summer Archives - Everything's Famtastic

June 8, 2023April 28, 2024

Summertime Survival: 15 Hilarious Memes Every Parent Can Relate To

Ah, summer break—that glorious time of year filled with endless possibilities, when school is out, and the kids are home for a couple of months. As mums, we eagerly anticipate the arrival of this sunny season, envisioning lazy days, trips to the beach, family vacations, and plenty of quality time with our little ones.

But let’s be real for a moment: parenting during summer break isn’t always the picture-perfect experience we dream of it being.

While summer brings plenty of fun and unforgettable moments, it also presents unique *ahem* challenges for parents. From managing the kids’ boundless energy (and appetites!) to finding ways to keep them entertained and ensuring they stay safe in the water and under the burning sun, summer parenting requires a whole new level of creativity and resourcefulness.

And patience. Lots and lots of patience. 😅

We all know that laughter is the best medicine, and what better way to stay sane in the chaos of summer parenting than through laugh-out-loud memes?

Whether you’re a seasoned parent or a newbie navigating your first summer break with the kids you’ll surely get a kick out of these 15 hilarious, summertime parenting memes.

If you’re also after some practical tips for getting ready for travel with the kids or simply some fun, easy ways to keep them entertained this summer, I’ve got you covered too!

Let the laughter (and packing!) begin!

July 14, 2022July 14, 2022

22 Budget-Friendly Sensational Summer Ideas for Creative Kids & Moms

It’s summertime again!

You know what that means for the kids?

No school. No early mornings. Sunshine. Heat. Meeting with friends. Hanging out at the park. Reading. Riding bikes. Long lazy days to relax.

But what happens when those long lazy days turn into long boredom-filled days?

Some boredom for kids isn’t a bad thing. It can actually fuel their imagination when they have to figure out something new to do on their own.

But too much boredom can drive both them- and you- a bit bonkers.

And that is the PERFECT time to break out the creative fun ideas for the kids to try or that you and your kids can even enjoy together!

Check out the complete list below of 22 boredom busters for the summer holidays!

July 2, 2020November 3, 2021

The 3 Ps of Plane Travel with Children: Useful Tips for Flying with Kids

School summer holidays are starting. The kids are buzzed about summer break. The last months have been pretty intense. It’s time to get away and see something other than those same 4 walls. What are you going to do?

If you’re likely to be staying around home for the next few weeks (thank you, COVID-19), take a look at this seriously cool list of summer boredom busters, put together by real live, actual kids 😊.

Or perhaps you’re looking to cram the car full and hit the road on a road trip with the fam? Have a read of this road trip planner and make sure you’ve not forgotten a single thing to keep the kids happy and occupied in the back seats!

But what about if you’re thinking of even bigger plans for travelling with the kids this year?

I can help you out with planning for that too! And no, I am not talking about getting on a cruise ship…

plane travel, travel, holiday, tips, travel tips, family and parenting, travelling with children, pin, Pinterest

August 4, 2019November 11, 2021

6 Must-Haves for Road Trips with Kids (and How to Survive Them)

Hellooooo! It’s me! I am back in the land of Everything’s Famtastic after being AWOL these past 2 weeks. I do have a perfectly valid excuse: we were on our family summer holiday!

As alluded to a few weeks back in my list of super summer activities and “Bring on Summer Holidays!” I said that we were planning our summer holidays trip. We had such a famtastic time in Croatia! I can HIGHLY recommend a visit. All of the people we encountered were lovely, friendly, helpful… we had a new language to try out (“hvala!”)… the weather was sunny and hot… views are stunning… gorgeous beaches… icecream every day… What more could you want for a summer holiday?!?

Hubby and I knew that we had to prepare well for the trip. Nobody wants to have 3 kids whining “Are we there yet?” 30 minutes into the drive, right? Am I the only one who has ever fantasised about having one of those glass partitions installed in the family car? You know what I mean? Between the driver and the backseat passengers. Like, in fancy-pants limousines and such. After a few rounds of “Are we there yet?”, just press the magic button and the upwards gliding of a pane of soundproof glass is the last thing you’ll hear for the next hours 😉.

Oh OK, of course we would never actually DO that. But don’t pop my daydream bubble, alright?!?

tips, how-to, roadtrip, parenting, road trip with kids

So, big trips with children call for military-precision planning. And plan is what we did. Today I’m here to help you out by sharing with you the items we packed for the kids (and us grown-ups) to make the journey as bearable, er, entertaining as possible.

July 14, 2019June 26, 2021

Bring on Summer Holidays

Another week complete. Another week closer to Christmas. Hey, wait! What?!? Christmas? It’s true, at last one of my children have already asked me how long until Christmas (“About another 5 ½ months, sweetie!”). But they seemed to have missed the big fun right in their face: summer school holidays!!!

School’s Out For…

… well you know the song title. My kids have been requesting to hear it a lot lately!

This week marked the end of the school year for our 2 girls. Both brought home outstanding report cards over which they- and we parents- are extremely proud. Apparently both of our girls are class leaders in the amount of books they devoured, er, read. And both have loved their teachers. Which makes it plain easier for everyone involved, right?

