Holiday trips are one of the best trips ever, yet it’s no secret that they are also one of the most challenging! Because the Christmas season is very special, a much-awaited time of year, everyone just celebrates it all out! Alongside the merriness and festivity are built-in hassles and stresses of this busy time. Places are cramped regardless of whether they’re malls, parks, restaurants, hotels or whatnot. Road traffic is unimaginable. Lines whenever and wherever are longer than long.
But still, people choose to travel on the Holidays because this is the perfect time for a cozy, rejuvenating and gleeful vacation. Sometimes, it could be to reunite and meet with loved ones as well. If the Holiday hassle cannot hinder you from making your travel plans happen, then what you can do instead is to reduce or run away from it. How? By preparing and planning smartly!
This is the final part of this 2-part series. If you haven’t read the first half yet, click here: 12 Travel Preparation Tips for Hassle-Free Holiday Trips (Part 1)
If you’re done with Part 1, continue with the list below. Here are 12 travel planning hacks for stress-free Holiday trips! Read well, and read on!
7 – Pack Smart.
You want to have a convenient time during your Holiday trips, but when your luggage is brimming, it’s not really helping a lot, you will not achieve that. The solution is to pack smart.
It’s just a Holiday vacation, and it’s not like you are moving out for good. So don’t pack in such a way like you’re not coming back home. Most ideally, pack light. This prevents tendencies of getting on hold in the airport because of excess baggage. Furthermore, it helps you have a comfortable time carrying your cases.
The Holiday OOTD (Outfit of the Day) is obviously inevitable as you will be taking a lot of photos during your trip. Oftentimes, people get this part wrong because they bring a lot of clothes that are fashionable but not comfortable. Pack smart! Take garments that are good for your IG-worthy shots but won’t make you suffer during your trip!
Consider the quantity and the weight of your clothes. Don’t bring too many extras. Estimate and plan out your clothes lineup per day of your Holiday trip. Bear in mind the weather-appropriate clothing that cannot be left behind as well.
Besides clothes, take with you the items that are necessary for you and for traveling!
8 – Don’t Wrap Holiday Gifts Yet, Or Just Ship them.
If your Holiday trip is to visit your loved ones living abroad or in far local places, you surely have Christmas presents for them. You will certainly put a bright smile on their faces with those tokens wrapped in beautiful Christmas wrappers!
However, you might face a problem when you travel with these gifts. What kind? They might get squashed, pressed or harshly folded while they are placed inside your travel bags. If not the gifts themselves, the presentations might get ruined. Before you get to your loved ones’ places, they might already be broken or torn.
What you can do here is to not wrap those Holiday gifts yet. Why? Because if they are still uncovered, they are more flexible. You can properly fold or tuck them into ends and corners of your travel luggage without risking their quality or their comely wrappers. Moreover, if you bring them wrapped, you might be required to unwrap them for security checking at the airport. What a waste.
On the other hand, you may also travel without these Holiday gifts by just shipping them to your loved ones. Before or after you arrive at your relatives’ or friends’ houses, those presents will reach them just on time for the Holidays!
9 – Download Travel Apps Ahead of Time.
Nowadays, traveling is made easier by travel applications that can be accessed anywhere as long as you have a mobile gadget and an Internet connection. There are various sorts of them, including road navigation apps, hotel accommodation booking apps, food and restaurant discount apps, tourist destination search apps, and many more!
These software have been created for travelers’ advantage, so you can come up with good travel plans and end up with the best travel experiences! Although they are highly accessible and portable, you should know how to properly use them for you to maximize their purposes.
Download these travel apps ahead of time, specifically before your Holiday trips. Don’t cram the night before or the hour before your flight. Doing so disables you from studying how to use them and from grabbing the chance to acquire app user discounts that need verifications and the like. Downloading beforehand also allows you to free up your gadget’s storage space to make way for your travel apps.
10 – Print Boarding Passes. Save Your E-Tickets.
After booking and confirming your flight, immediately print your boarding passes. Do this without idling, so avoid forgetting to accomplish it. Be sure to secure and bring them on the day of your flight. You can forgo long times if you already have these passes ready!
Meanwhile, if you have e-tickets, save them on your mobile phone, and/or have them save on one of your personal online accounts and email. This will prevent you from losing them too.
11 – Relax, and Bring A Lot of Patience.
Not only the tangible things, like sweaters, cool beanies and hand warmers, are the essentials for Holiday trips. Patience also is! You need a big bag of it.
As Holiday trips are, more often than not, imperfect, you have to manage your expectations and know how to handle unexpected and unwanted travel experiences. Nevertheless, it’s a vacation, so do your best to make it a beautifully memorable trip, but don’t forget to relax! Remain calm and composed, so you avoid making mistakes and keep safe.
Bring entertainment sources, such as books, gadgets, music, to combat boredom or stress during the trip. Have fun!
12 – Make A Backup Plan In Case of Flight Cancellations or Heavy Road Traffic.
Making detailed travel plans for your Holiday trips is important. They don’t need to be strictly followed, but they serve as an outline or a guide, so you at least have a clear map of where to go, what to do, and when all these will happen. Alongside this, make a backup plan in case of flight cancellations, heavy road traffic and other huge, unexpected situations. Know alternative routes and actions. Know where to seek assistance when needed. Better be very prepared than to be caught off guard without a fight!
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HO-HO-HOLIDAY TRIPS!
We all know how Holiday trips are much more exhilarating and unforgettable because the Christmas spirit just makes everything better. People are in a good mood. You can wear your most beautiful garments specially bought for the Yule celebration. Friends and families are meeting up over delicious Christmas food and drinks. Secret Santas and exchanging of gifts are for young and old. These and more are the reasons why traveling during the Yuletide season is exceptional! It’s just that it also is one of the most exhausting times to do so.
Nonetheless, like what the list above shows, you can find ways and be smarter, so you can skip the big hassles of Holiday trips. Through these, you can fully enjoy and make worthwhile memories of the happiest season of all!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She is a daytime writer for Holiday Inn Parramatta Hotel, a five-star hotel in Parramatta, New South Wales which provides a rewarding stay and a close reach of Australia’s noteworthy features. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.
