Frequent Family Vacation Critic contributor, mother of two, and The Mamahood blogger Lisa Milbrand offers her take on how travel makes her family happy.
They say that money can’t buy you love or happiness, but there actually should be a little asterisk after that. Because studies have found that if you spend money on leisure activities or travel, you’ll increase your happiness factor. (Click here.) It’s the kind of buzz you can’t get from buying the hottest new shoes or a better car.
And it’s the kind of buzz my family actively seeks. Looking back on my own childhood, I couldn’t really tell you most of the gifts that were under our Christmas tree or stacked beside the birthday cake. But I can recall every single trip we took as a family, and every concert, show or special event my parents invested in. And so, we’ve given up buying anything more than small token gifts for our daughters’ birthdays. We splurge, instead, on experiences for them.
They’ve been to Disney (my oldest, twice), and ridden boats under the roar of Niagara Falls. They’ve swam in the ocean, and petted whales. They’ve made S’mores around the campfire, and had fancy room service in a posh hotel. In this, our “Summer of Beatles,” we saw both living Beatles in concert (including the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Ringo and Paul on stage together, performing “Birthday” in honor of Ringo’s 70th birthday).
And we see how happy it makes us — and them. We revel the excitement and anticipation in the weeks leading up to our biggest excursions. We savor every moment when we’re at the event, and we spend a lot of time reminiscing. And I’m filling albums with photos and stories and mementos from our trips and events, to help them carry the memories with them as they grow up.
I have big plans for our future. Swimming with dolphins. A grand tour of China and Japan. Eating our way through Europe. Learning to surf. And I’m getting a thrill just dreaming about it.
