How parents, in-laws and pesky brats are finding quality time on a big, fat holiday
It took Delhi-based environment lawyer Veera Kaul, 43, over a year to pull off what she jokes was the vacation of the decade. She convinced her parents, both over 70, and her Seattle-based sister to spend a month with her in Bali this June.

Her sister cribbed about taking a 20-hour flight with two children and her parents are generally hesitant to travel. They agreed reluctantly. Kaul booked a villa in Bali, close to the beach and to a supermarket. The balmy breeze and the easy pace of the green beach town soon made the minor hiccups of a multigenerational vacation irrelevant, though some frayed nerves with four children, a set of grandparents, and two siblings with spouses would have been perfectly normal. “I would do it again,” says Kaul. “I haven’t spent this much time with my sister in 16 years. Besides, my parents are getting older, holidays like this are very important.”

These days, most families live apart, sometimes in different countries. You rarely get the chance to reconnect with your sibling and your children get fewer opportunities to bond with cousins. The burden of school-work and extra-curricular activities keep children from meeting grandparents even when they live in the same town. But a week away from the stresses of your house, to be one big happy family in pristine surroundings is possible — and gives you an opportunity to stock up on memories for life.

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