Prepping for Vacation Without Kids

It is a rare occasion that we get to go on a vacation without kids, but we are now less than three weeks out from our big trip to Thailand! The longest we have gone away was 10 days for our honeymoon; so this one will be something entirely new while we are gone for a solid two weeks.

My amazing father-in-law is stepping in to keep the kids on track while we are gone. He will do an amazing job, but I can’t help but leave a million notes behind.

I am prepping early to make sure I don’t leave out any information. We won’t be out of contact while we are away, but the time difference will make it more difficult to touch base regularly. Plus, a big part of me wants to disconnect and just be able to relax.

Explore More: Curious how our trip went? Check out my Thailand itinerary with ideas for what to do while in Thailand.

Prepping for Vacation without Kids:

List of Emergency Contacts

It is important to leave a list of all contacts that might be needed while you are away. I make a list that includes all of their doctors or medical professionals with their email and phone number.

Since my father-in-law is from out of town, I am also including the address for the nearest hospital making sure that he has our insurance information as well. Include a list of any medications your kids might take too.

Additionally, I make sure he has the contacts of the kids’ school just in case something happens where he needs to pull them out of school.

Let your friends know that you will be out of town and provide their numbers as a “just in case”. I rely heavily on friends for helping to carpool my kids while we are gone so that my father-in-law doesn’t need to stress about driving all over the place.

School Schedule

Next I am including a basic daily schedule for getting our kids out the door in the morning. Honestly, this is probably one of the most hectic parts of my typical day.

My father-in-law is a retired Navy officer though so I have no doubt in my mind he will whip them into shape. It’s amazing how much faster kids move in the morning for other people, but somehow for me it is like pulling teeth to get them to move.

On their written schedule, I make sure to include what time they wake up, when they need to walk to the bus stop, and what time their officially school starts. Our school district also uses an app that we can track the bus route, so I am making sure to share my log-in information for that too.

Appointments & Extracurriculars

This is the next tricky part of our day as we normally have A LOT going on and it changes week to week. Do your best to create a general calendar with all times and locations of extracurriculars listed out.

Make sure to include any absolutely, cannot miss appointments. But otherwise, it is important to just relax. If the kids happen to miss a practice or rehearsal, it is not the end of the world. Most people are pretty understanding when parents happen to be out of town.

Preplanned Lunches & Dinners

Planning dinners can be tricky in and around all of our kids extracurriculars. It is difficult enough for me to do it and I plan for it every week. So, I plan to make a bunch of make-ahead frozen meals that can just be taken out and heated up around their schedules.

My father-in-law is a great cook, so I will probably end up only making meals for half the time we are away, but I figure any little bit helps.

Make lunches easy for whoever might be watching your kids by having a lot of grab and go items on hand. Stock up on individualized packed items that can be easily thrown in for lunch such as fruit cups, applesauce, yogurts, or pretzel bags.

Explore More: If you need some lunch ideas while you are away, head over to my 10 Must-Haves for Quick Lunches post.

Explore More: Need help planning ahead for your meals? Check out my 6 Steps to Weekly Meal-Planning post for a free downloadable template.

Clean House & Laundry

The less chores you can leave behind the better. I certainly don’t expect my father-in-law to clean while we are away, so I want to leave the house in half decent shape. I’m not one for deep cleaning, but I plan to tidy up the house and make sure the kitchen is clean.

If you followed my plan and tips for packing for a trip, then most of your laundry should already be done. Try to knock out your kids laundry as well though so they will have plenty of clothes available while you are gone.

Explore More: Check out my easy house cleaning plan to leave your home spotless before you leave!

Special Treats

We will be traveling over Valentine’s Day, which if you have my post on how to create a memorable Valentine’s Day, then you know it is typically when I like to do special little things to make them feel loved. With us being gone, I’ve started to brainstorm little ways for them to feel the love even while we are abroad.

One way is to leave special notes for them to find around the house. Sometimes I leave “Open When…” notes where they open letters when they are feeling happy, or need a hug, or just want to laugh. You can also write a letter for each day while you are gone.

Since we are gone over Valentine’s Day, I have planned a special themed movie night and dinner for them to watch Lady & the Tramp and have a make ahead spaghetti and meatball casserole. We will also be leaving small Valentine’s day gifts and cards for them to open while we are away.

While we are abroad, we also like to bring home a small souvenir for each kid. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, just something to let them know we were thinking of them while we were away.

Trial Run

Lastly, if you are going away for an extended period of time, it might be good to schedule a trial run with whoever is going to be looking after the kids. I give credit to my husband for coming up with idea where my father-in-law is essentially going to shadow one day in our crazy household.

It is easier for him to come to the bus stop in the morning versus me having to write out where to go and experiencing the carpool line is far different than seeing it on a map. Plus, it helps get the kids ready for what it will be like to have someone else there all the time and not just me.

Now the only thing left to do is RELAX! I’m not the type to do that until I am on the plane with nowhere else to go, but prepping early for our vacation without kids helps keep my mind at ease. Anything else I’m forgetting? Let me know in the comments below!