The great thing about traveling on your own is that you are completely independent and do not have to worry about others. When you travel with friends, you trust that they can take care of themselves and do not depend on you. However, when you are traveling with your family, all the responsibility falls on the parent’s shoulders. You have to look after the kids and make sure everything is packed properly and everyone leaves on time.
Seeing as we are slap bang in the middle of the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to put a festive twist on this post. We are going to be talking about Christmas traveling with your family. More to the point, how can you make your festive travels less stressful during this time of year. As I have already mentioned, traveling with a family can put a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. However, it is even more stressful when you travel at Christmas thanks to how busy it is everywhere. So, take a look at this short guide to help make life easier for you, and keep your kids happy too:
Always Leave Early
The key with Christmas travel time is to make sure you always leave early. Regardless of what day you travel on, always leave about an hour or so earlier than you need to. This is because traveling in the winter time will always bring many difficulties. Namely, traffic and weather. During the holiday period, the roads are always rammed full of cars as families are off to the airport or driving across country to visit their family. Plus, the weather gets worse and there is often a lot of snowfall, which leads to icy roads. When this happens, you have road closures to worry about that can set you back and add a lot of time to your journey. Also, as it says here http://icyroadsafety.com/tips.shtml, you are meant to reduce your speed when driving on icy roads. So, even if you are lucky and face no road closures, it will still end up taking you longer to get to your destination than it would if the weather was fine. This is why you leave early, to compensate for all the time you will inevitably lose and ensure you make it to your destination on time. If you have a flight or train to catch, this tip is even more critical for you!
Make Sure You Have Baby Gear
If you are traveling with a baby, then things will always be extremely tough. Babies are a bit like ticking time bombs, at any moment, they can explode in a fit of screams and tears that lasts for ages. More often than not, babies cry because they are tired or uncomfortable — particularly when they are traveling. So, what you should do is ensure you have all the right baby gear with you on your travels. There are sites like http://www.babytravelmadeeasy.com/ where you can buy baby travel products like portable strollers and carriers that make life easier for parents. It is always a good idea to bring as much stuff with you as possible to please the baby. However, you also need to think about other baby gear too like diapers, a lovely, a mobile, and other things to keep them quiet and entertained. If you are kitted out with the right baby gear, then your travels are so much easier and less stressful.
Pack Way In Advance (And Pack For Your Kids Too)
Any parent that has traveled with their kids can tell you that packing is the worst. It is hard enough trying to pack everything you need in your suitcase and keeping it below the weight limit. If you have a child or two, then you have the same problem for each of them. In an ideal world, you let your kids pack for themselves and just hope that they do things right. However, we all know that young children never follow the rules. They could pack things they are not allowed to bring on the flight and will get your family in trouble. So, if you have young children, make sure you pack all their bags for them to ensure nothing bad or dangerous accidently gets brought with you. Now, the last thing you want is to start packing the night or morning before you are due to leave. This is where stress levels will hit their peak and your family holiday will get off to an awful start. Instead, do all of your packing a day or two in advance as it gives you one less thing to stress about on the morning of your travels. Plus, once you have packed you will have plenty of chances to check your bags and ensure you leave with everything you need. If you are packing in the morning, it leads to a rush, which strengthens your chances of forgetting something. You can find many articles like this one https://www.skyscanner.net/news/15-best-ever-packing-tips that teach you how to pack efficiently.
Plan For Worst Case Scenarios
The thing with family traveling at Christmas is that it can be very unpredictable. I have already mentioned the roads and how tough it is to drive somewhere on time. Then, think about all the cancellations to trains or delays to flights that happen during this time of the year. What happens if your flight or train is canceled? It can ruin your holiday and put you in a bit of a pickle. So, what you should do is plan for worst case scenarios. Reserve a hotel room at the airport just in case your flight gets canceled and you need somewhere to stay overnight. If it does not get canceled, then you can cancel your reservation for free at most hotels if you have not already paid. Have different travel options available if roads close or trains are canceled. Plan for the worst and it will make things less stressful if the worst happens.
I hope you have found this festive travel guide to be helpful. If you are planning on taking a family trip during the holiday season, then use this advice to make the whole experience less stressful!
Leaving early is always a good idea, especially during the Christmas!! 🙂 Have a great season filled with love and people who you really care about x 🙂
Great article and thanks for your efforts.