One of my goals for 2009 (#12) that I listed in January was to plan a family vacation for my immediate and extended family members. Well, things are on the way for having everything set in stone for our family vacation! My father asked me two weeks ago where did hubby and I want to go on vacation this year (with my parents). I told my father that I did not have a set location. My mom was set on Alaska this year (I wanted Hawaii). However, we know that it is too much going on in this household to plan anything exotic this year.
Hubby is originally from a country that is North West of South America. So, I am sure that we will be visiting his family that is still there next summer. So, no big trips or out of country trips this summer. His country has one of the biggest carnivals every February.
I told my father that my goal this year was to also plan a large family get away for everyone this year, and he remembered. We will plan a larger vacation get away when things are settled with us.
We have decided upon Hilton Head Island, South Carolina this year for our extended family vacation. Hilton Head has so much history to offer as well. I have been going there with my parents since the seventies when Hilton Head was not as commercialized as it is now and built up, and I was bored to death as an only child after I was tired of playing putt-putt and swimming. It will be a nice get away for everyone this summer and we will be able to relax there and enjoy one another.
Although I am an only child, the rest of our family is pretty large when you look at the extended family ( my fathers siblings, their children, and grandchildren). We felt like this would be a good location to start with this year since the distance will work for everyone driving to Hilton Head, South Carolina and all of the amenities available to us. Between golfing, swimming, shopping, resting, going to restaruants and sight seeing for the little ones, everyone will be satisfied with what the HH has to offer. Hilton Head will be budget friendly for us this year as we are considering the economic crisis that our country is facing right now.
My initial desires were to visit one of Martha's Vineyard historic locations, but we will hold off for that another summer since this summer everyone can pretty much get to Hilton Head within 4-8 hours by car from our various locations.
I spoke with one of my first cousins on Saturday who called to check on me and our adoption progress and we discussed the plan. Hubby is going to create an electronic flyer with the prices, location, and instructions for securing the units for everyone so that they can meet the deadlines for our trip. Our hopes for organizing this trip early will assist everyone with financially planning for this trip so that it will be paid for in advance and all everyone will have to do is get there and purchase groceries for our individual units.
We are excited about the get together with everyone because spending time with family is important to us. Time goes by so quickly, things happen and we want to create a tradition so that our child/children will be able to look forward to seeing so many immediate and extended family members in the summertime at planned destinations besides the holidays.
I am one of the social butterflies and party planners in the family. However, I am open to suggestions for additional suggestions of things to plan or do when we are there besides the regular vacation stuff.
If anyone has any fun suggestions for large family get aways, feel free to drop a line!
I do not want to have a set schedule for everyone everyday, but it would be nice to have a few different things set up for us to do together as a family that is fun!
Once we have everything set in stone, we will make a booklet for everyone to have with the different things available, with prices and operation hours. I believe that this will assist us all with remaining organized while we are there.
Our ideas are now that we can order Canvas bags and include information packets for everyone inside of the bag. Hubby can design something to go on the front of the bags. I know that we will definitely need to have a contact sheet with everyone's cell number and unit numbers listed on a sheet so that we can have it all on one piece of paper.
I love bags! We actually had canvas type bags with a cartoon drawing of us on the front with the wedding information on the front. All of our guests that checked into the hotels received these at check in from the concierge desk. They were a big hit and people used them the entire weekend and appreciated the items inside of the bag and the thank you cards that we put in there thanking them for sacrificing by coming (it is the little things that count).
This is a smaller scale event and we can provide canvas totes for each family and I am sure that we will probably do something unique like have Hubby design something for a polo type shirt as a keepsake item for everyone. I guess we can plan more of this once we know the exact number of family members that are coming and we will be able to give everyone. The bags and the shirts will be something that we can figure out the price once we know the number of family members coming, but it will not be an expensive token.
17 comments:
Sounds like fun Kristy!
I love a beach anywhere in the world. S.C. has such pretty scenary. I've always heard Hilton Head is nice as well.
Here's my ideas:
Reserve a professional photographer for beach or marsh pictures. Have everyone dress in blue jeans and white shirts or white and khaki or whatever for the pic. Have a special picture just with the little kiddies of the family.
What about deep sea fishing for the guys and messages for the girls? Or a marsh or ocean tour for everyone?
What about renting a vacation house for everyone instead of the hotel thing away from the tourist zone.
Just have fun!! Sounds like a blast!
Wish I was going. Sounds like a lot of fun. I have never been but my grandparents have. They have a time share with hilton properties. There is a vacation club there that hilton runs that is beautiful. You might want to check that out also. Sometimes they offer deals.
