5 Reasons I love bringing the grandparents on holiday

*This is a collaborative post

I've taken many holidays over the years with both Steve's parents and my own. It's something we used to do a lot when the children were younger and if you have the opportunity to do so, I really could not recommend doing this enough. 

Travelling with grandparents does have its downsides - it can be difficult deciding where to eat or the day's itinerary as everyone has different tastes, the older generation may also have different ideas of what a holiday means to them or mutter those dreaded lines 'well in my day', but generally, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Booking a multi-generational holiday can also take a little more planning and it's especially important to check everyone has decent single medical travel insurance and all the relevant documentation before travelling but for me, this extra planning always pays off. Deciding on a destination is usually easy as the older generation generally just go with the flow and are happy to go anywhere. We've mostly travelled to Spain with the kids' grandparents as it's super easy to get to and has a short flight time from the UK. Here are 5 reasons I love bringing the

1 - An extra pair of hands at the airport

Travelling with three kids under the age of 5 is tough - you normally have more than one pushchair, multiple suitcases and need to fully supervise the little ones at all times. Honestly, if we hadn't have travelled with our grandparents in the early days, I don't think we'd have made it at all! An extra pair of hands to push a pram, pick up your case from the luggage carousel or just keep an eye on the kids when you pop to the loo (or bar) just makes things so much easier.

2 - Babysitters

One of the things I miss most about holidays now is that there's no more nights out or fancy meals with the kids in tow. Grandparents are generally happy to babysit for one evening for us on holiday and it allows Steve and I some proper time off. The kids love it too as grandparents always spoil them. Did somebody say Sangria????

3 - They're always up early

Our parents are always up early and if you're staying in a villa or lodges that are next door to each other, this has the benefit of being able to send the kids over when they inevitably get up early too which allows us parents a kind of lie-in. You've got to take these opportunites when you can!

4 - Grandparents are fun

Grandparents are always way more fun than us parents - it's no surprise to me that 75% of families with younger children plan to take the grandparents on holiday with them. It's always the grandparents who are happy to get up on the dance floor, play games in the pool and I love making memories with all of our family together.

5 - It can work out cheaper

When the kids were younger, we booked holiday lodges in Spain that were on a buy one get one free offer if booked out of season and split the cost between us. Similarly, we booked a huge family villa that slept 13 people in Portugal when Harry was younger and it was a bargain at around £750 when split between us all. If you're looking for a self-catering holiday, it seems like the more people who travel together, the cheaper the cost of the holiday.

I'd love to hear if you take multi-generational holidays. Let me know if it's something you'd consider/have done before and how it worked out.