As we all prepare for the highly-anticipated (and often somewhat dreaded) holiday period, we decided to take a look at what makes a memory.
Is it the elaborate Christmas stocking stuffed full of presents? Or the overseas holiday that involves 3 transfers and a year’s worth of savings? As we spoke to women across the globe about their favourite holiday memories, it came as no surprise that these elaborate gestures are not necessarily what defines a holiday.
Rather, it’s the little moments, the break from the every day, and the time together that make the holidays so special. Here’s what four incredible women had to tell us …
Header image: Jenna Louise Potter
Tabitha Willett, London-based fashion blogger and mother of Ottilie
“As a child, we holidayed with 2 other families. My mother was a single mother with three daughters very similar in age. The other 2 families were one of 4 daughters and one of 5 daughters who also came just with their mothers. This made for a very large villa in Mallorca of 3 mothers and 12 girls all under the age of 13. We would laugh a lot and go on adventures in the ground of the villa and at sunset get dressed up and all pile onto the boat across the bay for mocktails.”
Tash Sefton, Sydney-based taste maker, style curator and mother of two
“My favourite memories are always when we travel as a family. We have always taken our kids from a young age on the dreaded long haul flight to Europe to explore and experience countries with them. Always the best way for them to learn about new cultures, taste new food, learn snippets of the language and understand the history of these incredible historic ancient cities. Our favourite trip was when we spend a month travelling through Italy. My husband Mark and I independently fell in love with Venice before we had met. So taking our children back there to share it with them was very special. Even the dreaded cobblestones and bridges with a pram were worth it! And my favourite Peggy Guggenheim museum even my boys loved.”
Phoebe Ghorayeb, Sydney-based model, blogger, writer and mother of two
“My favourite/most memorable holiday was my husband’s and my babymoon in Sicily. I guess it was special for a number of reasons, most significantly it was our last holiday as a childless couple (for a very long time) so we really made the most of absorbing every second with each other and enjoying the slower pace Sicily had to offer. We travelled around the little island for 3 weeks, we had booked all our accommodation and hired a car so we knew where and when our major pit stops were but everything in between was a free for all. We had a rough itinerary but we just allowed the holiday to take its course and because of this, we ended up discovering off the beaten track restaurants, stumbling across a gelato festival, taking a spontaneous boat ride over to Lipari and meeting some truly remarkable people. Sicily made such an impact on us that we have plans to take our girls over one day and relive and recreate new memories as a family of four. Georges and I have a couple of other very special affiliations with Italy. It’s also where we got married and had our honeymoon. Bellissima!”
Nicole Banning, Sydney-based founder of Ephemera and mother of one
“Growing up as the eldest child in a busy family of 4, I didn’t get much solo time with my parents however I have particularly fond memories of my first trip to Europe at the age of 12 years old. It was my first long haul flight and my first experience of jet-lag as we visited London, a myriad of Italian cities, then New York.
I clearly remember being blown away by the fact that this place over the other side of the world bustled whilst I was tucked up in my little bed at night. It was the start of a life-long love affair with Europe and I do remember, one cold rainy day in Venice as I stared in to the canals, suggesting to myself that perhaps one day I might come and live in Europe for some time.
I now love going back to Europe once a year with my family to visit familiar places I once lived in and to also explore new ones. This image was taken on a road trip through the Swiss Alps when my son was around 3 months old (I have A LOT of breastfeeding photos from this trip!).”