Being almost 21 years old now, I have been on plenty of family vacations and road trips. I say that both happily and hesitantly, because anyone who has ever been on vacation with their family (that’s probably close to everybody at this point) knows what goes on and how to survive it successfully. When school ends and parents take time off of work, it’s nice to be able to catch up with your parents and siblings by going on a trip, but at the same time, family is family. Your road trip/vacation will probably land somewhere in the middle of fun, stressful, insane, hilarious and crazy, but this is for anyone who knows what it’s like and the best way to go about a vacation with family.

Music is key

You cannot under any circumstance survive a family road trip without music. Bring your iPod, your phone, your Walkman, your speakers or anything that will direct your music into your ear for your sanity. There is also nothing better than making car playlists and adding new music to your iPod or phone for a trip. So download that music, and you'll be on your way.

Car rides

Speaking of car rides, if you aren’t flying to your destination, chances are you'll be traveling by car with your family. Now I’ve had family trip car rides that were great, where my siblings and I put in a CD we all liked and sang all the songs (given this was when we were maybe ten), but there are also the hostile family car rides where you have already had enough of each other and being in such a small space with family can be harder than you thought.

Realizing you aren’t the most dysfunctional family out there

When you go on vacation, you start to realize that your family is not as weird as you thought when you look around at other families on vacation around you. This can be reassuring and comforting, but at the same time seeing other people crazier than your family is a scary thought. So when you start to see little kids screaming, teenagers complaining and parents acting weirder than their kids, you come to the realization that your family really isn’t that bad.

The “look-at-that-person” game

If nobody else does this then maybe I’m just displaying the inner workings of my siblings and I, but on vacation when you're surrounded by so many different people from all over the place, there is bound to be someone doing something out of the ordinary. Or it can simply be your siblings joking around at other people’s expenses. We always play the “look-at-that-person” game and joke around to entertain ourselves. Hopefully this is relatable to other people.

Games in the car

Maybe I’m showing the generation I grew up in, but are car games still a thing? At least they used to pass the time pretty well. You could play the license plate game, I spy or the movie/actor game. Whatever you choose you probably remember doing something like this on a family road trip even though I’m pretty sure nobody actually plays I spy anymore…

Getting on each other’s nerves

Probably the most relatable factor on this list because if you all don’t get on each other’s nerves at least five times during the vacation, did you really go on one? Whether it’s in the car, at the hotel or during a casual walk, you’re all going to make fun of each other, have mild fights or just insult each other. That’s what families are for.

Hotels

Speaking of hotels, it’s the classic place to stay when your family is on vacation together. It’s honestly one of my favorite parts being able to do whatever you want at the pool, at the gym or just go down for breakfast whenever. I always thought hotels were a fun part of vacation.

Sibling bonding

Although sometimes there are arguments among siblings, vacation is usually the time when you all get together with one another. It’s kind of like a bonding experience, and you do end up having fun for the most part. If you can’t get along at places like Disney or California or wherever you are going, when can you?

Bring plenty of food

This is mostly for car road trips, but make sure you bring plenty of food. Especially if you will be on the road for several hours, you’re going to get hungry. Also, you’re on vacation so don’t bring normal food either — get creative! Bring the most juvenile and junkiest food like sour patches, gummy worms, Hostess cakes, Twinkies, chocolate, Bugles, wonder balls — just anything. I’ve actually never brought any of that but just writing it down is giving me ideas for upcoming vacations or trips. So why not?

Learn more about each other

Being around family for several days or even a few weeks is going to teach you a little bit more about them, no matter how well you know them. And no, I’m not talking about how you’re going to discover “who they are” or anything corny like that. I’m talking about how you’re going to discover that your brother uses two TVs and a computer to watch three different baseball games at the same time. You know, that kind of useless stuff.

Whether it's tips to help prepare you for what to expect, hopefully this was relatable and accurate for your family vacation. So have fun and most of all, expect the unexpected.