What I was told that if you like golf this is a place to go.
Also there is a good soul food restaurant, Can't think of the name but if I find out I'll let you know later.
Angela,
I guess great minds think alike! You would fit right in with our large gatherings!
I had planned to have a photo session done this summer with all of the grand and great grands together for my fathers side and his 3 siblings.Ofcourse I am manipulating the photo session to make sure our cupcake will be apart of this event since I am scheduling it!
I was planning this to take place in NC where my parents are from and it is a coastal community anyway with wellknown beaches close by. It is a bunch of us! I wanted to do it this summer and yes! Jeans and white tops would be the attire! Its easy to coordinate with everyone. I guess that attire has been the trend for large picture sessions for a while.
I am comparing prices now so that we will know how much the photographer will be. We may have to pay a small travel fee if I use a photographer in Raleigh/Cary and have them go to the coast for the session. If everyone comes to HH then we can have a photo session done there. If not, we will plan it another weekend in NC. I have a younger cousin in the Air Force in the middle east now and she should be home this summer as well.
Okay, I'm not for sure if you knew it but my parents are from a beach/ coastal community in NC. My dads parents land is water front property that is still in the family I am actually wanting to tear down a house next door to my grandparents house to build a have a new bungalowe built so that we can have it as a vacation property and future rental property that stays in the family. We are trying to get through this adoption process first.My has properties/land there and is over the properties now and wants hubby and I to purchase it to keep in the family since all of the property is right there together and was family. It was my great aunts house and it is waterfront as well. It is a rural beach community, but most are anyway for the good hideaways.
My paternal grandmothers house is in another town in the same county and we can walk to the beach from her house 1/4 mile. Many well known summer camps are there and well known celebs now have new hidden getaways where they can relax and not have stalkers since its rural and close to the beach. We used to wave at the kids pass by that came from summer camp for the entire summer. It is about 3 or 4 well known camps there that are secluded there that high profilers used. It was so rural and safe and not everyone knew about the camps in the general population outside the area. The local people and students work with the camps as well.
Our other immediate extended family there own a third generation shrimping boat industry that goes up the east coast for seafood. I never knew how expensive seafood was until I moved away and had to purchase it on my own. We always had access to putchasing cheap seafood when we went to grandparents home due to the industry there. We grew up fishing, crabbing and boating there. So, that's a given! My parents have a good sized boat as well and they charter deep sea boats in Virginia a couple times a year. So, I'm sure my Daddy will try to charter something as usual. He always sets something up for wherever we go!
I want to do a clam bake or something on the beach with all of us one night.
We thought about renting a few homes but it depends on the turn out.
Our other immediate family (daddys first cousins) have a yearly event in Va beach every year and the own a few properties there and rent some to accomodate eveeyone. It is huge! They have big seafood dinners and seafood for breakfast every day! My parents go to that annual event, but I haven't made it due to the weekend they have it annually. They are the owners of a large shrimp boat industry so food is not an issue at that function! They had fish and grits for breakfast and all that good stuff!
We will probably end up inviting the other extended immediate family (my dads first cousins) because they extend an invitation to us to their yearly events. It is 12 siblings from that one family not including grand and great grands. That was my paternal grandfathers brothers kids. So, we are trying to keep the family going so our kids will know one another beyond first cousins. It is so important. We try to support each others events.
None of us grands own a rental in HH yet, but I would love to go in and invest in the future with someone. I wish I had before things really blew up, but we can always go in together to get something there.
Its amazing when I realized as I got older that we were privy to things that others pay thousands a week t visit. It was everyday life at my grandparents home to experience peaceful coastal living. It is still rural but developers have come in and built million dollar vacation homes for the elite to come be at peace from the crazy camera people!
Most of the people are older there. The ones who went away to school rarely move back until retirement due to the lack of diverse jobs and ruralness. That's why celebs love it. The food, beaches and peace and quiet. I don't blame them. I love visiting, but I'm bored after a few days and ready for city life again!
I guess because my grandparents lived there and it was the norm for us. Country!
Thanks for the suggestions! I will keep you posted on our progress. I'm excited. It may end p being larger than we anticipated.
Kristy
You guys pleas excuse my typos! I relied to the post from my blackberry on my lunch.
Angela,
Thanks for the massage idea. I think the guys may want it too! Hubby and I did the couples massage session in Jamaica. It put me to sleep! We chatted to each other during the session side by side on the massage tables.
I know we will probably take the kids on a plantation to hear the history in addition to going over to Daufuskie island. It has some deep history! I love HH.
