holiday play out and you are truly relaxing, your thoughts begin to turn back towards your life back home. This is a good sign. It shows that you have rested and recuperated. It shows that, while relaxing and having others take care of your every day needs, it is good to be back at the helm and in control of your own destination.

There is something deeply satisfying about coming back to your home, and unloading the suitcases directly into the washing machine. The gentle hum of the washing machine and the smell of fresh laundry is a welcome reminder that while holidays are great, the best part of a holiday is heading back home.

So if the ideal holiday as described above is somewhat beyond your budget (and chances are it will be beyond most people’s), then why not consider spending that holiday money on two weeks of domestic help in the home. Make plans with your family to do lots of different activities while a team of people at home gets to grip with your daily needs.