Just about now, as you are paging through this Sunday travel section, a thought is rattling around in the back of your mind: Should we travel over the coming holidays or shouldn’t we? The new “millennium” only compounds the question.
It is a dilemma.
However, the decision is easier to make when you consider that you travel over the holidays for one of two reasons: Either you are traveling to be with people or to get away from them.
I asked one of my traveling friends with a wry sense of humor what advice he would give about holiday travel? His answers:
1. Don’t.
2. If you must, try to go a day earlier, return a day later.
3. Book far, far, far in advance.
4. Practice one-small-bag packing.
5. Buy tickets for friends and/or family to fly and visit you; let them suffer holiday travel.
His advice brings to mind the first rule of holiday travel: Keep your sense of humor.
Why is this so important? Because holiday travel is stressful, particularly on couples, because you both get frazzled and end up taking out your frustrations on each other. You soon discover that whether you are heading home to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, sometimes it is hard to keep the spirit. If this is a holiday honeymoon or you are traveling with children, all of these factors are compounded.
For some folks, holiday travel is a fact of life; they do it every year. For others, it’s an occasional experience and so it is a bit more daunting. Never fear. We’re going to help you cope.
Here are some tips to keep your holiday travel safe, sane and loving.
– Book flights now. If you haven’t already made them, make any airline reservations right now…today. Otherwise, you will be stuck with overnight “red-eyes” and other odd-timed flights. If you were hoping to use frequent flyer miles, know that most airlines have heavy blackout periods around both Thanksgiving and Christmas when free tickets cannot be used.
However, many people do not know the airlines generally do not black out Thanksgiving day and Christmas day. In fact, flights are often wide-open and airports are empty. (If you are heading to the Caribbean for a get-away, consider leaving late on Christmas day.) My family has made a tradition of flying in and out on Christmas day for years because it is so easy. Note my friend’s advice: Leave a day earlier, come home a day later, if at all possible.
– Nail down your seat assignments. The good seats go fast, so get yours early.
– Look for last-minute deals. If your trip is to get away from the holiday brouhaha, then you might check with your travel agent to see if there are any last-minute deals available. Right about now, most cruise lines and tour operators will be discounting any holiday spaces they have left for this season–especially those much-touted “millennium” packages.
– Reconfirm all of your arrangements. About a week before your departure, get on the phone and reconfirm all of the details of your trip. Flight times do change, hotels sometimes mistakenly cancel reservations, and tour operators change departure times. Double-check your seat assignments. Be sure to carry all of your confirmation slips with you when you travel; they can be invaluable when you are dealing with a surly front desk clerk at midnight. Be sure to take along the home/night phone number of your travel agent.
– Prepare yourselves mentally. Before you ever leave home, the primary players should whip up a platter of pasta, open a bottle of wine and have a serious discussion about how you are going to handle the irritations of the upcoming trip. Agree not to snipe, blame or otherwise aggravate the other. Plan to be mutually supportive, to hold hands a lot and kiss him, her or one of your little darlin’s whenever you are even thinking of making a nasty comment. Think of some little signal you all can use when you feel tempers begin to rise (our family favorite is to strike a yoga pose, with eyes closed and palms up–invariably, it brings on a laugh and breaks the tension).
– Get to the airport early. Yes, you’ve heard it before, but it can’t be emphasized enough. Parking will be precious (in fact, get a ride and skip those jammed lots and interminable shuttles altogether), flights will be overbooked (yes, you could lose your seat) and weather could delay flights, causing further confusion. Remember that roads get clogged, too.
There is no more secure feeling than to be safely ensconced at the airport, all checked in, boarding passes in your pocket and a Bloody Mary in your hand…45 minutes ahead of the flight. Then you can chuckle as you watch all those late-comers scramble for seats. For international flights, get there three hours before and be the first people checked in and avoid those long lines.
– Bring a good book. A month before, set aside a book that you have just been dying to read and save it for this trip. Nothing can bail you out during a long wait during travel better than a good, juicy novel. Make sure that everyone with you has one, too.
– Carry food. Unfortunately, the quality of American airline food has deteriorated to a dismal state. Much of it is barely edible, and many flights offer no more than a pack of peanuts or pretzels. String a few of those short pretzel flights together and you can encounter some massive hunger pangs. (And hunger makes you irritable–just what we don’t need in the season of holiday cheer.) Then you are left with snatching a hot dog or piece of pizza between gates, which is not very satisfying.
Instead, bring along some healthy food for your day of travel. Stick in a couple of deli sandwiches, fresh fruits, some carrot and celery sticks, gorp or granola bars. Always carry a bottle of water. You’d be amazed how good it all tastes when the munchies hit and how smug you’ll be when those around you look on enviously.
– Keep baggage to a minimum. If ever you have packed light, this is the time to do it. Remember black and taupe go with everything. Losing baggage is a major pain, especially at this time of year. If you can make do with one roll-on bag, go for it. Airlines are now setting strict limits on carry-on baggage so you won’t be able to tote all the gifts on board, too. Send gifts ahead.
– Try to sleep on the plane. You will be tired but excited, which can make it difficult to sleep. If you have a flight or a drive that is at least a few hours long, consider taking an over-the-counter sleeping medication (doxylamine succinate). Just a half of one of those little 25 mg. tablets will usually help you get to sleep, without making you too groggy after you wake. Bring along one of those funny-looking pillows that fit around your neck–they really do work.
– Pack a present. Pick out some little thing for your partner and the kids–maybe a CD, a paperback by a favorite author, a funny deck of cards, jewelry is always good–and take the time to wrap it up pretty. Stuff it in your carry-on. Then, when your flight gets canceled, whip it out and present it with a hug. It’s a sure-fire way to perk up any situation.
– Expect things to go wrong. During the holidays the threat of things going awry is quadrupled. Leave for your trip with the positive attitude that, yes, a few things may go wrong but you’re going to have a wonderful time. And you will.
