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How to build a mindful travel sketchbook for your next family vacation
Returning from a family holiday, full of memories, a bunch of boarding passes stuffed in your pockets and a phone full of sunset photos with no clue what to do with them can be lovely, but soon forgotten with passage of time.
One way to make memories and a brilliant way to keep the kids involved and busy is by maintaining a perfectly curated and joyful scrapbook.
Not only does it keep the young hands busy, older children get an outlet to showcase their creativity that helps the whole family hold on to every memorable part of the journey.
Cruising is a great way to enjoy sun in the Mediterranean or go city-hopping in Europe to enlighten adults and kids alike with exceptional hassle-free experiences.’
If you, by any chance, are dreaming to go on one with the family, then it provides a wonderful opportunity to introduce scrapbooking to the kids.
Voyages, even as short as 3 day cruise getaways, are bursting with activities and those little special moments that everyone would want to capture, whether it is docking at a new port everyday or dressing up for dinner each night, all look different.
Looking through cruise websites, you will be amazed by how many cruise itineraries cover such amazing landscapes, a true scrapbooker’s dream, both before and after the trip.
From walking the colorful streets of Lisbon one morning, to gazing at Norwegian fjords the next, only a cruise can offer such a special family holiday experience to plan a travel scrapbook from prep to post holiday pages.
Cruises makes scrapbook making extra fun
The variety of both onboard and offshore experiences feels more like a storybook on a family cruise vacation, with each page capturing a unique part of the adventure.
Much before you step foot on the ship, involve the kids in the run up to the trip to gather materials to assemble a family travel scrapbook kit. This should include:
- Nautical colors Washi tape
- Any small container to store brochures, ticket stubs and receipts
- Colored pens, pencils and high liners
- A small journal for jotting down day to day highlights
- Glue sticks, scissors and stickers
- A folder to pin loose items like picture postcards and maps
Prepare a countdown calendar on the places you are likely to visit and the activities you may join and decorate the cover of your scrapbook with cruise-themed doodles.
Encourage the older kids to research the port of calls and prepare a fun-fact sheet for each of them. Drawing ship shapes and bingo-style ship games is a wonderful way to get them motivated.
The real fun begins during the cruise, when each young member of the family is encouraged to collect at least one item per day like a napkin with the logo of the ship tickets from a shore excursion that they have participated in.
Ask them to take pictures of anything that catches their interest or memories from a day at the beach. A pressed flower from a port visit will make an excellent addition to the scrapbook.
In the evening, sit with them and make notes in their travel journal to describe the events of the day and what education they got out of it. Include any funny anecdotes that they may recall and note them down with time and place for future reference.
Most cruise ships have themed nights where you dress up for dinner. These events could easily fill a couple of pages. Snapshots of the kids enjoying desert could be an idea.
Once you return home, put everything together, spread out the saved items and stick them one page a day, from setting sail to what you would do on your next adventure.
Leave some blank pages at the end to include clippings of places you would like to visit next in order to give something special in return.
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Check out our Zentangle course!
Are you trying to find ways to incorporate self-care and creativity into your life? Would you like to introduce the Zentangle Method to your children or students but you’re not sure how?
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Here are some other activities that you’ll want to check out!:
Looking for even more ways to keep your kids engaged? You might be interested in our mermaid terracotta pot craft.
If you love zentangles as much as we do, you’re going to love our zentangle pyramid activity. Click HERE to check it out or click on the images below.
If you’re looking for more activities designed to encourage mindfulness and spark creativity, check out my printable resources below or visit my shop!
Don’t forget to download our free 15 page Mindfulness coloring book to help add a few mindful moments to your child’s day. Just click here or the image below!
