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Ideal Vacation Holiday Destinations for the Whole Family

May 23, 2014 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

This is a partnered post…

A family holiday is the perfect way to relax and unwind away from the pressures of the modern rat-race. All inclusive family holidays are becoming more prevalent nowadays because of the number of people who want to bond with those who are dear to them and enjoy quality time with each other.

Why choose an all-inclusive deal?

Taking your family away on holiday can be an expensive business. Not only do you have to think about the flights, accommodation and meals, but extras such as drinks or children’s activities, can rack up the cost alarmingly quickly. You don’t want the hassle of counting your pennies every time the kids want a drink, so an all-inclusive deal gives you the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much your holiday will cost.

Holidays in Africa

There are many destinations in Africa which are ideal for families. For example, an all-inclusive holiday in The Gambia guarantees unbroken sunshine and glorious temperatures. Only six hours flying time away, and with no jet lag to worry about, Gambia has beautiful beaches, luxurious hotels, and plenty of interesting excursions to offer.

Holidays in Brazil

A holiday in Brazil is an unforgettable experience. The modern city of Rio de Janeiro has the iconic Copacabana and Ipanema beaches to enjoy. For a more traditional feel, Salvador boasts colonial architecture, as well as stunning beaches. And of course, the natural beauty of the untamed jungle, with its breathtaking hosts of wildlife, is sure to delight any family.

Holidays in The Caribbean

With sun-kissed tropical beaches and crystal-clear seas, the the Caribbean is a matchless family destination. Luxury hotels offer wonderful facilities including pools with panoramic views, water parks, kids clubs and much more. Sports activities, cocktail bars, and buzzing nightly entertainment are all provided, so you can be sure that adults and children alike will have a fantastic time.

Holidays in Costa Rica

With all-inclusive deals to suit every budget, Costa Rica is the ideal spot for families wanting sun, sea and sand. Surrounded by a unique volcanic landscape as well as tropical rainforest, this is a great choice if you are looking for somewhere a little unusual. With all the facilities you would expect from family hotels Costa Rica is hard to beat.

So if you are looking to build a store of family memories, why not opt for an all-inclusive holiday that your family will remember for years to come?

Trying Something New as a Family

March 17, 2014 by Painter Mommy 2 Comments

This is a guest post…

As a family, things can get boring when you eat the same foods and do the same things day in and day out. It is good to change things up a bit and try new things. Experiencing new things leads to children becoming more open minded.

There are literally hundreds of things that a family can consider as a new activity. With something new to try each weekend, children will have something to look forward to. This can be anything from trying a new waterpark to going to a different type of restaurant.

Try New Foods

Children and adults alike can be picky eaters. Most of the time when someone says they don’t like something, it’s because they’ve never tried it. Try a new restaurant that has ethnic food.

Italian is the easiest food to incorporate into something new. Flavors, spice levels and ingredients used vary from nationality to nationality. Consider exposing the family to Chinese, Asian, Mediterranean, Thai and other cultural delicacies.

If you are able, visit a family or tapas style establishment. This will allow you to order a few different items to share. Children can pick and choose what dishes to try and which ones to wait for another day to taste.

Ways to get children to try new foods:

Allow them to order their own meal
Ask for vegetables to be raw
Cook with them at home, letting them pick the ingredients
Go to a kid-friendly restaurant and let them see other kids eating the same foods
Attend a buffet-style restaurant where they can pick their own items

Incorporate Family Exercise Time into your Routines

Exercise is important. If it is done as a family, and mixed in with other activities it won’t seem like a chore. Make up a few different playlists to exercise to.

It is a good idea to go for a bike ride at least a couple times per week. Each family member can use their own iPod or music to bike to.

With an exercise routine, incorporate some of everyone’s favorite music. They will work harder when music that they like comes on. Equal calories can be burned by each member of the family using this tactic.

Make exercising out to be a game. The more fun it is, the more likely the children will be to get involved. Exercise games can also be used to get chores around the house done faster.