For one of them though, not only was this week the last before summer, but also the end of an era: Miss 10 has just completed primary school *sniff* “I think I have something in my eye” *dabs eye*. 😉 I will confess, there were more than a couple of tears shed. In fact, I think I was weepier than Miss 10, who informed me very matter-of-factly that “just because I am sad doesn’t mean that I must cry”. Oh man. I would like to point out that I was not the only mother with watery eyes on the final day of primary school. However I of course will not be naming names 😉.

Primary school here in Germany is over and done with after 4^th grade and high school lasts from 5^th to 13^th grade! Which as an Australian, is something I am not used to. So off onto the next big adventure for her. (And for me, as I have ZERO experience with the high school system here. Looks like we will be learning together).

But before the next big school adventure comes a summer break FULL of new adventures. Hurrah! Like going away on holidays! We are all so excited and desperately looking forward to going on a big trip somewhere totally new. And this year it’s Croatia!

Big family holidays require big plans. Like: What to pack? What not to pack? What’s the weather likely to be? (Sunny and hot apparently!). Suffice to say that there are scraps of paper all over the place here with list after list of what to buy, what to organise, and what to do with our pet bunnies.

And that’s where I am going to sign off for this week. Because we are exhausted from the final weeks of school and everything that gets celebrated, signed and tidied during that time. If you have school-age kids, you know exactly what I am talking about. And now because we are busy prepping for our holiday.

So, Auf Wiedersehen, vidimo se kasnije and see you later! Have a great week, and if you have school holidays too, enjoy every minute!

How are you spending your summer? Got any grand plans? If you have kids, what are they hoping to do in the coming weeks? f

June 30, 2019November 6, 2021

Mega List of 61 Super Summer Boredom Busters for Kids

school holidays, summer holidays, tips, parenting, kids, boredome busters

Woo hoo! Summer has really been showing off this past week in Germany (and much of Europe, actually)! We’ve had temps up in the high 30s (around 100F). Reminds me of being back in an Australian summer. How’s the weather been in your part of the world?

I am constantly being asked how I feel about the hot weather here, while many of my compatriots (well, not really, because I am not a German citizen so that word is technically not correct. But I can’t think of a better one… “fellow inhabitants of Germany” isn’t quite as catchy 😉). Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I am constantly being asked how I am coping with the weather while many of those around me seem to be flustered, sweaty and melting. FYI- I’m all good 😉.

These past weeks I have been celebrating some of the exciting things I love about spring and summer; like strawberry season and enjoying the outdoors. And yes, we are still eating our boundless strawberry products. Can’t get enough! *nom nom*.

Since summer holidays are a HUGE deal for kids at this time of year, what a great idea it would be if only there was a long list of fantastic things to do during the school holidays. No more “Mamaaaaa I’m so boooooooored!”. Right?!? Well, drumroll please…

June 23, 2019June 26, 2021

Get Outdoors and Savour the Summertime

Hey! Just like I promised last week. Here I am, back again! For a multitude of reasons I really needed that week’s break. But it was good for me. Now I can share with you all the good stuff that has been keeping me so busy these past weeks!

The sun has been shining here, with a few gorgeously puffy clouds gently sweeping across the blue skies. And we have been having lovely summery temperatures which I have been hankering for for months now (well, except for the 5 week break in Australia over Christmas 😉). But not counting that…

Now, I don’t know about you, but all this amazing weather makes me want to skip and twirl and grin wildly in the sunshine. Of course there are always the complainers who bemoan that at 25 degrees is it already “too hot”. Me? I’m just getting started!

I thought that it could be fun to share a few of the things that we have been doing around here these past couple of weeks. Perhaps you will find a couple of ideas that you and your family could try out now that the warmer weather and longer daylight hours are here (in the northern hemisphere at least). Or maybe it will inspire you to get outside and discover your own adventures!

So, summer days, here we go…

June 9, 2019June 26, 2021

The Sweetest Season of All- Strawberry Season

Hooray! This week’s Everything’s Famtastic post is brought to you from a germ-free household! This is very exciting news, let me tell you. If you have no idea what I am talking about, you ought to go back and read my post from last week talking about how our family was knocked over one after the other like a set of bowling pins with a stomach virus. But healthy we are and here I am!

We are still finding and ridding our garden of strips of glittery streamers and pieces of confetti leftover from the confetti bomb my daughter and her friends gleefully enjoyed at her party last Saturday (see also, last week’s post here).

It’s wonderful that we are all healthy, because that means we can get doing things outdoors. Like soaking up the Vitamin D-filled sunshine… Like having spontaneous waterbomb fights over the hedge with the neighbours… Like taking advantage of the season and picking strawberries!!!

I might still have some adjustment issues with being an Australian expat living in Germany. Sure, a few months back I even posted about some of my personal difficulties of living an expat life here. But I’ll tell you what, I have totally found my groove when it comes to Erbeerzeit in this country.

You seriously have NO IDEA how much I love strawberries.