As summer quickly approaches, many families are finalizing summer camp and family vacation activities for their kids. Most kids if given the choice would probably opt for family vacation time over camp any day of the week. And why not? It is an opportunity to spend fun quality time with their parents and create new memories, and perhaps, regular traditions.

The thing I love about children in general is, for the most part they are easy to please – especially when it comes to vacation activities. Show them some sun, some water, an amusement park, summertime food, and they’re pretty happy. They’re not too picky on how they get there, as long as they get there. They may complain a little about travel time, however, if you keep the anticipation up, they can’t help but squeal in their pants.

Here are 5 family vacation activities that your kids will love:

1. At-home Water Park: As much as we’d like, we can’t get away to a water park every weekend of the summer. So why not create a water park at-home? Buy a couple of water slides, hook them up to your water hose, invite a couple of your child’s buddies, and watch your home turn into the local water park. If you’re one of the lucky souls to already have a pool in the backyard, that’s even better! Fire up the grill, turn on some music, throw some water toys into the pool with your kids and their invited guests and watch their faces light up. You will instantly be “Cool Mom of the Week” and your house will be known as party central.
2. Themed Day Trips: Kids love to role play. Try dressing them up according to the theme of the day trip you’re embarking on and take their day trip to a whole other level. For example, take a wilderness walk/hike or a trip to nearby caves or caverns. Have your child pretend to be an explorer, complete with an Indiana Jones inspired hat. Dress them up like a farmer and visit a local fruit and vegetable farm that allows you to pick your own produce. If your child loves race cars, dress them up like a race car driver and have fun with Go Karts or take a trip to a race. If you’re looking for something even more educational, take your kids to a nearby battlefield and give them a history lesson, complete with some sort of military inspired paraphernalia..
3. Weekend Trip to an Outdoor/Indoor Water park: So If you’re really not interested in the hassle of set up and clean up and you have the funds to make it happen, take an overnight trip or a weekend trip to a local water park. If you’re lucky enough to live near Orlando, FL or Williamsburg, VA (or any other location fairly close to a Great Wolf Lodge), you can enjoy both worlds – indoor and outdoor water fun. Near the Williamsburg area, you can visit Bush Gardens or Water Country USA and then hop on over to Great Wolf Lodge for your accommodations and continued water park madness.
4. Annual Family Cruise:  Cruising is by far one of my favorite ways to travel and enjoy family vacation time. Everything is right at your finger tips: water fun, entertainment, restaurants, childcare, and photographers. All you have to do is get to the ship. Theme-cruises such as Disney Cruises probably top the list of fun cruise ships as they have the most child-friendly offerings. However, many cruise lines have programs designed for kids and chaperones to help tailor the fun.
5. Packing party: To ease some of the stress from mom’s shoulder, try having a family packing party complete with music, pizza, and other treats. Packing becomes a fun family affair where the whole family packs their suitcases together and prepares for an upcoming family vacation. This exercise teaches kids at an early age that they too are part of the vacation preparation process.  When they are older, they’ll be better equipped to independently pack because you’ve already made it a family tradition. This takes the stress off of mom and makes packing a family event.

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Williamsburg Tourism and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card.