Discover New Activities

Consider taking the family on a treasure hunt. These are fun activities that get everyone’s minds thinking. You can view some options if you click here to see what you might be able to expect.

With a treasure hunt, some options are customizable. This helps a family to make the experience an absolute pleasure. It can be items geared toward children, movies, music or something local.

Other activities to consider include:

Painting classes
Horseback riding lessons
Sports
Crafting

Watch a Different Type of Movie or Television Program

If you do not watch television together as a family often, give it a try. Set a schedule based upon each member’s favorite shows. Watch them together rather than separately.

What this does is help families to understand each other’s likes and personalities better. Families are generally separated when it comes to television. Watching a variety of programs helps educate and stimulate the brain in different ways.

You may find that you like a television program that your children find entertaining and vice versa. This is an ideal way to create family bonding time. Hold a discussion following each program to get each other’s opinions.

Consider trying new things and add some diversity to your family’s lifestyle. There are educational opportunities in everything you do. Learn a new trade or skill together, play board games or just try a new food.

Family activities broaden the horizons of each member. For some, it is going outside of their comfort levels a bit. Most of the time, trying something new leads to a new hobby.

What happens when families partake in activities together is that it creates a tighter bond. You will learn something about each other. It is a time for each family member to express their personalities and interests to each other.

Making Your Swimming Pool the Envy of Your Friends and Neighbors

December 30, 2013 by Painter Mommy 3 Comments

This is a sponsored post

To make a swimming pool the envy of friends and neighbors, the overall setup and features have to be a little over the top. This includes items such as unique lighting for pools, an oddly shaped pool, water features and fun play items. The addition of an outdoor sound system is also a feature to consider. During the hot summer months, the neighborhood is likely to find their second home in your back yard. Their children will become great friends with yours and a lot of neighborhood parties and cook outs are likely to be possible.

Include a Fun Slide

Both children and adults enjoy a pool slide. It makes the experience more fun allowing for games and interaction between guests. It is ideal to have the slide positioned for swimmers to enter the swimming pool in the deeper section. If a slide is part of the design, refrain from the addition of a spring board. Slides should also be placed where some shade is available since the summer sun can cause the surface to be very hot and uncomfortable on the skin.

Offer Unique Pool Floats

There are a variety of styles of pool floats available. Some have a hole through the middle which can make for a fun game. Water collects in the holes and children can blow the water out of the floats toward another swimmer. For themed parties, consider having themed inflatable floats available for guests to use. It ties in the theme of a gathering better and offers another element of fun. Floats for children of all ages, including babies and toddlers for safety, are beneficial to have available as well. Select items that are from popular television or movie characters to maintain cool pool status.

Install an Outdoor Sound System

Having music to listen to while swimming is a lot of fun. An outdoor sound system is an item that puts your pool space over the top. Install the speakers far enough away from the pool where it is impossible for water to get inside. The sound system itself, such as the receiver, satellite system or stereo should be in an enclosed space far from the pool as well. Take requests from guests and play family-friendly music when children are present. Consider the popular music groups or songs and tolerate some that may not be your favorite when catering to guests.

Colored Pool Lights

Colored pool lights change the aesthetics of how the pool looks for night swimming. It also makes it easier to play diving games or other surface games while in the pool. This is also a safety feature. Lights show where the edges of the pool are for those that prefer to swim under the water. Sometimes it is hard to see the edges and swimming into the side of a pool can cause injury. Colored lights are fun to change for special events. Consider having a specifically labeled set of lights for birthday parties, Independence Day, Memorial Day and other significant dates.

Fun Water Features

There are a variety of water features that can be added to a swimming pool. One to consider is a waterfall. This will be constructed on the exterior of a swimming pool and spill water into the pool. In most cases, this is natural water that is not chlorinated. It helps to filter in clean water into the swimming pool as well. Another feature to consider is water spouts. These are like small geysers that are along the side of the pool and shoot outward in an arch over to the other side. It is fun when jumping into a pool or swimming over the surface.

