Nature has a very calming effect on the frayed nerves of stressed out people . Settling in with your new step family can undoubtedly be a very stressful process, so to calm everyone down and get some peace of mind and soul take a camping trip. While camping trips are all about freedom, nature and endless space, it can also be very limiting. You have to stick together in the wilderness to survive, to be responsible and dependent on each other for safety and survival is a great way to initiate bonding. A family camping trip can do wonders to help you bond. But before you decide on family travel packages that suit you, there are other things you need to consider.  

Here are a few more reasons why taking a camping trip with your blended family can only lead to good things:

• The expenses of a blended family can be a lot, a camping trip is usually not only cheap to go on but is also offered in various economical family packages so it wont be too hard on your pocket or bank account.
• Being in close vicinity of nature relaxes people and helps them take their guards down, which makes it an ideal scenario for bonding with your new family.
• Camping will help or even force alienated step children to turn to you for a lot of their needs, helping them open-heartedly will help you bond as a family.
• Eating together over a camp fire and recounting stories from your past will help and encourage other members of the family to open up as well.
• Being stripped of all outside influences and distractions like cell phones, texts, voicemail, computers and jobs will help you see each other with new found clarity and things which seemed impossible to understand about each other, might suddenly seem crystal clear. .
• Eliminating all distractions from life for even four days can help you appreciate each other more and learn to respect your differences.
• In such a setting, people are in a more open and flexible state of mind, so forgiving and asking for forgiveness could come more easily now.

And last but not least is the power of laughter. It is more or less impossible to stay angry and sulking on a vacation, everyone is bound laugh and the feel-good endorphins produced by laughing just makes it impossible to hate each other. If you can make your step family especially your step kids laugh, you are half way into their hearts already.