Family Vacation Ideas for Parents Day

Did you even know there was a Parents Day? It falls on the last Sunday of July (that's 26th July this year), as per a Congressional Resolution and subsequent proclamation by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

We're supposed to appreciate the unselfish nature and sacrifices of and for parenthood, and celebrate parents who excel at their jobs. But that's easier said than done.

Not every kid has a destiny and brilliant talents like the little dude above (that's baby Jesus), but we're all proud of our kids nevertheless. All parents think - or at least hope - that their children will be their pride and joy. Sometimes it works out, like with Jesus above or Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza in the video to the right. Most times, though, we just turn out to be another ordinary Joe or Jane. Parents still love us, though.

But it doesn't work the other way round. Soon as we're able to walk and talk and make friends, we start feeling ashamed of our parents, and avoid spending time or being seen with them, as far as possible.

Parents Day is your chance to make up for having shunted your parents out of your life. If you're the parent, and you have tiny tots who're still under your command, so to speak, then this could be a good chance to help them understand the importance of what you're doing for them.

Either way, this calls for something out of the ordinary - like a family vacation. I've got a bucketoad of ideas, where you can enjoy some quality time with your parents/children, and help your family understand that blood is thicker than water.

Best thing you can do, if you want to help your parents celebrate Parents Day, is be with them. Even better if you can be with them on a vacation. Or a 7-day cruise to Alaska or the Caribbean.

Cruise vacations in Alaska and the Caribbean are extremely popular right now among the Baby Boomer crowd, and every retired couple wants their first post-retirement trip to be a leisurely cruise on a luxury liner. Here's your best options:-

Princess Cruises - Experience the wonders of Alaska on a Princess Cruises Alaska Cruise. This Alaska cruise vacation includes luxury travel by sea and by rail.

Holland America - Imagine being among the lucky few to spend a whole day in Glacier Bay National Park. Imagine traveling through Alaska’s sublime beauty and frontier ports in unsurpassed luxury and comfort. On Holland America Line’s spectacular 7-day Alaska cruise vacations – imagination meets reality.

Royal Caribbean - From the awe-inspiring blue ice of a massive glacial field to the expansive grandeur of its wildlife and nature, everything in Alaska is bigger. Including the adventures. For the ultimate Alaska vacation, look at Royal Caribbean's cruise tours - a combination of cruise vacation and land tour.

If your parents are the more sophisticated, urban types who'd prefer to check out the latest Broadway shows and enjoy fine dining in New York's finest restaurants, then one of the finest hotels in New York, the Library Hotel (299 Madison Avenue at 41st Street, New York, NY, 10017; 212-983-4500) has a Parents Day weekend special lined up for you. More details here.

Sometimes it might seem that your parents are more interested in their own social life than in you, and indeed sometimes it does go horribly wrong - as it did with Princess Diana and Prince Charles. But at the end of the day, both of them loved their children, and Prince Charles still does. RIP Princess Diana.

The point being that Princes William and Harry both know that their parents loved them very much, inspite of whatever other preoccupations or disputes they had. So if your Mom is more interested in shopping on Fifth Ave than hearing about your romantic escapades, so be it. Let her enjoy the day shopping. And if Dad wants to go hang out at the MET instead of going to a Mets game with you, well.. so be it. That's the point of Parents Day - you help them enjoy whatever they wnat to do. It's supposed to be your way of saying thanks.

If you're the parent, and you want to combine some education about the importance of family and relationships along with a family vacation, then the best place to do it would be in San Diego.

You have lots of entertainment and attractions for the kids, including the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and a day-trip to Legoland in Carlsbad. For you - the parents, there's the 33 San Diego beaches and the pleasures of the Gaslamp Quarter and the BallPark.

San Diego is the perfect place for a family vacation where both parents and children can have a good time, and enjoy some quality time together. The San Diego tourism bureau has a nice list of all the festivities planned for this summer in San Diego. And here's a list of 50 fun and free things to do in San Diego.

And then there are some parents who go well above and beyond the call of duty and the cycle of life. Parents like Tom & Kathy McGovern of Emmaus, PA, who snagged the award for National Parents of the Year 2008. The prize is awarded every year to the best parents of the year by the National Parents' Day Council.

Tom & Kathy have have three biological children and 4 adopted children. Recently, they also fostered a medical mission child - Jennica, who they arranged to have open-heart surgery. Tom and Kathy also provided care for Tom's 92 year-old grandmother. They have been foster parents for over twenty years, caring especially for developmentally disabled children. They have provided care for over forty domestic children and five international children.

It's hard enough taking care of even a single child of your own. To go beyond that, and care for so many children - children with disabilities, at that. That surely merits an award for being the best Parents of the Year. If you know of any super-parents like these, and want to nominate them for the award, here's the nomination form.

Baby Jesus photo by divemasterking2000 via flickr (creative commons). Legoland photo courtesy Legoland California. Parents of the year photo credit - National Parents' Day Council. Holland America cruise ship photo by dbaron via flickr (creative commons).