Families are complicated. And therefore so are family holidays. Chances are, if you’re in your twenties, the family vacation is the longest extended period of time you’ll spend with your parents (and siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents etc) all year. No family is perfect and I often find that vacationing with my family can leave me anything but relaxed and refreshed.
Why is it so tough to spend time with your family?
Your twenties are typically a time of experimentation and change. Often your financial situation will be volatile making train tickets/flights a big expense. You’ll likely be working a lot to try and get that promotion you deserve whilst still finding time to enjoy your youth at the weekends, keep up with uni friends and see that guy or girl you’ve been chatting to on Hinge. It can sometimes feel like a bit of a sacrifice to take a week of your limited holiday and spend it with overbearing parents or narrow-minded relatives particularly when it drags up old feelings of inadequacy or if you feel that you can not be completely yourself around them.
How do you get through the week?
There are a few tactics you can employ to help you survive the holiday.
Set boundaries
Different generations have always butted heads with one another. Often our views and opinions regarding politics, the environment, XXXX will be contradictory to those of our family’s causing arguments and frustrations. At the start of the holiday you should clearly state the topics you are unwilling to speak about with them and ask that they respect this – make sure you stick to your guns and don’t get dragged into conversations that will only lead to a war of words.
Don’t forget to schedule me-time
There can be a lot of pressure to spend all of your time on holiday socialising with your relatives, but don’t feel bad about taking a day off to spend time by yourself – it can really make you feel like a whole person again. Go to the beach, read a book, meet some locals at a bar; remind yourself that you are an adult.
It’s just a week
Try to remember that the week won’t last forever and maybe even use this time as an opportunity to get to know more about your family – they might be your parents, but they’re people too!
Wine
You can buy a bottle in any good supermarket.
Hopefully these little tips will make your next family holiday a real success 😉
