Before the holiday come the ordeal of checking the lists
THERE is so much more appeal for me in going on a holiday than planning it.
In fact, I would rather do one of those holidays where you have a start and a finish date and a final destination and just see where you end up in between.
But this Christmas I have had to make plans, make bookings, pay for things in advance and hope like hell I have got all the details correct.
Now I have a finely detailed itinerary, and a daily plan of activities, travel and accommodation.
I need a holiday after planning this holiday.
You would think all the hard work is done, but there is now the packing to plan.
Summer holidays should be simple enough, you would think.
What else do you need besides your bikini, beach towel, thongs, hat and a good book?
That was the teenage me, anyway.
The 40-year-old version of me means all the above plus an entire wardrobe for travelling, shopping, sight-seeing, visiting family and the obligatory Christmas Day finery.
Times that by four, and you have the whole family accommodated.
And that means a suitcase each, cram-packed to get through two weeks.
Then there are the sensible extras.
Sunscreen, first aid kit, entertainment devices, phone and camera chargers, not to mention the phones and cameras, and the nibbles for the trip are all on the list.
I'm sure I will think of more essentials or just-in-case items as we start to load it all into the car before we depart.
Once we pack everything in the car, we will have to get the kids packed in securely and then arrange the families' Christmas presents around them.
I sure hope they don't mind. I sure hope they don't get bored and start to open them.
But there is one more thing that will have to take pride of place on the roof racks of our car.
You see, when you have kids, and you travel at Christmas time, you have to pack a special suitcase the kids can't open. It's kind of like a special beacon so that Santa knows where you are going - if you get my drift.
To others like us, safe travels, and don't forget the Santa beacon suitcase keys, because Santa doesn't carry a spare.
Super Mum with Sharyn O'Neill
Twitter: supermum1972
