In 2025, Nickie and I decided to bring our families on a vacation, to provide our families with a chance to reconnect and spend time together. My non-extended family tallies at 7 people. Nickie's family tallies at 14. We decided to plan 2 trips, one for each family. Trying to organize a vacation for 21 people would be ludicrous.
Since my daughter Brittany is a teacher, we were constrained to a trip over the Christmas break. Ideally, we would depart on December 26, so that we could celebrate Christmas with other family members and Britt could get back from a week's holiday before her school year started. I checked prices and was surprised to find out trips south were expensive during the holiday break. I heard what you just said and did not appreciate it! Departing on December 26 would cost about $3,000 CAD more than departing on December 24. Alas, my "plan" caused quite a bit of disruption for the various celebrations with other family members.
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| Chilling on the Beach |
Overall, the week was wonderful, as we were able to interact with the family on a more frequent basis than normal. We got to know Britt's 2 children better and spent time with Kris (Britt's husband) and my 2 daughters. I see a bit of Celeste, but usually it is only for lunch on days I am busy at my Creemore house.
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| Pool #802B |
All-inclusive vacations are not high on my travel wish list, as there is a dearth of interesting sights and few hiking trails. It was also tricky to arrange anything (outings, supper, beaching) with the whole group. We were in 3 rooms, so communication alone was tricky. For Nickie's family, we have rented a large house in Mexico, instead of staying at a resort.
Overall, the trip was well worth it, as we were able to spend time together. In terms of repeating the trip, I think other options would be better, especially once the grandchildren get older and more adventurous trips become viable.
Cheers!
