The Fun Trip

The family outing.

Great in theory, but the truth is there are just not enough goldfish in the world for you to sneak through this one unscathed.

Help is here and it comes from Nathalie Prezeau, author of Toronto Fun Places—a guide book full of cool and interesting places to visit in TO. Nathalie knows ALL about the family outing because she’s taken her family to the 400+ (yes, 400+) places mentioned in her book, so she has it down to a science.

Here are some top tips from her (with a couple thrown in from our editors too).

1. Don’t rely on food outlets: long line ups, outrageous prices (or simply a lack of them) are always a possibility. Pack a lunch and have some savvy snacks and drinks handy.
2. Ditch the designer purse—the zoo is no place for glamour. A good old fashioned money belt provides easy access to snacks (like goldfish) for emergencies—while the knapsack can hold bigger items.
3. At very popular attractions with line-ups (cringe), try to have snack time coincide with standing-around-going-crazy-time. Also remember old fashioned games like eye-spy and the alphabet game.
4. Anywhere kids go is always more fun with friends their own age. Consider a ‘kid swap’ with another family so your kids can have some company on the outing.