Hawaii with Kids - FREE Aloha Bucks!

We all know that traveling with kids can be hard. Cleaning the house, packing bags, setting a travel budget, and not going insane is a must to turn the "hard travel" into a doable and enjoyable vacation. Recently we took a trip (ahem😉) vacation to Hawaii over Christmas break. We loved spending time on Oahu, visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center, the beach, Dole Plantation, Kualoa Ranch, and more. Normally on vacations, we hear a lot of, "Ooh! Can I have that?. . . Can I get a souvenir here?. . . Why can't I have another ice cream from the vendor?. . ." My hubby and I will spend a good chunk of the communication with our kids saying no. If you know what that feels like then you know how frustrating it can be when traveling. No one wants entitled kids, but you also want them to have good memories and mementos of your adventures. Well, let me share what we found to be the perfect solution: Aloha Bucks!

This is us! Traveling to Hawaii with a whole lot of cousins, aunts, uncles,

and Grandparents; a legendary Oahu Christmas to remember!

A few weeks before we left, I introduced Aloha Bucks to the boys. They were each gifted an envelope with their name on it and inside was a single Aloha Buck worth $10. The Aloha Bucks could be redeemed at any time in Hawaii to buy something they wanted like a souvenir, an ice cream cone, a teeshirt, or whatever they chose to spend their money on while on vacation. I also let them know that they would be 100% in charge of their expenses. "Dad and I will pay for meals, some activities, and the essentials. If you want something beyond what we are offering it needs to be covered with your Aloha Bucks. When you run out, you're done. If you have extra, they go away when we get home. This is a lesson in money management." They were thrilled! I explained to them how $10 is great, but it won't get them much. One of the boys asked how much a cool Hawaii t-shirt will cost and I broke it to him that he should plan on a t-shirt costing $15-25. Their excitement turned down a few notches. I then took the opportunity to show them my stack of Aloha Bucks.

"Here's the deal," I explained, "from now until we get back from Hawaii you have an opportunity to earn more Aloha Bucks by doing extra chores, being especially helpful or kind, or just because your dad and I feel like it. I have one, two, five, and ten-dollar Aloha Bucks. The $10 was just for starting you out, to get the rest, you'll need to work for it. Oh, and if you ever ask for an Aloha Buck the answer will be no. These will be given when we feel it is appropriate." From that point on, every single one of the kids was very motivated to do a little extra and help out anytime I asked for volunteers. The house got very clean. Yardwork was completed on Saturdays without argument. The bags were packed without wining. The kids were very willing to follow directions at the airport when we offered them an extra 2 Aloha Bucks just for getting to Hawaii without any meltdowns or complaining. It was heavenly!

So, if you're planning a vacation to Hawaii with your family, I highly recommend introducing Aloha Bucks. We made the kids promise that they were never allowed to share with their brothers how much money was in their envelope. We didn't want it to be a competition against each other. Everyone had different amounts when we arrived. They all bought souvenirs that they chose. Some chose to spend their Aloha Bucks on an extra souvenir, while others chose to buy treats. All of them were happy with what they purchased because they knew they had earned it and they knew that their choices were their own.

So, here you go! I wanted to share with you these printable Aloha Bucks in hopes it will make your job a little easier. You have enough to worry about already. Just download the zipped folder and inside will be three pages of printable goodness. I recommend printing on cardstock with full-color printing. ALOHA!

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE!

AlohaBucks.zip

Download ZIP • 15.31MB

The download includes these three pages of Aloha Bucks. Teach kids money management, responsibility, and self-reliance on your next Hawaiian family vacation!

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