My family skipped Christmas at home and went to Sri Lanka for a month. Instead of forced traditions, we enjoyed much-needed family time.

26.12.2024 - 01:03 / insider.com

From Elf on the Shelf to cookie swaps, matching pajama sets, ugly sweater office parties, and countless other traditions, the holidays can be the most wonderful — and exhausting — time of the year.

After I sold a book proposal in November 2022, I had no interest in putting up a tree or wasting money on toys my kids didn't need while battling a seemingly endless parade of wintertime illnesses.

Instead, I wanted to celebrate the win and spend meaningful time with my family before having to focus on writing. My husband and I decided to skip the seasonal stress of gifting and spend the money instead on a trip of our lifetime.

My husband is part Sri Lankan, and his brother owns a hotel on the island's southernmost tip. Planning an epic trip to Unawatuna, Sri Lanka, made a lot of sense. Because a flight to Sri Lanka from New York takes around 19 hours, we wanted to go for a significant amount of time. All four of our flights cost around $4,000 in total.

Whenever we travel, I prepare my kids by looking at pictures and discussing what we'll see and do. At three and five years old, they were too young to notice that we were skipping most kids' favorite holiday.

Taking a monthlong midwinter trip will probably require that you pull your kid out of school. Molly was still in day care, and Oscar's kindergarten attendance is always good, so missing two weeks of classes wasn't a problem. At this time both kids were too young to be seriously invested in participating in the typical end-of-season pageants and fairs.

For the flight, I packed a bag of snacks and another bag of activities like coloring, puzzle books, and playdough — anything that'll strike them as novel when boredom hits. I space out meals, movies, and activities.

We were unsure how our children would manage a long-haul flight, so we opted for an overnight layover in Abu Dhabi. It was the middle of the night when we arrived in the Middle East, but due to the time difference and having slept on the plane, everyone was wide awake.

The hotel we booked had a 24-hour waterpark, so we went for a moonlit swim. The next morning, everyone slept in, and we had enough time to shop at a nearby mall before the next six-hour flight.

We had the option to stay with family in a more remote area but chose to rent a two-bedroom Airbnb instead. We wanted to be closer to the beach and have space versus spending the entire trip with relatives. A monthlong stay cost just $1,650 — less than it would've cost to stay in a typical hotel. The property exceeded my expectations.

The house was traditional, with whitewashed cement walls, a thatched roof of woven palm fronds, and polished cement floors. It was surrounded by a walled-in garden with mango trees, coconut palms, colorful