I think the best thing you can do is take your kids to restaurants, museums, and sites in your own town on a regular basis. When it's time for a trip, it isn't a totally new experience for them.

I know too many people who rarely take their kids to a restaurant and then expect them to behave over several days of eating out.

Take a Saturday every once in a while to sightsee in your town. Go to a museum and eat lunch out.