Honeymooning with children – 10 top tips

When I say ‘honeymooning with children’, I do mean your own children. I’m not suggesting you turn your honeymoon into some sort of subsidised summer camp, as that would be weird.

I am planning a wedding at the moment, (did I mention it? Just once or twice?), and one of the things I’m most excited about is the honeymoon. I can safely say that I will not be honeymooning with my children, as lovely as they are, but from talking to other married couples, honeymooning with children is a lot more popular than I realised. It could be a childcare issue, or perhaps financial – it may be the only holiday you can afford and you feel bad leaving the children out. I’ve even heard a rumour that some people just actively choose to take their children on honeymoon because they want them there!

Who’d have thought it?

It might be that you can’t help but take your baby, but I don’t think this is so much of a problem as childcare really isn’t an issue here:

If you do decide that honeymooning with children is something you want to think about, here are ten top tips to help it go as smoothly as possible:

Do your research

This one’s a bit obvious isn’t it? I mean, does anyone nowadays even go somewhere new for a coffee without reading 47 Trip Advisor reviews first? Still, I’m putting it in as number one because I have the feeling I’m going to run out of ideas at about number six.

Ask other parents

I’ve heard there’s this little forum where mums and dads chat to each other about stuff – Mumsnet I think it’s called. Why not have a trawl through old threads or start your own asking for advice on honeymooning with children? You’ll probably get more useful information than you will from this post.

Go to Disneyland

Apparently this is a thing. I asked on Twitter if anyone had taken their kids on honeymoon with them and about three people came back within a minute saying ‘Yes! We went to Disneyland!’ Personally I can’t think of anything worse, but if you like Disney, rollercoasters, and overpriced food then this could be your dream family honeymoon destination. There are loads of other things to do in Orlando if you don’t want 24/7 Disney.

Don’t go to Disneyland

This is a much better idea, in my opinion. With the money you save on popcorn and hotdogs you could probably go on a two-week-long all inclusive honeymoon with children to Antigua. Seriously, have you ever tried to feed a family at Disneyland? I remember the first time we went, taking Bee and Belle to one of the buffet restaurants where you pay about £100 each to eat as much as you want. Belle ate about two spoonfuls of pasta and Bee just cried in the toilet. It was not romantic.

Go all-inclusive

I’ve never done this before, but would love to. I’d come home at least 10lb heavier of course, but I’d have got value for money. I see a lot of perks to going all-inclusive when honeymooning with children; first, you’ll have a much better idea of what you’re going to spend, which is very important as you’ve just wasted £20,000 on 12 hours of your life. Second, the kids can eat whatever they want and you don’t have to care, and third, you can drink throughout the day to get over the fact that your kids are on honeymoon with you.

Don’t go all inclusive

The other option is to do something cheaper, like camping, or renting a self-catering apartment, just so that the kids feel like they have shared your honeymoon, and then use the money you save to sneak off a couple of months later for a champagne fuelled long weekend in Paris. Cheers!

Explain the situation to your kids

A bit of a serious one this – if your children are old enough, do sit down and talk to them about what a honeymoon with children really is. Make them feel excited and flattered that you are including them, but get them on board a little bit if you can, with the romance aspect of it. Perhaps they’d like to bring you breakfast in bed sometimes? Or mix you up some cocktails? Explain that you will want a little bit of time to yourselves and that the holiday isn’t all about them.

Get some childcare

To facilitate the ‘us time’, choose a holiday destination or hotel that includes some childcare. I’m not saying you disappear off every single night, but you shouldn’t feel bad about wanting to spend a little bit of time on your own, as this is your honeymoon after all. If your hotel doesn’t offer babysitting, perhaps there is a kids’ club during the day so that you can sneak off for a little ‘lie down’?

Differentiate it from a normal family holiday

What could you do that would make honeymooning with children extra special? Are there activities you’ve always wanted to do as a family that are outside your normal budget? It would be easy for your honeymoon just to become a run of the mill family holiday, so sit down as a family before you go and come up with lots of fun ideas for making it special.

Enjoy it!

Seriously. If you don’t enjoy honeymooning with your children, then that’s a lot of money you’ve wasted. Just because you’re children are in tow doesn’t mean you can’t have a wonderful, romantic break. Take lots of photos, do fun things, and create memories that you can all look back on happily for years to come.

Did you take your kids on honeymoon with you? What are your top tips?

Image credits – pregnant bride from SGM/shutterstock, wedding babies from dmitrieva/shutterstock, Planet Hollywood from CristinaMuraca/shutterstock, Champagne from donfiore/shutterstock