The holiday season is in full swing! While the holidays are always lots of fun and filled with magic and cheer, there are definitely times when they feel overwhelming. Especially when you’re traveling! In today’s post I’m giving you 5 tips to help make traveling during the holidays a little less stressful.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
1. Set Low Expectations
The holidays are the busiest time of the year to travel. With that being said, they are going to be very different than your regular traveling. So by setting the expectation that things are going to be slower, or delayed, or not as you would ideally like them to be, you’re not going to be as shocked, upset or frustrated when travel plans change.
2. Give Yourself Plenty of Time
If you’re flying, get to the airport early. TSA lines are going to be extremely long due to the number of travelers, a lot of whom aren’t regular travelers and don’t know the ins and outs of getting through security quickly.
If you’re driving somewhere, roads will be crowded and busier especially if you’re planning on traveling closer to the actual holidays.
3. Check the Weather
Weather can have HUGE impacts on all forms of travel. Flights can get delayed or canceled. Roads can get closed or be very dangerous. A few years ago we were coming back from California after Thanksgiving and there was as HUGE snow storm in Utah. It closed down part of the interstate for a while and traffic was backed up for dozens of miles. We had no clue that the weather was going to be bad and we didn’t think how busy it would be driving back to Utah on basically the only route through the state. It was pretty dangerous but luckily we were able to get a hotel for the night and finish safely driving the next day when the interstate was open again. Which leads me to my next tip…
4. Have Alternate Plans
What are you going to do if your travel plans get canceled? Are you still going to try to go via another route? Do you have emergency money to pay for a hotel room if you’re stranded somewhere? When I was a teenager, we were going to go to Washington D.C. from Michigan over Christmas break to visit my grandparents. There was a huge snow storm that grounded all flights and they didn’t know when they would be able to get planes going again. So we decided to drive there instead. (My parents were amazing and drove all through the night to get there so we could still spend as much time as possible with my grandparents!) So have a backup plan at least partly thought through in case of weather or other issues that may come up that prevent you from traveling.
5. Spread Holiday Cheer
The people you come in contact with are going to be stressed and probably not enjoying their traveling, especially if there are complications, long lines and chaos. So do your best to not add to the craziness of holiday travel and try to be happy. Smile at the TSA worker, thank the gas attendant, and keep a smile on your face (even if you have to fake it). It will make your travels (any time of the year!) much more pleasant.
