Issue 02 | Coffee Catch Up

 Family Day is coming up and this is a great opportunity to take a little trip with the family. 

Today we are sharing some tips and tricks for planning a trip with a budget. If you’re looking to have a blast but want to stay close to home this Family day, we will be sharing our recommendations next week for local fun ideas.

First and foremost, you want to figure out your budget. If you have $300 or $1000 set aside, this will help you figure out how far you can go and where you can stay. 

Once you're confident with your budget, decide on a location, do you want to drive a few hours or hop on the train? Or are you looking to fly?

Now that you’ve landed on a destination, it’s time to consider the following;

Accommodations:

• Do you want to stay in a hotel, lodge, cabin or stay with family? 

• We love using Hopper to book Hotels, one of our favourite hotels is Hilton! You can use the referral code ‘CierraandMike’ to get $33 off your next hotel stay. 

• Airbnb or Vrbo are great options for finding very unique locations however, keep in mind the additional fees and services charges.

Gas/Public Transportation/Fares

• Once you know your destination you can use this fuel calculator to check how much your gas is going to be based on your mileage an the length of your trip. You can also use Gas Buddy to know where the best gas prices are.

• We also love using the Google Travel Explore Tab to see the cheapest flights during a certain period of time from your closest airport. Very handy when you have flexibility. 

Length of Trip

• How long do you want to go for and can you afford it? Will you have to take additional time off work?

• Do you have paid time off you can use?

• The length of your trip will affect your budget and location.

Food

Will you be cooking, bringing a cooler, need a hotel fridge or will you be dining out?

• A great tip we love to leverage is a hotel complimentary breakfast. There are always some great food options and it’s usually part of your nightly rate. 

• We also love bringing snacks and food that doesn't need to be stored in a fridge. If there is a hotel fridge or kitchenette, visit a grocery store to save money.

Activities: 

What do you plan on doing to have fun as a family? 

• We suggest booking a hotel with a pool because kids can have a blast swimming. 

• Bring an HDMI cord to play movies off your laptop on the room tv. 

• If you have space in your luggage, pack playing cards, board games, and colouring books. 

• Some towns will have free or discounted activity days for Family Day so check out the local calendar online or visit the community centre or library.

• Don’t forget about parks or walking/hiking trails - these are usually free

• If you have an activity budget, look into indoor playgrounds, museums, art galleries, water parks, laser tag, etc.

• Another fun and free activity is tobogganing if there is a hill nearby. 

Pets

• Lastly, don’t forget about your fur friends.

• If you’re bringing any pets, make sure it's pet friendly before you book it.

• Consider if they charge a pet fee and what the pet policy is. Some places have very specific rules you will want to know before arriving.

Packing

Lastly, don't forget to pack accordingly for your trip.

Don't forget swimsuits/water wings/life jackets, weather-approved clothing, emergency gear, ID, day pack, stroller, camera, charging cords, etc.

Whether you have a small or large budget, get creative, be resourceful, get your kids involved in planning and most importantly HAVE FUN this Family Day!

It's already February?

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How is it already February? Serious question, is anyone else just mind-blown by how time flies? Maybe it's just us because we have a toddler but man oh man, it feels like it was just Christmas. 

Anywho, this week we are featuring our very favourite hot cocoa recipe that is very famous in our home. Mike makes it often and has perfected it. We love adding marshmallows but it would be just as good topped with whipped cream. 

This week we made a bundt cake that worked out pretty well however, we need to work on the glaze before we share the recipe so stay tuned for that. 

Recipe of the week:

Ps: youtube

We are back on youtube and every Friday you will be able to see a new video sharing some fun content including more travel tips, kitchen tricks and our monthly challenge. Head over to youtube to subscribe and be notified when we share our newest video.