I’m Staying Home This Year

This isn’t really news…I’m home for most of the winter holidays… not a lot of holiday travel.

If you’re like me, you have gone from “I don’t want to take the kids away from home during the holidays” to “the kids are coming home from college for the holidays” to “I just don’t want to travel during the hectic holidays”. Yeah, you’re my people. 

However…I’ll be missing one kid for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. That’s because he is now half of a marriage, and with the wedding last week, they certainly can’t be flying home this year. I get it. We are sorry they won’t be with us, but, we certainly aren’t going there, either! 

Let’s talk about celebrating the holidays from your living room, and from the travel perspective!

Hosting From Your House

Big Brother Bob is coming to visit for Thanksgiving (so HE is doing holiday travel)! He and his wife will be here for a week, and their son from California is hoping to make the drive to Las Vegas to celebrate the holiday with us.

So we are hosting.

I’ve got some suggestions for those of us hosting people for the holidays. Maybe they’ll help you:

1. Get your house professionally cleaned. Seriously. You don’t want to do all of that work when you’re trying to get the holiday itself straightened out. Outsource that crap!
2. Prepare as much as you possibly can before they get into town. I don’t want to have to run out to the food store the day before Thanksgiving instead of going hiking with my brother and neither do you!
3. Don’t over schedule yourselves! I try to keep a short list in my head of things to recommend people do when they visit, some of which do not include me! They can just as easily see most things in my town while I stay home if I need to. 
4. Supervise your household. It is important when you have guests that you check in regularly with the people you actually live with. Sometimes they may need a “night off” from hosting duties, so be aware of what their needs and desires are for the holiday.
5. LET THEM HELP! Bob’s wife can clean potatoes as easily as I can, and Bob is a master of walking my dog. Don’t be afraid to share the responsibilities of the holiday—and your regular household—with everybody who is willing and able to help.  

Traveling By Car

We’ve talked about tips for car travel before, so you can reflect back on previous blogs. But there is nothing, and I mean nothing, more stressful than traffic on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It is the busiest holiday travel day of the entire year. And my nephew will be driving on the one road that connects Los Angeles and Las Vegas. (I’m not kidding—there is only one road…)

I give you the same suggestions I made to Bestie Boo last month when she drove across the country to move her daughter—check the car in advance! Fluids, tires, windshield wiper stuff—check it all! Then, pack the car with snacks…but not beverages. Restrooms are few and far between on that one road to Las Vegas, so let’s not drink too much.

Finally, and probably most important, is your phone charger. You will need your phone for music, and to make that emergency phone call that you’re running a little late…by four hours! 

Traveling By Plane

Remember Wednesday, the busiest travel day? Yeah…it applies to flying, too. 

If you’re a loyal reader, you might remember when I got stuck overnight in Dallas airport. Since then, I always bring a carry-on with emergency overnight supplies. That advice is never more important than during holiday travel when not only volume, but weather in parts of the country might sideline you in an unexpected place.

Along those lines, minimizing your stopovers is crucial when you are flying during the busiest of times. That’s how I got stuck in Dallas—my plane was late landing there on a brief stopover. Another hint is to fly as early in the day as you can. Not only do late flights tend to snowball throughout the day, but if your flight needs to be canceled for one reason or another, you don’t want to have no other options until tomorrow. By flying early, you will give yourself more rescheduling options.

Don’t Forget To Bring

Patience

This is probably the most important thing for you to pack, and definitely the hardest thing for me. I practice—literally—how to be patient in advance of every trip we take, because I absolutely suck at it. I think everything should be exactly perfectly according to my plans, and that nothing should get in the way of my total and complete enjoyment of my travel experience. Yeah…I’m a little crazy. You’ve got to be prepared for things to not work out perfectly, for flights to be late and accidents to happen on the road in front of you. A few quick and simple reminders for you:

• Don’t cut it too close – make sure you are leaving plenty of time to reach your destination.
• Don’t blame the people in the car – they have nothing to do with it! 
• Stop and take a break – get out of the car every two hours or so, even if it’s just for a quick walk around the vehicle. The fresh air and stretching your legs will help you relax.
• It’s not the employee’s fault – they don’t want you to be annoyed, either. They’re just trying to get to the end of their shift. 

Snacks

There is a sign in our favorite roadside attraction between here and LA. The place is called Eddie World (https://eddieworld.com/), and my kids LOVE it—they both have the t-shirt to prove it! Anyway, in the bathroom is a sign that says “Roadside snacks should always look like somebody gave a ten year old $100”. We agree with this!

• Buy something you rarely have – for me it’s the cheddar popcorn
• Buy a fresh soda – it is never good when it gets old and flat
• Try something new – Elk jerky? Sure!

Back-up mayonnaise

Now I can tell our loyal readers! Don’t forget your back-up mayonnaise of all types! I don’t have to tell you to bring an extra night or two of medicine, but will you remember everything? Let’s see:

• It might rain. Really, you just don’t know. Be prepared
• Patti don’t like to be cold. Throw another jacket in that carry-on! I had to use it for a blanket more than one time
• I wish I had those shoes. That’s something I never want to say! Be ready for everything.
• You don’t wear hats. Yeah, me neither. Until I want one! Throw it in the bag!
• Not the Shants!!! That is the combination of pants with zip-off legs to make shorts. No, I’m not suggesting you buy some. BUT, you might need a little of both, so make sure you’re ready

Get Outta Dodge

You do have another alternative, you know…You could leave. Alone.

Sweet Husband and I are combining our Winter Break with a combination of family time and couple time, by taking off for the week before Christmas Day on our own holiday travel. It will give us a great opportunity to relax and reconnect, but still preserve the holiday with some of our kids. This might be an excellent alternative for you if you will need some downtime either before or after the holiday itself—schedule a weekend away just to unwind and sit by a pool. 

No Matter What

Get ready for a fun and exciting holiday season! Whether you are staying home alone, hosting others, or traveling to catch up with people, make the very best of this year’s travel season. Coming off of two very tough years, we are all anxious to get together to create some strong memories. 

So prepare for the best year of holidays ever:

Call the house cleaning company…

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR

Thank you for reading all about holiday travel!!

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out some other tips, like going to Chicago, here, or traveling for Halloween, here! Or, check out our other topics here! Either way, I appreciate you!

Please leave a COMMENT about any tips you may have!! Or comment with YOUR story! Where’re your next trip going to be? Let me know!

Please, feel free to contact me or leave a COMMENT with anything you would like to hear more about! Or reach out with any unrelated questions, comments, concerns, or random outbursts of excitement by clicking here.