Remember to consider the maintenance needed when adding additional features to a pool area. If you elect to include fun pool toys for children, it is ideal to have a dedicated storage space for these items. It is also ideal to have extra bulbs on-hand for unique pool lighting should one become damaged or burn out. When a pool gets a lot of use, consider using a robotic cleaner so that you have more time to maintain the space around the pool and maintain the landscaping as well.

Bingo Games for the Family

September 6, 2013 by Painter Mommy 1 Comment

The Classic Game That Has Renewed its Popularity

To say that bingo is a passé means you haven’t been going to Facebook or to your social media sources these recent times. Bingo is actually just one of several old-timer games that found resurgence and is becoming popular again. You have poker, scrabble, and even Tetris to name some. What makes bingo stand out is its highly customizable format and how it can be played by any age group.

If your family is tech-savvy and are always on-the-go, BingoBlitz and BingoBash are just two gaming apps that are recommendable. They have been included in the ‘Top 100 Facebook Games’ as gathered by gaming sites like GameChitah.com. Many young social media fanatics have found CheekyBingo and other online gaming communities as alternate entertainment/social media venues. Those mentioned, if you want a more personalized gaming experience and you love doing some DIY projects, why not try these bingo variations. For sure you, your kids, your husband, and even your friends will enjoy time spent playing these card game modifications:

Starbucks Bingo

If you’re a Starbucks fan or if you love spending time with friends at a coffee shop, why not have fun with the names being called out by the barista. Starbucks Bingo is a good game to bring with you to enjoy the moments spent in coffee shops. Not only do you have laughs with your coffee-mates, you also become more accustomed to the many pronunciations of one name of a customer being called to attention by the barista.

DIY Travel Bingo

SayYesToHoboken.com came up with a very practical yet artistic bingo variation that will really engage young kids in both making and playing this bingo variant. You only have to be familiar with the classic kids game “I Spy” for you to learn how the mechanics of this bingo game will work. This project is a good way to bond with the members of the family. It’s also a good way to practice those drawing and coloring skills.

Hipster Bingo

Buzzfeed, a social media resource network, can really come up with the wittiest bingo modifications. One really cool game that it has picked up from the many online forums and blogs out there is Hipster Bingo. Whoever came up with this game modification is certainly up to some mischief. However, it is fun to get to know our young hipster generation, don’t you think? You can do your own research of other social cliques and pattern your own modification from this fun bingo game variant.

Family Holidays in Paradise

July 2, 2013 by Painter Mommy 2 Comments

There is so much to love about holidays to Goa, especially when you’re traveling with the family. Naturally, most visitors choose to stay by the beach and soak up the sun on Goa’s glorious exotic beaches, which gives you the chance to kick back and live life in the slow lane. Of course that doesn’t always work when you’ve got the kids in tow, but fear not – once they’ve tired of building sandcastles or splashing in the shallows, there are plenty of other ways to keep them entertained.

Based on India’s beautiful west coast, Goa is a simply stunning part of the world that’s enriched with culture and alive with a fascinating heritage. You’ll find a distinctive Portuguese flavour in this area of India that stemmed from old colonies based here – you’ll find it in everything from the local architecture to the cuisine, which is a tasty blend of Portuguese fare and spicy Indian creations. And if the kids aren’t too keen on trying new tastes, there are always alternatives available – many of which cater to British tastes!

In Old Goa you’ll discover a truly authentic version of this holiday paradise which is worlds away from the holiday resorts near the coast, however this is a trip best reserved for the grown-ups as the kids could get bored. If that’s the case, you can always book into a family hotel and let them while away a few hours in the local kids’ club while you wander off to discover the ‘real’ Goa.

A great way to entertain the kids outside of the hotel and the resort is to head off to explore some of Goa’s natural wonders. Visit the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, take a tour along Goa’s winding river to see animals in their natural habitat, or head off to the stunning Dudhsagar Waterfalls in the middle of the jungle, where the kids can splash about in pristine waters and enjoy the spectacle of these magnificent crashing falls.

It might not be the most obvious place for a family holiday, but that’s exactly why holidays in Goa are so special. When will you treat the kids to a holiday in paradise?