Fun & Famous
on vacation with your in-laws
how do you do that?
If you think Christmas creates complicated social situations, think again. There are many more things that can be damn difficult to navigate through. Going on vacation with your best friend's parents can be one of those things. After all, you are their guest and you want to come across as extremely happy and grateful all the time, even when you are having a crappy day or when you actually don't like museums at all, while they would prefer to spend the whole day looking at one statue or painting after another.
Going on vacation with the in-laws is even a bit trickier. Because now you also want to be seen as really fun, because hello, you are dating their son or daughter. A friend of mine has difficult in-laws and the annual family vacation that she has been going on for a few years now is always a kind of punishment for her. They have a house in a beautiful tropical destination in South America, it's not about that, but you are stuck for a week or longer with people you actually don't get along with.
If you actually love your in-laws, it’s all a lot easier. But still; one mistake and you’re out. Sort of. So here are some tips and tricks to get you through.
Join in
As in: follow their plan. Do they want to show you ten museums because they are so fond of this and that painter? Go along, watch breathlessly, say ‘oh’ and ‘ah’. You don’t want to offend them and come on, they are parents, you should always accommodate them a bit.
Suggest something yourself
But don’t just follow, also be active in making plans and show that you are involved in the fun of the vacation.
Offer something
Maybe your in-laws have much more to spend than you do and it’s not realistic to treat the whole family to dinner, but you can buy ice cream for everyone once. Or a dessert somewhere, or a glass of wine on the terrace. It’s about the gesture, not the amount on the bill.
Take photos
Take lots of photos and send them later. Or even better: make a nice photo book out of them and give it to them as a gift afterwards, as a thank you for the trip. That’s scoring points, you know.
