The holiday rush already strains sanity, so why add unnecessary chaos? With some strategic planning, you can masterfully orchestrate your family’s annual trek and actually enjoy the trip too! Here are 7 tested tips for keeping holiday travel smooth not stressful:
Overcommunicate with a Shared Calendar
Sync travel plans/confirmations and bundle all flight/hotel/rental details into one central digital calendar everyone access. No guessing, just the latest on-the-go. You can use something like Google Calendar and/or a platform like TripIt that will scour your email to create an itinerary. Both options are free, though TripIt has a premium option as well (but not necessary).
Divide and Conquer
Assign travel and/or holiday tasks like organizing activities or meal elements according to family members’ strengths for less burden on one lead planner. Having ownership of certain areas will cut down on mental load that tends to land on one person. Consider adding these to a Google Keep list or spreadsheet and being clear on what ownership means. Assigning all kids duties is important to their ownership of the trip or experience, no matter how small.
Ship Gifts & Bulky Gear Ahead
Pay to ship gifts and ski/sports equipment to your destination pre-trip. Avoid paying overage plus wrestling unwieldy items while traveling exhausted with antsy kids. In Japan, it’s an option to ship your bags from the airport to the hotel, so you don’t have to drag your luggage through public transit.
Keep Kids Entertained
Happy wife, happy life? More like kids rested, parents bested! Load fresh digital entertainment for flights like kid-friendly playlists or new games they can play. Bring old-school options too like activity/sticker books, MadLibs, small new toys to unwrap mid-travel. Honeybunny the Unipuppy books are a great light book to bring on a trip to get kids excited about a destination. Also, don’t forget kids Benadryl for unexpected kids ear pain on the plane, and kids melatonin to get kids on the right time zone.
Adjust Expectations
Discuss that delays or changes in plans may occur so reacting with grace and flexibility matters more than strict schedules. Travel is an adventure! In fact, I found many unexpected side effects of traveling with kids, one being that the kids became a lot less anxious about the unknown after experiencing several unexpected things going wrong during travel (canceled trains, can’t get into airbnb, etc).
Get Some Rest
Resist overplanning pre-travel, during, and when returning from travel- leave leeway days before jumping into holiday hosting or school/work. As avid travelers before kids I’ve been tempted to maximize time by overscheduling, like flying out right after work/school and coming back right before. But now I leave lots of room to pack and plan before, to do laundry and relax when we get back, as well as during the trip I try to only do 1 bigger activity per day and I leave room for playground and naps. Sure you won’t see absolutely everything, but you’ll also have more rested family able to enjoy the big rocks more. The Honeybunny Visits books will come with checklists of things to see and do, which can set expectations for the trip ahead, but also recognize that not all of it needs to happen.
Embrace the Magic
When travel snafus or family squabbles inevitably occur, breathe and reset perspectives to tap into holiday magic. What matters most is being together. I always try to remember that even when things aren’t going right they are making shared memories as a family and creating a sense of adventure.
With realistic standards, teamwork strategies, and leaner luggage loads, family holiday travel can fill your heart not spike your blood pressure! Fundamentally, the holidays remind us that time with loved ones is the ultimate gift. For more tips on staying organized for family trips, see here.