Cool! I love a vacation for any occasion. We looked into Hilton Head for an anniversary trip a couple years ago but wound up on Isla Mujeres. And, later that year Mom and I were eyeing Martha's Vineyard but landed in Maine (which was awesome) for our annual mother-daughter trip!
Anyway, like Angie said, a beach anywhere is my best friend. This will be so fun! I'm so excited for you and your family.
Hey Kmr,
Thanks for the suggestions. My parents have time sharing also they can use there. It all depends upon the weeks available for the place they normally stay. We have been going there for 30 years plus.
My parents are very familiar with the different resorts and villas there since they visit there often. If you can remember the name of the restaraunt please let me know! Thanks again!
I think I'm going to ask a few close friends to go as well since its a family gathering.I am looking forward to everyone being at one place.
Oh I forgot,
Angela. The khaki's that you suggested sounds good. They might have a better beachy look than jeans. It just depends on what is easier for my people to find. Khakis are easy, but you know how dealing with large groups are with coordinating.
congratulations on your decision to adopt! It is a wonderful, bumpy journey but well worth the wait.4 years later I am so glad I went this route
www.chroniclesofmommyhood.typepad.com
Oh Kristy,
Can we come too?!!! LOL! I want to trade families. You can have my family's land in Arkansas or hubby's company and we'll take the beach and shrimp, and shrimp, and shrimp. I love shrimp! Beach front family land. OMG!!
Shrimp and grits, clam bakes! OMG!! Seafood breakfast...I'm salivating. You guys sound like a lot of fun! Ask your peeps if they're wiling to adopt us. LOL!
We're going to S.C. this year for sure!!
Oh my gosh - this is the EXACT place I want to go.... I think you could just fly me there and let me be your professional photographer for the whole time~!!!! Tee hee!
Angela! You are too funny girl. You are more than welcome to come to HH. Everyone is paying for their own families.
The community that my dad is from is coastal. The houses are closer to the road but the rest of the back of the property goes up to the water so there is still room to build something to closer that is actuall on the water. We are just land owners of it. Its not any million dollar beach house on it! The good thing is we have land that backs up to tghe water for future purposes.
It is a rural community. Most coastal beach communities are when you think about the locals and existing homes. Then developers come in and buy out properties over time and put big things on it. You know how it goes. Its a community where you camn leave your kids outside unattended and leave your house unlocked when you are out and about. Most people are related. Its a poor rural area where the seafood industry is it. Unless you are military and take the ferry to work at Cherry Point Military base and visit Atlantic Beach and Morehead City. The town that is by between both sets of my grandparents is Oriental. Check it out, Oriental NC. Most of the towns are 10 to 20 minutes max apart and they are in the same county! One high school in the county! Gotta love it!
The camps are camp, camp don lee and camp sea gull_ seafarer. My masternal grandparents home is close to the camps. We can walk to the water from her house. Very flat land. Very peaceful and rural.
Sorry for the typos again. I'm using my blackberry.
My maternal grandmother lives near the camps. That's where my mother is from. My father is from another town 20 minutes away or so and his parents land and family land backs up to the water. Same county, but different community or town if you want to call it that. They are small. Nails and keypads on blackberrys don't mix well!
Hey Kristy,
You know living in Mississippi and having family in Arkansas, I am really accustomed to country folks and poverty. My grandmother's land is on the St. Francis river. My mom remembers being rowed to the other side to walk to the school bus.
Isn't it a good feeling to accept who you are and where your family came from? I really enjoy being around my relatives too. They are who they are. Most importantly, they love and accept me too. That's peaceful.
Jodi!
I know that you would enjoy it!
I am going to email you about those lenses and the camera advice. It was so helpful!
Thanks!
Angela,
Yes it is a good feeling to relax there among family. I appreciate my roots. My parents call it "humble beginnings.". It makes you appreciate what you have when you know where you have come from. Granted both of my granparents have brick homes ranch style, there are a mix of older bungalowes, mobile homes as well in that area. The older people there are so proud of the children who go off and become educated and make a good life for themselves.They always have the students stand up in church when they come home from college etc! Everything goes in the newspaper too! Its a place that we will definitely have our kids spend time more frequently due to the peacefulness. My grandmother still has a clothesline in her backyard! Yes she has a dryer but she loved fresh dry clothes in the summer!
Something about the country!
I kept hearing great things about Hilton Head but we never went. It's a darn shame too b/c it's only a hop, skip & jump away from where we use to live. This will be a fun family trip. You have sooo many great ideas. I need to plan a trip for our family but everyone is always on different pages in their lives.Keep us posted on your trip, I can't wait to hear all about it and see pics!
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