Because I travel a lot, people always ask me about my most challenging travel experience.  Did I undergo some brutal TSA screening?  Did I get stuck on the tarmac for 19 hours with two toddlers in tow?  No, my most challenging travel experience has to be the day I was traveling home from the Bahamas with my two little girls, both of whom were lying screaming on the floor waiting in the line for customs. Why? 

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Because they had decided to become Bahamian, spend their days on beaches and nights in luxury hotels, and skip school for the foreseeable future.  This “going through Customs to return to the United States” thing was foiling their plans.

The hard part about a great family vacation is the return trip.  Presumably, while your kids had fun with you, they had even more fun with characters dressed up in costumes, water slides, and tubing slopes. Face it:  you’re old hat.  So how do you break the news that fun in the near future comes in the form of math homework and early bedtimes?  Follow these tips.

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Prepare Them Ahead of Time. At the playground, you warn the kids that it’ll be time to go home in five more minutes.  On vacation, remind kids to have all their fun in the moment.  The trip home is still a ways off, but it’s a fact of life.

Make the Ride Home an Adventure. It’s more fun to leave one great time for another.  Reserve a special activity just for the trip home, then break it out if they cooperate in the airport or train station.

Make a Family Scrapbook. Get the kids to pool all their souvenirs, then help make a fun memorial to a great vacation.  Break out a great snack and spend the evening reminiscing about all the fun you had.

Bring Home the Bacon. If you went to Virginia, that is.  If you were in Hershey, haul home the chocolate bars.  Offering the kids a treat that calls up great memories will make the vacation last longer.

Plan the Next trip. Kids will be more cooperative about leaving a place they love if they get a small say in where they’ll head next.