Christmas Travel Tips: Planning for an Easier Holiday Season
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Christmas is one of the most popular times to travel. Christmas travel tips are important if you want to make your holiday season a little easier!
In this blog, we will discuss Christmas travel tips that will help you get through the holidays with less stress and more joy. These Christmas travel tips include making flight reservations early, booking hotels near airports, and checking weather reports before traveling.
Christmas Travel Tips: Planning for an Easier Holiday Season
Christmas travel can be stressful and even dangerous if you are not prepared. So I have compiled this list of Christmas travel tips. Hopefully, your Christmas travel will be uneventful and even fun, and with these tips, your odds for that happening should go up.
Double-Check Christmas Reservations
Whether for a hotel room, rental car, or whatever, you should always double-check your holiday reservations. Nothing sucks more than to get to your hotel after hours of Christmas travel to find your reservation does not exist. Hotels and rental cars are often heavily used around Christmas so make sure you have yours confirmed.
Make All Your Christmas Reservations Early
As soon as you decide where to stay or what your plans are, make the reservations. You may get a better deal with a reservation made early, and it makes sure you get your room, car, or whatever.
Get A Good Map If Driving
If you are not familiar with the area you are driving in, get a good map. GPS units are awesome but they break down and sometimes just don’t work in certain areas. This Christmas travel tip points out it sucks to be lost and depending on a GPS that does not work.
Be Alert To Danger
Don’t try to save a buck by staying in a less expensive motel if you can help it. You want well-lit parking areas in nice neighborhoods. If you do some late-minute Christmas shopping, be alert to possible muggers in the parking lot of the store. Especially at night, you have to watch for thieves and muggers.
When returning to your car with purchases, ask the store employees to let you park next to the front door for a moment to load them.
Use A Car With A Trunk
You also want to avoid leaving Christmas presents laying around in plain view in your car. Whether while shopping or just parked at the hotel. This is a big “Steal me” sign to car-breaking and entering entrepreneurs. I recommend using a car with a trunk as opposed to a hatch that can be seen into.
Even covering the gifts with a blanket or something does not help much. Thieves know you may have something good covered with the blanket.
Ship Your Gifts Beforehand
To save a lot of hassle in Christmas Travel, you can have your presents shipped to where you are going. FedEx, UPS, and the Post Office do this for a living and will get them there on time. You won’t have to deal with loading them in the car, and even more annoying, bringing them on a plane.
Use Reputable Companies In Your Travel Arrangements
If you use a travel agency for a Christmas Vacation or just a website for reservations, check them out first. Use the Better Business Bureau website here to check them for complaints before spending your hard-earned money with them.
Dealing With Pets During Christmas Travel
If you intend to board the pet, make a reservation early to do so. Make sure your kennel will be operating during the holidays. If taking pets with you during holiday travel make sure any hotels or rental cars you want to use, have no restrictions for pets. Some hotels will let you keep a dog in the room up to a certain size.
Make A List And Check It Twice!
Make a list of everything you need for your Christmas Travel. Recheck the list to make sure it contains everything you need. Then check everything off as you prepare to leave for your holiday trip.
Stay Calm
Don’t flip out about every little thing that goes wrong. Stressing out will ruin everyone’s holiday travel experience.
Keep The Kids Occupied
Make sure the kids have plenty to keep them busy and out of your hair! Stock up on books, coloring books games, or whatever will keep them quiet during the Christmas travel.
Children tend to get bored on an airplane ride and in the car. After a few hours, they can really test your sanity. If you are going to be traveling with children this Christmas season, you need a couple of tricks up your sleeves.
Always pack a small entertainment bag with things just for them. They can keep it on the floor in front of their feet. This bag should have a few fun things for them to play with like coloring books and crayons, colored pencils and a sketch pad, Hotwheel cars, Barbies, other small toys they enjoy, a water bottle, and snacks.
But even all of that will only keep them entertained so long. When they start getting bored and fussing you need a backup plan. Packing a few travel games for kids will save your trip and sanity.
Kid’s travel games can help keep everyone getting along on your trip. Even the adults can get involved by helping keep score or finding an empty seat in the back and joining in.
Kids Games for Christmas Travel
Melissa & Doug Flip to Win Travel License Plate Game – The nice thing about this is both sides of the license plates can be used for two different games. The first as in the description the license plate game. However, when you flip the piece (indicating that you have found that plate) it has the state capital on it. The sides of each piece are either red or blue for more competitive play. The pieces are attached to the board with strong circular elastic. This is a little tough to maneuver at first, but the more you play the easier it gets.
Monopoly Express – Traditional Monopoly scaled down to allow for fast game play and easy transportation. Comes with its own container that holds all the game pieces. Also good to keep kids happy in restaurants. Designed for two or more players.
Clue Express – Will make their little minds busy for while. Plays just like the traditional board game. Just different rules for faster games. Everything stores in one container. Designed for two or more players.
Scrabble Apple – Scrabble with a twist, try to spell words with your tiles before someone else does. Designed for 2-4 players.
Lego Tic Tac Toe Board Game – The fun of Lego and tic tac toe combined. Comes with a travel box. Kids can play tic tac toe or just play with the ten minifigures. Designed for two players.
You can even wrap the Christmas travel games to make the trip more fun. Giving them a new gift every few hours will keep them behaving well while waiting for the next gift.
Merry Christmas and Safe Traveling!
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Other articles you may enjoy:
- Christmas Pregnancy Announcement: Creative Ways to Share Your Joy
- Five Kid-Friendly Holiday Food Options
- Christmas Tree Snack Cakes: A Fun and Festive Treat for the Holidays
- Drink Ideas for Christmas
- Dealing with Different Dietary Needs
