Do you ever get stressed when you're getting ready for a vacation?

Oh, yes. Before we go on a vacation I always freak out making sure I have everything, everyone has packed what they need, I know the time to get to the airport, and the list goes on. . .

Yes. Especially if it is a new place, and worse if it is a plane ride. Not because planes make me nervous, but because the packing counts more. If I drive, I can throw last minute things in the trunk if I want to. Also, I generally do all the research, planning, and decision making.

Nope!
I make lists of what I have to do then just check them off as I go.
Relax and have fun! :)

I don’t….I leave work early pick up the kid and I am off for R & R! 4 weeks till I get my chance to show you just how stress free vacationing can be!

Maybe you should start a few more days in advance? The medicines and the oil change, those sorts of things you can do a couple weeks ahead. Also, especially if you are travelling within your country, you can always buy something on the other end if you forget it. Don’t sweat the small stuff if you can. I find the more I travel the less stressful it is, even though I still have some stress with the process.

Delegate if you can. If you have an SO, let him do a couple of the jobs before leaving.

@JLeslie I try to do that, but I’m already kind of high-strung anyway, and having to pack everything that my kiddos might need while we’re gone really gets my anxiety going, LOL. It would be easier to just pack for my hubby and me, but sheesh, one of the kids might need this, or one of the kids might need that…. Calgon take me away!

I am hours from parting with my pussycat (don’t worry, she’ll be taken care of) to go to my girlfriend in Greece and man, am I one nervous wreck at the moment…
I’m procrastinating as if my life wasn’t depending on it.
Dishes, vacuuming, suitcase, showering…, all things that need be done in a few hours time.
As you’ll notice, right now it’s mainly Fluttering that i do.

Yes. It’s mostly due to the fact that I’ve got 4 younger siblings, a mother who can barely cope, and a father who knows nil about packing.

@WillWorkForChocolate How old are your kids?

I have a 10 year old diva and a 5 year old princess. They’re hell to pack for, haha.

@WillWorkForChocolate oh. Hahaha. I recommend only taking vacations to warm weather the next few years, until the older one can pack. Bikini, shorts, t-shirts done.

Yeah, tell me about it. We went to Wisconsin two years in a row and had to pack summer clothes, winter clothes, and everything inbetween. That was a nightmare! How does one not laugh when having to pack swimsuits and hoodies? And don’t even get me started on packing according to my 10 yr old’s sensitivity issues when it comes to which kinds of pants feel comfortable to her. No jeans, no khakis, no regular kinds of pants. Just soft cotton pants/sweatpants… preferrably from The Children’s Place or Justice. UGH….............

The packing is not too bad for me unless we’re going someplace where I need to get new stuff for the kids (or me).

It’s the covering all the stuff while I am gone the gets me stressed out- bills, watering, getting cash, covering mail. When I went to Hawaii last month, the day before I left was crazy, I got about 4 hours sleep before getting up for an early flight.

Yes! I get pretty stressed out planning for trips. It’s a lot of work!!

I like to take a few days off after a holiday to relax.

No, because it’s just me. There’s not much I have to remember to pack.

I think people misunderstand what a vacation is for. Any change in routine is good for your health, and it’s not always relaxation. Some people attempt extreme physical activities on their vacation.

Excess stress from packing or preparing for a vacation is not good, but mostly inevitable because what you are doing is not routine, by design. My husband prepares lists for us, and that helps a lot. I start planning early. I just now made our reservations for a trip in August, and I’m getting many of the travel items ready ahead of time.

You can find vacation planning lists on the internet. I recommend it.

I agree with @lucillelucillelucille in making a list that can be checked off. It should also be made as a family list and not just yours. Your partner is quite capable, I hope, of adding to the list and taking on some of the preparation responsibilities. Even the 10 year old can contribute. It really helps in relieving some of the pressure of preparing for a vacation.

Yes. It always happens when its time to pack because I am such a huge procrastinator so I always tend to pack at the last minute when everything has to be done rushingly.

I never don’t get stressed. But I have been less of a basket case ever since I made up basic packing lists for different kinds of trips (East Coast in the fall, by plane, versus California mountains in the spring, by car, for example) and began using them as my starter every time. I also annotate them while packing and on the trip (e.g., “Didn’t need four scarves. Next time bring sweats.”) and fold those notes back into my master list. This routine saves 47.2% of my customary stress.

I also remind myself, “I am not going all that far away from civilization and can probably buy <whatever> if I really need to.”

@Jeruba Good point about the buying stuff.
I also started to think like that some years ago.
Like today I couldn’t find my swimming trunks but wasn’t bothered…, i will buy one once I visit the nearby town in some days.

Always. Vacations are stressful for me. You got to worry about accommodations, payments, flights, airports and going through customs, getting your passport and other important travel stuff, what you’re going to bring, what you need and don’t need, who’s going to look after the pets/houseplants, the security of your home when you’re gone, ....huff-puff! But I find that as soon as you’re there, most of the stress will fall off and you’ll be like “Ahhh, now I can finally relax and have fun!”

Whenever I go on vacation, the first few hours are horrific. Airport hassles, finding transport, getting everyone to meet at the same place at the right time.
It isn’t until we get into the meat of the vacation that things ease off, and I can begin to relax.

Another point about the buying stuff. If you are paying for checked bags, and the only thing making you check bags is liquids, you can buy some of that stuff on the other end, and still come out ahead. Your favorite hairspray costs less than checking a bag, and then you have a new hairspray.

For some god-awful reason I always feel like doing deep cleaning right before a vacation. I tell myself every single time, “Don’t Clean,” but there’s something about leaving the house that makes me want to shampoo the carpets, wipe down the baseboards and wash the drapes. Maybe it’s the anticipation of returning to a clean house… but to answer your question, because of that odd quirk, YES, it’s very stressful to prepare for vacations.
It is much easier since my kids no longer need their porta-crib, play saucers, boxes of diapers, etc.

Vacations are few and far between for us, so I rarely get stressed, I’m too excited. I plan ahead the week before, sometimes sooner, to make sure we’re ready to go.

Only by my wife.