The key to success is Organize the Family Vacation before you leave. People ask us all the time how do we ever enjoy our Maui vacations with such a large group?
It doesn't happen overnight--that's for sure. In our case, with such wide ranges in age (energetic toddlers to equally energetic grandparents) and interests (husbands who want to go surfing and kids who just want to dig in the sand),
organizing the family vacation takes time and communication among us all.
Everyone has to be honest in their opinions but open-minded to the opinions of the rest of the group. Keeping an entourage of almost 20 happy isn't easy--but it's not impossible. After all, you are barefoot in Maui!
We've included some tips and tools we find useful in organizing the family vacation for such a large and varied group. These have certainly minimized our chaos (we bring enough as it is) and maximized our fun!
Here is an overview of the timeline for planning our trips including: airline tickets, accomodations, rental cars, activities and a Family Trip Planner Form that you can print off.
Mom always polls the kids (my siblings and I and our spouses) as to the opinions of activity priority and meal planning. Sounds simple but it saves us lots of time and headache later!
We have a Luggage Regulator who somehow manages to determine how much luggage each family member can bring! It's an interesting angle, and so far no one has been banned from the trip for excessive luggage.
organizing the family vacation takes time and communication among us all. 
