This mother-daughter duo spent some special mommy and me time together in London and Paris. This time, they left baby brother at home so they could spend time one on one. Read on for the details and mom’s best tips for travelling with kids.
“After having a son almost seven years after I had my daughter, I really wanted to continue having the opportunity to be just the two of us again at least for a couple of days a year. I decided to begin travelling with her once a year. This year happened to work out for her 9th birthday while her father was away on a business trip.
Related: A Dream Come True Mother-Daughter Trip to Paris
“Because this trip landed on her birthday, I decided to make everything about her and her love of Harry Potter. From touring the city to different film locations, backstage studio tours and our absolute favourite had to be the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! (even I loved it and I’ve still only seen two of the movies!)” – Shanna
“In Paris, watching my daughter’s eyes light up as the elevator rose up the Eiffel Tower and tricking her into thinking La Grande Roue was closed as we planned the trip months in advance are some of my favourite memories. If you plan to go up the Eiffel Tower at night to see the lights twinkle on the hour, stay at the second level where the lights are magnificent. On the third level, you’ll miss out.” – Shanna
Here are Shanna’s best tips for travelling with kids:
1. Don’t overbook yourself
When planning itineraries for short two to four day trips with my daughter, I try to make sure that I don’t over pack the day with some good leg room in between activities for any transportation issues or if you just really need to sit down and take a break.
2. Get some sleep!
When flying red eyes to save time, I explain to my daughter the importance of getting as much sleep as possible on the plane so as not to ruin the following day. However, I’ve noticed that my daughter doesn’t seem to get as affected with jet lag as I do and perhaps that’s because of all the excitement, but I try not to let myself get stressed out about it.
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3. Go with the flow!
Sometimes itineraries just don’t go as planned even if you’ve spent countless hours on them. Maybe you’ve changed your mind on an activity or maybe weather became a factor. No matter what the case is, just enjoy the time you have with each other because at the end of the day, that’s what the trip was really meant for.
