The perfect family holiday | #MarkWarnerMum

What makes the perfect family holiday?

Even though the boys will be 3 years old, in less than a month’s time, I don’t have much to reference in terms of our ‘perfect family holiday’ as we haven’t actually had one yet.

And don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a pity party, we’ve had some lovely, lovely weekends away and done some amazing things, together as a family.

We’ve been on camping adventures, to festivals and on day trips.

We’ve played on a beach.

the perfect family holiday
on the beach in Wales

The boys haven’t been in the sea yet but we were lucky enough to go to to Bluestone in Wales , for four days last year, and they went in an amazing wave pool.

the perfect family holiday
enjoying the waves at Bluestone

They’ve even played in the snow and built a snowmen (albeit, in our back garden and not on the slopes of Val-d’Isère).

the perfect family holiday
building a snowman

But as I look at all of these pictures it strikes me that, even though they mark exciting little milestones in my son’s lives, they’re just a little bit *flat*.

The scenery is more ‘turgid’ than technicolor. And on closer inspection, it dawned on me that they’re all lacking in a couple of vital ingredients.

Colour and sunshine.

Now I’m a sucker for colour in all it’s guises. From the sunniest, happy inducing yellows, to soft and delicate shell pinks. I love every colour of the rainbow and all the shades in between.

I work with colour — in my day job — and write about it constantly, here on my blog, in the form of the Pantone posts.

Colour surrounds us. Although very often, in our everyday lives, we don’t stop to pay it any attention.

We’re all so busy — trying to get to somewhere on time, making supper, shopping — just living life in general,  that we sometimes forget to take a step back and admire the scenery.

Then we go abroad and the pace slows down. And glorious colour fills our eyes, like an assault on the senses.

Cobalt blue skies, clear aquamarine seas or mountains topped with heathery purple and violet. Vibrant markets, colourful stuccoed buildings and lustrous fruits and vegetables.

Overseas holidays seem to treat us to a kaleidoscope of colour, that seems to be lacking, here a home.

I think sunshine has a big part to play. That magical star, that radiates it’s warmth on our planet, changing flat grey skies to blue.

Adding light to everything and bathing all it touches in a golden glow.

Sunshine gives the sea it’s sparkle, makes the grass seem a little greener, the sky bluer, sand yellower. Gives the snow a sprinkling of glitter and just makes everything a little bit more colourful.

So on reflection, that’s what would make our perfect family holiday.

Sunshine and colour.

Perfect partners, they go hand in hand.

A bit like my beautiful boys.

holding_hands_up_the_lane

To illustrate this even further, I’ve made a little film.

This is our family’s entry for the #MarkWarnerMum 2016 Family Ambassador programme in the ‘Craft’ Category!  For more info on their fabulous ski and sunshine holidays visit Mark Warner.

Wish us luck!

 

About Caro Davies

Caro Davies art directed fashion and interiors before leaving the world of design to pursue a career in social media. She can now be found chasing the light — and two small twin boys.

84 thoughts on “The perfect family holiday | #MarkWarnerMum”

  2. I loved this post but the video you’ve done is amazing, you should be so proud its fantastic! I’m so craving a holiday after writing my own and reading everyones entries and holiday posts! Good luck it would be totally deserved xxx

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    1. Aah thanks so much Alice, that’s so lovely of you. A wise friend had said stick to your strengths, so that’s what I tried to do :) I would LOVE to take the boys on a proper holiday — I’d love to see them on a sunny beach. Fingers crossed :)

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    1. Aww thank you SO much lovely. Am keeping my fingers crossed for you too. I think your family would be awesome ambassadors! I bet MW are thrilled with the applicants they’ve had this year. So many lovely bloggers xx

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  7. Oh Caro. I knew your entry would be fantastic but this is pure class. Your post and video is amazing…utterly mesmerising and totally you. You’ve captured the essence of you and your family and it’s beautiful. Good luck and I hope SO much that you become an ambassador xx

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  10. Good luck in the competition – and wishing you a lovely first family holiday when you get one – I always find as long as the kids are entertained we all have a lovely time – and that is exactly what companies like Mark Warner do so well.

