Spring Break this year constituted visits to family. The hazard with such visits is always trying to time the duration exactly right, long enough that the memories you make together lay a foundation for positive common experiences, short enough that you don't regress to your worst childhood self.
I used to be a squeeze every ounce together kind of guy, and it didn't always work out as planned. In fact, most of the time it didn't work. Things went on too long. High impact guests stayed for too many days. Those we love hosted us longer than we should have stayed.
From my wife, I learned that it's better to leave the other wanting more, whether that meant departing a dinner party while the conversation remains lively, or else limiting the duration of visits to family.
Early in our experiment with family travel, shortly after I'd rearranged my clinical schedule, I attempted to maximize our travel time. We spent five weeks abroad, one 3 week chunk in Greece followed by another 2 week chunk primarily in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Greece was an experience in surprise and delight, and some of our best memories together as a family developed on that trip. Oaxaca, while still wonderful for my wife and I, was too much for our kids to manage at that stage.
The novelty of dining out for meals lost its luster. The excitement of seeing another culture petered out. The kids whined more and thanked less. It was disappointing to see them regress.
We drew some useful conclusions that we continue to revise as we go from that trip.
For one thing, we've limited subsequent family trips to 3 weeks, which is our family's sweet spot for enjoying time together.
Equally important, we try not to let guilt / shame from others influence our travel plans. That means telling people we love who happen to be coming to our area that a visit at those times may not work for us given the complex web of kids' schoolwork / work commitments / energy to entertain.
It's an acquired taste, but ultimately a liberating one, to give gifts only when we genuinely want to give them.