Traveling Over the Holidays

Keywords: holidays, travel

By Stacy DeBroff

My husband is very close to his family, who live about a hundred miles away. He always wanted to be with them on the holidays, and I felt that we needed to start our own family traditions. One year for Thanksgiving, we were going to his family’s, and we were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The kids were so miserable in the backseat, because a 90-minute ride was turning into 3 hours. I said to him, “Look at those faces. Is this how a holiday should be celebrated?” Now we spend Thanksgiving and Christmas at home and travel either before or after. If the family really wants to see us, they can come to our house. This has relaxed our family during this time because we don’t have to rush out the door to be somewhere. —Debbie Cabrera, mom of Patrick, 7, Mitchell, 5, and Sloane, 2

• If this is your first holiday traveling with your child, let him know how the holidays will be different from other years and what to expect for the days ahead. Try to preserve a few of your own rituals, no matter where you go.

• Plan for the worst when you travel around the holidays, and you’ll be less frustrated and better prepared. Bad weather, heavy traffic, roadside breakdowns, and canceled, delayed, and overbooked flights are common holiday disasters. By anticipating some of the common problems of holiday travel, you’ll be better able to cope if one arises.

• To avoid traffic jams and airport congestion, consider leaving one day early and coming back one day later. By traveling off-peak times, you avoid the holiday craze and often can book much cheaper flights.

• Book flights early in the day, so you have a better chance of making alternative arrangements in case a flight is canceled.

• Book nonstop flights when possible, and avoid connections through cold-weather hubs that might be snowed in when you fly.

• Though flexible tickets are more expensive, they will allow you more options in case of overbooked flights, missed connections, and cancellations.

• Map out alternative driving routes in case traffic backs up on the highway.

• Watch the weather reports, whether driving, flying, or taking the train. Canceled flights, traffic delays, closed roads, and trains and buses filled with airport overflow could make travel extremely difficult.

• Try to keep things festive, no matter what happens. There’s a remote chance that you may not be able to spend the holiday where you planned to be. The best thing you can do is try to salvage the day, rather than letting your disappointment settle over the whole family. Try to treat the situation as an adventure, and chances are your child will too.

• Traveling and holidays place your normal routine in double jeopardy. Try to maintain nap and meal times to help your child feel stable while adjusting to all the other changes.

Stacy, heralded as a “parenting guru” by the Wall Street Journal, authored four best-selling parenting books (Simon & Schuster) and launched Mom Central, Inc. (www.MomCentral.com), a company devoted to providing savvy advice to simplify and enrich the lives of busy Moms and their families. Stacy appears as a regular parenting expert on national TV show, including NBC’s Today Show, CNN, The View, Tyra Banks Show, CBS’ Early Show, The Daily Buzz, Mike And Juliet, Fox & Friends, and the Rachael Ray Show. Stacy also serves as a corporate spokesperson, trendspotting for the media on behalf of over 30 national brands.

In the 1990’s, Stacy founded and ran as an attorney the Public Interest Office at Harvard Law School. Stacy lives with her husband, Ron, and happily engages in imperfect parenting of their two teens, Kyle and Brooks, in Boston, Massachusetts.