The pool has closed, the last biscuit has disappeared and one child is asleep. Another is still negotiating which light must stay on. You, meanwhile, are nowhere near ready for bed. A family room can hold everyone comfortably and still leave the adults wondering what to do with the rest of the evening. We’ve all been there on a family holiday like this.
This is a collaborative post
Solitaire offers one useful answer to that very specific problem. PlaySolitaire is a free classic solitaire game in a browser, so a parent can arrange the cards on a screen without spreading a pack across a bed or needing someone else to play. The challenge is simply to sort the cards, with no betting involved. That small, independent activity gives us a starting point for planning an evening around shared space, rather than around everyone having the same bedtime.
Look beyond how many people the room sleeps
Before booking, try to picture the room after the children have settled. A sofa bed may occupy the only seating area once it is unfolded. A television may face directly towards the pillows. Neither is necessarily a problem, but both change what the adults can comfortably do.
Ask about the actual layout, not just the number of beds. Connecting hotel rooms have a door between them, whereas two rooms near each other do not necessarily offer that connection. Hilton explains this distinction in its room booking guidance. For a cottage, photographs and a floor plan can show whether the sitting room remains usable after bedtime. National Trust cottage listings, for example, describe properties with separate bedrooms and living areas.
An extra room is not essential to a good holiday. Knowing what you have booked is much more useful than arriving with an evening plan that needs space you do not have.
Set up before the lights go down
Put the things you expect to use within reach while everyone is still awake. That might mean a book beside a chair, a charged phone, a glass of water and tomorrow’s clothes outside the suitcase that makes a spectacular noise when opened.
A digital card game needs a little preparation too. Check the internet connection before you rely on a browser game, silence notifications and turn off game sounds. Keep the screen away from sleeping children. If even a dim display disturbs someone, choose a different activity. The point is to fit the room, not to insist that the room fits the game.
Keep children appropriately supervised throughout. A phone or monitor is not a reason to leave young children alone while you go elsewhere in the hotel.
Choose a game that does not need the whole room
An ordinary pack of cards can be lovely on holiday, but solitaire takes up more space than its small box suggests. Once the columns are laid out, a shared bedside table quickly stops being enough. A screen keeps that same arrangement in one place and avoids having to clear everything when someone needs a drink.
There is also no opponent waiting for a turn. You can study a move, put the device down to help a child and return without holding up another player. The interest comes from noticing which card to uncover or where a sequence might fit, not from keeping a conversation going in a quiet room.
If you are rusty, start with the familiar classic version rather than learning several variations at once. You do not need to win every hand or turn the holiday into a daily challenge. Some evenings a little card sorting is enough; on others, you may prefer your book.
Agree what each adult actually wants
Two parents can share a holiday and want quite different evenings. One may enjoy half an hour of reading beside the beds while the other goes for a walk, provided the children remain with a responsible adult. On another night they might swap. Make the arrangement explicit rather than letting the same person quietly take every indoor shift.
Travelling alone with children calls for a different plan, not a lesser holiday. Bring something you genuinely enjoy doing in the space you will share. A solo game works particularly well as an option because it does not depend on finding company or organising another activity after a busy day.
Let the evening stay small
Not every holiday memory needs a photograph. Sometimes the satisfying part is a comfortable chair, children finally settled and a few cards falling into the right order on a screen.
You can still enjoy family entertainment or a late meal when it suits everyone. But an evening that works inside the room gives you another choice. It makes an early bedtime less of a full stop for the adults, without asking the children to stay awake for your benefit.
How did I do?
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