Booking it in....

 Month 8 - Bite 4

So the holidays are underway... It's easy to lose track of what's going on, satisfy all the things that need to be done and remember every suggestion that each member of the family has made. So today is about getting the ideas booked in.

First either download or draw up a giant calendar for the month.

Now in pen write in all the appointments and bookings that are already made - birthdays, dentist, trips away that have already been booked, prior arrangements to meet friends/visit granny - all of those sorts of things.

Now begin to fill in the rest with suggestions, ideas and desires! At this stage you might want to make the entries in pencil so that they can be changed. Alongside make a mark in a different colour for each member of the household that suggested or wanted the activity. That way you can be sure there's a fair spread of who wants what.

There may be definite tasks that need to go down - a regular clean up and sort the home day, or a regular trip to the library.

The next job is to make some more bookings. If you haven't got all those essential appointments made then now's the time to start ringing, emailing, online booking, whatever. Dentists, hairdressers, shopping for new school shoes, next term's clothing and so on. Some of these will need to go at the end of the holiday as sure as eggs are eggs someone will have a growth spurt!

So much for the essentials, now for the fun - do friends and family need contacting to arrange time to get together? Do it now and get the dates firmed up. 

Slowly some of those pencilled in days will need to be written in pen and you'll be able to see what's left.

Of course, any of the ideas could change depending on who's available, what the weather's like and any new opportunities that come along. And don't forget to save this calendar once the holiday is over so you can refer to it again next time!