Five Tips to Keep Your Sanity While Traveling this Holiday Season
By Dionne Roberts
The holidays are full of joy, twinkling lights, and airport lines that test the limits of human patience. Whether you’re heading to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving or chasing a little winter sunshine, a few smart moves can make holiday travel far less stressful and maybe even enjoyable.
1. Plan Early (and Then Stop Obsessing).
Book your flights, hotels, and rental cars as soon as possible since prices and availability only get wilder as the season approaches. Once it’s booked, resist the urge to check prices every other day. You’ve secured your plans; now focus on packing snacks, not regrets.
2. Give Yourself the Gift of Time.
During the holidays, security lines and traffic are inevitable. Add at least an hour to your usual airport routine. Worst case? You’ll have time for a pre-flight coffee instead of a sprint to the gate.
3. Keep the Essentials Handy.
If it’s something you can’t live without for 24 hours—such as medications, chargers, travel documents, or a change of clothes—it belongs in your carry-on. Bags sometimes take their own vacations, and you don’t want to join them empty-handed. If you decide the presents are a carry-on must, remember that wrapping them is tempting fate – TSA can (and will) unwrap them if they decide they are interested.
4. Prep for the “What Ifs.”
Weather delays, missed connections, overbooked hotels—these things happen. Download your airline’s app, keep your confirmation numbers accessible, and know who to call (your travel advisor, for example) when things go sideways. Also anticipate what delays might mean in terms of your littlest humans and their patience, and plan/pack extra toys, snacks, etc.
5. Make It Merry.
The journey is part of the season, too. Load up a festive playlist, bring a treat to share with your flight crew, or strike up a conversation with a fellow traveler. A little kindness and humor can turn travel chaos into a surprisingly good story.
With a bit of planning and a sense of humor, your holiday travels can feel less like a chore and more like an adventure wrapped in tinsel. Safe travels, and may your flights be on time and your seats fully recline.
Dionne Roberts, MCC, VTA
Foster Perry Travel
888-878-5863
(888-TRVLTME)
