How to enjoy longer holidays with your family (yes, that’s possible!)

Would you like to have a wonderful extended family holiday? Start by shifting your mindset and convince your boss!

We had our first 6-weeks-long family vacation this year and it was amazing!

We took the time to plan our trip and selected activities that the whole family enjoyed.

Benefits last long after vacation ends. As a family, we are closer to each other. We listen and understand the needs of our relatives better. Daily life at home and its routine are easier and nicer.

You can enjoy more family holiday time too! Let’s see how to do it.

The journey starts in your head

Taking 6 consecutive weeks of vacation requires a mindset change: people have asked how we manage to do that and even if this is legal (yes, it is!).

Keep all your usual holiday periods. You need to recharge in energy on a regular basis. The life of parents can be exhausting!

Take MORE vacation time during the year. This means a reduced salary for most of us. You have to accept that.

A small revenue drop can be worth it for your family. Otherwise, how can you compensate for this cost? There are a lot of options to finance a trip, like selling old stuff or renting your house.

How to get approval (and even support) from your boss

We choose to travel during the summer because there is no school anyway. During this period work projects slow down, so we can leave without regret.

My wife has been working 4 days per week since we had our first child. She called a meeting with her employer’s human resources. They agreed for her to work full time during a part of the year to save days off. She uses this shelved out-of-office time for the long summer holidays. Her income has not changed.

It was my turn then! I reached out to my manager to explain our family project. I indicated that my wife already got approval from her company. They accepted my demand for 3 weeks of unpaid time-off. I’ll finish my missions before leaving and share knowledge with the team in case they need it.

We have the green light from our bosses. Hooray!

See the article How to Ask Your Boss for an Unpaid Leave to Travel, Study, or Spend Time with Family for more advice.

Get the best of this precious time together

What will you do during these vacations to make them exceptional? How to find activities that the whole family will enjoy?

We created FamXplor to help parents realize their dream family vacations. Stay tuned for more helpful content and inspiration here!

What do you think? Would you love to take longer family holidays? Or is there anything refraining you?