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  11. Such an inspiring post, it is so easy to miss out on the beautiful scenery all around. This post is specially for those of us who live in London and are always on the fast lane. From today, I will work on enjoying the moment, it is something I rarely do as you rightly said, just because we are busy doing a whole lot of stuff.

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    1. Aah thanks so much Esther. We all lead such busy lives but trying to be a little bit mindful is a good thing isn’t it? I daresay, we can’t slow down but taking a bit more notice while we’re on the journey, is something I’m trying a little harder to do, these days :)

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    1. That’s a lovely sentiment and I’d love to agree with you Tori, but have you ever been on a caravan holiday, with twin toddlers, when it’s raining?! I have and, with the best will in the world, a bit of sunshine would have made all the difference!! ;)

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  14. I love reading your blog about your twin princes! I’m a twin myself and find it an amazing experience! Today we wrote a little post about being twins too. You can check it out at Joleisablog.wordpress.com
    Oh by the way, I hope you’re chosen, so good luck!

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    1. Aww thanks ever so much!! Creativity is a double edged sword though — it means that you can’t ever just do a ‘half-baked’ job. You end up spending far too long trying to perfect things. But you know that already, as you are just the same!! ;)

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    1. Thanks so much Kerry. Bluestone is FABULOUS! We went in March last year — it was cold but fantastic!! They boys absolutely loved the swimming/wave pool. Even a year on, they still talk about it!! I’d go back there in a heartbeat :)

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  22. Such a fantastic entry Caro! I just love your video you created. You have done one fantastic entry. Good luck lovely you and your family would be a credit to the MW brand. xx

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  23. Oh that picture of them holding hands is just adorable! We are a family that has made the most of snowy gardens rather than the slopes – there’s still plenty of fun to be had though! Best of luck with your entry x

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    1. I agree — we’ve had three years of fun playing on wet and windy beaches and in snowy gardens! I think you can have a lot of fun holidaying in the UK :) That said, I’d love to see them playing on a sunny beach, just once! :)

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    1. Aaah thanks so much Claire. A friend had said stick to my strengths and I can draw (a little bit) and since I’ve been vlogging I’ve learnt to edit film. Who knows if I’m right for the role, but I’ve done my best!! Fingers crossed for you too!! xx

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  37. Oh Caro you should 100% win a spot with this beautiful video! It is lovely and I am crossing all my fingers and toes for you. We are loyal Mark Warner fans for life and I think your family would be a perfect fit. xx

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  39. Wow, this is brilliant! I’ve only just got around to reading and watching your gorgeous video and I’ve seen that you have now been announced as a very deserving winner! How exciting! Massive congrats to you and your lovely family. I hope you have some wonderful adventures as part of the programme. Well done you! Xx

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  41. Congratulations on becoming a fellow mark warner mum Caro! I absolutely loved your post and the video and I was really hoping you’d become an ambassador as your entry was so beautiful. So excited to be on the 2016 team alongside you. Very exciting year ahead :) xx

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  42. You’re so right about colours standing out when you’re abroad. Thinking about all the colourful houses in Florida and the amazing colours in India – not that I’ve been there yet.

    We’re just trying to work out how we’ll be able to go anywhere with our newborn. Camping with buggy and travel cot and stuff for her big brother – all the travel essentials. Probably won’t need the passports this year. :)

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    1. Aah bless you — we haven’t been abroad yet with the boys. They’ve just turned three and this year will be their first time on a plane! We’re off to get their passports this weekend — so excited! Travelling with newborns is such a headache isn’t it? But its such a finite time — enjoy it lovely. There’ll be plenty of time for travel when she’s a little bit older! x

      Reply

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