10 Suggestions for Making it through Holiday Travel

It’s that time of year again when you have to pack up all the presents and somehow make it to the in-laws’ house in one piece after being strip-searched at the airport and losing your luggage. Holiday travel is, in a word, no-fun, correct? Well, not all of us need to be Ben Stiller from Meet the Parents. Obviously, you'll find unavoidable circumstances and some aspects of travel, like lines at the airport and bad visitors, just can’t be helped. What may be helped, though, is your plan for how to survive it all.

Here are our top 10 suggestions for surviving holiday travel in 2010.
Flying

*Book as far in advance as achievable. Flights book out very swiftly during the holidays.

*Call the airline to confirm your reservation about a week prior to and consider having cheaper flights. This will present you with time to argue with them if something has gone wrong, and also to check on your seat assignment.

*Follow packing guidelines. Put your little toiletries into a plastic baggie before you leave the home, and carry it in an easily-accessed pouch of your carry-on bag.

*Wear comfy clothes and shoes which are easy to get on and off. Skip the belt, tie and formal-wear.

*Expect lines. Bring a book, magazine or computer to maintain you occupied in busy airports. Bear in mind to breathe.

*Allow about two or 3 hours far more than you believe you want. It’s better to be sitting in an airport for a couple hours than it's to be late and miss your flight and be stressed about lines and crowds.

*Don’t pre-wrap your Christmas gifts. Even if they're in your checked luggage, they may be torn open by the security staff, so it’s finest to wrap after you arrive, or ship your gifts by post.

*Fly on off days, like Tuesdays, and in the event you can, fly on the actual day of the holiday when the airports are virtually empty and lines are minimal.

Driving

*Drive out early or on the day of, as opposed to several days before when roads will probably be crowded and traffic will probably be bad.

*Stop for gas well before you have to. The last thing you would like would be to run out of gas on your way to Christmas dinner.

*Ensure that you prepare blankets along with warm clothes, a flashlight, an extra tire as well as some snacks. Who knows when you’ll hit awful weather and be stuck on the road.

*If you're renting a vehicle, be positive to book it well in advance, as rental cars book out swiftly. Be sure you plan your flights or arrival time early inside the morning, as rental vehicle firms tend to over-book and, in case you arrive late, you may be stranded or forced to upgrade to a much more costly automobile.

*Make positive you have satellite radio, CDs or audio books to keep you entertained.

*If you do get stuck in a visitors jam, try to take deep breaths and think about some thing else, rather than obtaining upset, which won’t change the traffic and will only ruin your Christmas.

*Carry a standard paper road atlas, in addition to a satellite navigation system, since they're sometimes wrong. Make certain you plan your route via the paper atlas in advance, so you do not need to do much checking on the road.

And, most importantly…

Keep in mind the spirit of Christmas. It is so easy to get caught up inside the presents and the traffic as well as the hassles of holiday travel that you ruin your own Christmas. This is really a time that we ought to appreciate our family and friends and be thankful what we have, rather than focusing on the (fairly speaking, trifle) hassles of travel at this time of year!