Tag: Thanksgiving

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Tips

Thanksgiving travel packing tips

Don't do it to your family; check-in misery (courtesy hoyasmeg at Flickr CC)Are you braving the busiest travel days in the US in the next few weeks?

That’s right, it’s the Thanksgiving holiday, so have some Tums (or your antacid of choice.)

If you insist on flying, remember that the airline experience these days is often similar to the worst bus trip you’ve ever taken. I’m sorry to be such a cynic, but it’s me against them when it comes to incredibly unpleasant US air travel.

Consider these survival tips:

***  Drive rather than fly if you can, and take some back roads while you’re at it.  Arm yourself with detailed maps before you go. GPS is nice, but map backups always boot up!

***  Shift the crazy travel days….work right up till Thanksgiving or even till noon Thanksgiving Day, but then take the following Monday and/or Tuesday off.

***  Heck, grab some last-minute fares and leave the country! I’d be all over Thanksgiving somewhere in South America or Europe.  Asia’s great but the flights take too long from where I live. If your family’s in Hawaii, however, go for it.

General flying tips:

—->  Do not check your luggage. You will pay extra fees to check on most airlines (one reason so many love Southwest Airlines, which still doesn’t charge to check.)  For the privilege of paying a fee, they may lose your stuff. No, thanks, they aren’t getting their paws on mine. I pack lightly (see video tips below.)

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Tips

Aaarrgh, where did summer go?

D'oh! I forgot to travel! (courtesy kjarrett at Flickr Creative Commons)It’s embarrassing to be a travel writer who forgets to travel.

I looked up this morning and school was starting; where did the summer go?

We took a short road trip to Houston, and the kids visited the nearby Schlitterbahn water park a couple of times, but that was about it.

What’s up with that?

I didn’t have plans for anything elaborate this summer, not with gas at $4/gallon and air travel such a misery, but I did intend to take a series of short one- or two-night family road trips.

As my teen would say….FAIL.

Still, I’ve been at this travel business for awhile, and I’ve learned that the vast majority of the planet will still be there when I get around to getting into the car or onto a plane.

Summer is beastly hot anyway, at least here in my home state of Texas, so another way to look at it is that the best season for travel is coming up right now.

Plan now for fall travel

Every year at about this time, it dawns on me that I should get ahead of the game for fall family travel.

When the kids come home with those enormous mounds of paper from their school, pull out the 2008-2009 school calendar and starting noting holiday/teacher workday dates (or look it up on the school Web site, of course.) Get those puppies down on your family calendar NOW, and start planning some short weekend fall getaways.

If your school observes Columbus Day, (October 13th this year) that’s an oft-forgotten holiday that’s good for a short trip.

Veterans Day in November works well, too; perhaps visit a nearby battlefield or historic fort?

It’s certainly not too late to lock in some Thanksgiving or even Christmas plans right now, because I assure you, airfare is only going to go up. Book now.

Get out of town, or out of the country, for Thanksgiving

Sometimes, holidays are even better when your family can enjoy them away from home.

Continue reading “Aaarrgh, where did summer go?”

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I’m thankful

              Sign in Mt. Dora, Florida (Scarborough photo)

I’m thankful for all of the wonderful people across the world who welcome traveling families, and make us feel at home in their home.

Have a pleasant Thanksgiving wherever you may be…. 

Categories
Philosophy

Holidays Somewhere Else

London Eye, looking from Bankside (Scarborough photo)I saw this post about Christmas in London over at About’s Travel With Kids, and I got to thinkin’….Do we always have to spend our holidays in our hometown?

Yes, I’m all for tradition and continuity, and waking up to Santa or whatever in my own cozy abode, but take a moment to consider going somewhere for a holiday.

It can build great memories and make that year a real standout for the kids.

Maybe lots of you already do this, and I’d love to hear your comments about how you make it work.

If not, let me suggest that you consider going someplace wonderful with the kids to celebrate Thanksgiving, New Year’s, or whichever winter holiday you celebrate in your family. Someplace that you’ve been meaning to go anyway, or someplace that you love already but would like to see all dressed up in lights and holiday cheer.

I’ve been to London and Key West for New Year’s, and let me tell you we all had a marvelous time (especially when Big Ben rang at midnight.) Many places now have First Night celebrations that are kid-friendly, so that helps. We were in London with family friends and Key West with grandparents, so there were plenty of jollies to go around.

Kinda spooked about breaking tradition? I vote for starting with the Thanksgiving holiday, as long as you aren’t really enamored with cooking some giant meal in your own kitchen every year. So many hotels and restaurants now put on a delicious spread that you don’t need to cook or clean up after; you can relax, enjoy and be thankful for the company of family and friends, which is the whole point of the holiday, right?

You probably want to go to a Thanksgiving destination within decent driving distance, since I can’t imagine more hell than wrestling with kids and luggage in an airport during that time of year. We popped down to New York City from Rhode Island one year — with the sparkling lights and decorations already up in most places it was like a holiday two-fer.

Just think about it, maybe not for this year unless you move fast, but maybe next year (if Aunt Mabel or whomever needs time to get used to the idea that you’re going to miss the annual trek to her place, just this once.)

Update 01 December 2006: There are apparently a lot of Australians who travel for the holidays as well (and many do it to escape the non-fun of family events that have become a raging pain in the ^#$%. I’m starting to really appreciate my own fairly low-impact family!)