Travel Tips: Holiday Edition
It’s that time of year! Personally, this is my favorite time of the year. But it can also be a crazy time as well. My husband’s family lives about 12 hours from us, so we are traveling each year for either Christmas or Thanksgiving. Today I am going to share with you some of my favorite travel tips. Hopefully these will make this season a little easier!
Tips for everyone:
Get the TSA pre-check! Just do it. You won’t regret it. It’s currently $85 for 5 years. So even if you fly only once a year it’s $17/year. You get to take your kids for free through the TSA pre-check line as well until they are 13. At age 13 we purchased my son his own pass. It was really easy and we received our number really quickly. If you every fly in or out of a busy airport, this is worth every penny (in my opinion.)
Use packing cubes. These make it so easy to keep things separate and also help you to pack more in your suitcase. I have owned THESE for quite a few years and they are still in great condition!
Don’t check luggage. We only do carry on. I have been a victim (yes! I said VICTIM) of lost luggage more than once. We even had to get a hotel by the airport one year because my luggage was arriving the next morning and we couldn’t travel on to our destination. Carry on luggage also forces us to not over pack.
Bring a laundry bag in your bag. HERE is a great bag that you can put in your suitcase. This makes it easy to keep dirty laundry separate and then when you get home you can just toss the laundry bag in your laundry room and take your suitcase with clean clothes to your closet.
Holiday travel:
Don’t packed wrapped gifts. You will cry when the TSA agent rips your pretty package open to check what’s inside, so just don’t do it. Even if you check your luggage, they still have the right to open up your packages. Instead, I pack gift bags and tissue paper to make it easy to “wrap” my gifts when I arrive at my destination.
Have your packages shipped to your destination ahead of you. I’ve ordered gifts and had then sent to my family instead of shipped to me. I just let them know to expect the box and save it for me. This is an easy way to not have to travel with presents.
Make room for gifts you will receive. This is especially for those of you with kids traveling to see grandparents for Christmas. We have been the parents with our fingers losing circulation as we are carrying giant Lego boxes through the airport. Make sure you have extra room in your luggage, or even throw an empty duffle bag in your suitcase.
Tips for traveling with kids:
Use a refillable cup. You will be so happy you did when the stewardess hands you a cup of juice in a flimsy plastic cup to keep upright on the tiny airplane seat tray.
Download shows and games. Don’t rely on the airport or airline internet service. They are always so unstable. And I am all about saving a new movie for the plane ride. There is a time to limit media, but for me and my house, a long plane ride is not that time. :)
Keep your bags light. We can have a tendency to over pack with kids. However, I have found that the lighter I pack, the happier I am. I always end up carrying at least one kids bag and I am delighted that I limited what’s inside of it.
If you’re traveling with a baby, think about wearing her instead of lugging a giant stroller around the airport. I learned this early on with Elsie. Baby wearing wasn’t really a thing when Wyatt (now 16) was born and I almost dropped him once trying to close up the stroller when getting on to the plane. Wearing her on the front and a backpack on the back made my life so much more simple when flying!
These are simple tips that have worked for my family. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas with lots of margin for the good things!