How to Declare Your Own Holiday
My husband graduates from dental school this spring. It has been a long road but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for sure! This fall has been filled with preparations to take his national boards and to apply for residencies around the country. It just happened to end up that his September, October, November and even some of his December would be spent traveling and studying his brains out. We really went for weeks at a time without seeing our daddy and it was hard! Come November we had had about enough and so the day after he took his board exam, we decided to declare our own holiday. No better place to do that than Disneyland, right?
I received a complimentary hotel stay in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
Everyone has seasons in their life that are more stressful than others. When a time like that rolls around, declare your own holiday. Hilton聽Garden Inn聽encourages you to come up with your own reasons to celebrate, explore new places, and connect with loved ones. Television personality and travel enthusiast Kinga Philips has the tips to get you there!
Embrace the Culture:聽Scope out unique events, festivals and fairs that are exclusive to the region and eat like a local – skip the chain restaurants!
We spent a day on Balboa Island. It was so fun to see our kids see the ocean for the first time, eat at a little hole in the wall Mexican food restaurant a friend recommended, and eat ice cream on the pier. It was the start of an amazing week.
Just Breathe:聽Forget about your “to-do” list and stresses back home – embrace vacation mode! Make the most of your experience by reminding yourself to be present in the moment.
Remember those interviews I mentioned and the results of that board exam, well those huge stresses were still looming on the horizon. We decided to let them go for the week we were gone. This whole trip was about reconnecting as a family, without the stress. It was tough at first, but so worth it, we all needed that time together.
Connect with Your Inner Child:聽Don’t be afraid to play! Keep it fun and light-hearted.
Bring on Disneyland. We ate churros, watched parades, met celebrities, rode rides, and had the time of our lives. My husband and I are huge Disney fans, we have been several times since we were married, but this was the first time with our kids. Disney with kids takes the magic to a whole new level.
After long days of walking and fun we were so lucky to head back to the Hilton Garden Inn right down the street from Disneyland. Our room was beautiful and newly renovated. In fact parts of the hotel were still under construction and you could not even tell! It was so impressive.
Their rooms have amazing features:
- In Room Coffee
- Microwave
- Mini Fridge
- Hdtv
- Free Movie Channels
- Free Wifi
And the Hotel is home to:
- Outdoor Pool and Whirlpool Spa
- Business Center
- 24 Hour Pavilion Market
- Laundry Service
- Restaurant
- Room Service
- Amazing Multilingual Staff
Visit Declareyourownholiday.com for more tips and suggestions, find a Hilton Garden Inn and make some amazing memories. You deserve it. 3 quick questions:
Congrats! I once tried to start a movement to move the month of March! LOL It didn’t catch on but I got some sympathy votes. I wanted to put it at the end of October to give us more time to get ready for the holidays. It was coming way too fast that year!
Sinea from Ducks ‘n a Row
I love the idea of celebration just because! We just went to Disney for my birthday and hope to go back soon!
Oh yeah, Disneyland is always a good idea. 馃檪 Congrats to your husband on seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!
Sometimes a trip away is exactly what you need. Looks like you guys made the most of it, and that hotel looks pretty amazing too!
I call that the good life. Declaring your own holiday is one of the best ideas. Pack up the family and go!
So nice you got an opportunity to review a hotel! I like the tip to embrace your inner child as we all should!
Sounds like a great place to stay. Congrats to your hubby .
That sounds like a great place to stay. I always try to embrace the culture and try new things- whether food or experiences- every time I travel.
My husband graduated this past May with his respiratory therapist degree. I thought the study , seminars and practice exams for his medical boards would never end. It was a very stressful time.
I love taking a holiday/vacation with my family. Sometimes getting away from the every day stresses of life is really important because it helps clam the soul and allows you to spend some one on one time with your family. I love your tips!
What a fantastic trip to Disneyland and great pics of the Hilton Garden Inn. We have declared a Disneyland trip in the late spring. It’s been a several years since we’ve been and it is time!
At this point, I would go anywhere and celebrate anything! Some place tropical…
Congrats to your husband! That is fantastic. We were in Disney for my youngest son’s birthday last August and my older one, who also has an August birthday – just not while we were in Disney – was jealous. I think we will be in San Diego next year during his birthday, so we might take a ride up to Disney Land for the day 馃檪
I think it is great that you declared your own holiday. The hotel was very nice – staying in a nice hotel makes relaxing even better.
This is such a great idea to declare your own holiday. It looks like you had a great family trip.
Great idea! I would celebrate family! I am always about family. I would love for my siblings and parents all to vacation somewhere together but the logistics are always hard to get that arranged. Especially when the grand-kids and great grand-kids are in the mix.
We actually do have a family holiday that we made up. Both of my daughters have birthdays very close to Christmas. My older daughter is actually the day after Christmas, and my younger is mid January. So in an effort to spread the gift-giving love through the year a little, we invented “daughter day”. We chose June 29th because it was about halfway through the year, and it was my late grandfather’s birthday. We don’t go crazy with gifts, nothing like that; just one or two little things that maybe they’ve discovered and love but didn’t know about back in the winter, or something like that. We make a cake or brownies and generally have a fun day. Sometimes we go to a park or the beach. Mostly it’s about celebrating our two sweet daughters and how much we love them. Thanks for letting me share our family tradition!