Christmas shopping for three girls used to be so easy. All it took was one stroll down the Barbie aisle at Toys R Us and we were basically set. But the older they got, the more complicated things became. No more baby dolls. No more Barbies. For awhile I could buy them clothes. Anything from Justice with an abundance of bling suited them fine. But eventually, even that ended. They developed their own tastes. Held onto their own opinions. And obviously, if Mom picked it out, it couldn’t be cool.

So what do you buy teenagers these days?

This past Christmas I was at a loss. I didn’t want to give them gift cards to Hollister or Bath & Body Works. I didn’t want to give them another electronic gadget – they already spent plenty of time on screens. Why would I get them another one?

And then it came to me. I knew exactly what I wanted to give my kids. Quality time. Fun family moments and unforgettable memories. Adventure. Rest. Relaxation. And if we ended up with a few more family inside jokes, then all the better. 

So this year, instead of buying the girls a bunch of stuff they really didn’t need, we put our money towards a trip. A trip to Mexico!  

We enjoyed a quiet, yet simple Christmas at home. Then on December 28th, we grabbed our passports and headed out of the country. Here are some highlights … 

We left home about 5 AM and drove to the airport in freezing rain. Later that day we stepped off the plane in Cancun to a sunny 80-degree day. It felt strange (but nice!) to see Christmas decorations while wearing shorts and a tank top. 

Here is mi familia, checking out the beach from the hotel’s ginormous deck. This deck turned out to be our favorite place to hang out. You could see and hear the ocean. You could feel the warm breeze. But you could also avoid that nitty-gritty sandy feeling after a long day at the beach. 

Our girls had the opportunity to swim with some dolphins. Of course the “dolphin people” didn’t want Curt and I to sit too close, lest we capture our own decent pictures and not spend the crazy amount of money they wanted for their photos. I think Curt did a pretty good job of capturing some (FREE!!) photos with our super-duper zoom lens. 

We spent a long, fun day at Xcaret. Curt and the girls snorkeled down an underground river. We saw tons of exotic birds and wildlife. But our favorite part of Xcaret was the nighttime show, complete with beautiful costumes, mexican music, dancing. and acrobats. They even threw in a horse or two.

The hotel had a pool with a slide and a cliff you could jump off. Above you see Emily and Madison taking the plunge while Taylor stands back looking cool. Of course when Curt jumped off, he had to put his own spin on things. 

The ocean was beautiful. The girls and I spent a significant amount of time, walking the beach and collecting shells. One day we even took a boat ride to a nearby reef and did some snorkeling. It was super-fun! And I didn’t even throw up from the boat ride! Success!

New Year’s Eve … I’d like to say that we stayed up all night partying. Truth is, we had a lovely dinner and ended up going back to the room fairly early. We were all super tired. (Okay, I was super tired. I think the girls ended up watching Father of the Bride while I fell asleep!)

For some reason we felt the need to take selfies in this mirrored elevator. In the top picture, we agreed to snap a picture as soon as the doors opened. Thankfully, there was no one in the elevator. The second picture cracks me up. Look at my cool husband. He’s such a great dad of girls.

Speaking of my husband … Yep. I’m a lucky girl.

Had fun playing photographer with these guys.

This is just ONE of the many desserts we enjoyed that week. Oh. My. Goodness. I’m not sure we should stay somewhere “all inclusive” again. Our motto became, “Why not, it’s all included!”

And speaking of eating, I think my husband is just a little too adventurous when it comes to food. I like to stick with things I can recognize, but Curt, well, it doesn’t matter if it’s seafood, Mexican or unidentifiable. He’ll give it a try.

Nothing a bottle of Pepto Bismol couldn’t cure. This leads me to another family motto: “Dad, remember … if in doubt, spit it out!”  

We went horseback riding through the jungle. Mosquitos were hungry that day…

Curt and the girls played in the pool while I finished off a good book.

Before I knew it, it was our last morning in Mexico. I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. So I went for a walk and ended up on the ginormous deck. It was so peaceful. I watched the sun rise and tried to figure out how in the world our week had flown by so quickly.

And speaking of flying, here we are, on our way home. (Yes! They let us back into the country!) 

Vacation was over, but we’d made some great family memories with our kids. And do you know what?

It was sooo much better than giving them a gift card or the latest electronic device.

Thanks for letting me share!