Travel Spork

The Holiday Season: One of my least favorite times to travel. Yes, I love my family, but is it worth the craziness that ensues at the airports? Not to mention, air prices are so inflated, right? A roundtrip ticket from Los Angeles to Detroit during the holidays, could easily get me somewhere warm (i.e. Costa Rica) a couple of times throughout the year. So…what can you do to make your holiday travel experience better?

Cheer Up

It’s the holidays, cheer up! You get some time away from your dysfunctional co-workers, to spend some time with your dysfunctional family. Is there any way around these overly-dramatic-energy-stealing-people-you-call-families? Yes, there is. I call it therapy booze. Lot’s and lot’s of it. Put a little more nog in your egg-nog, and cheer up!

Pack Light

One of the easiest ways to reduce your stress at the airport during the holidays is to avoid checking any luggage. Regardless of the time of year, I usually pack everything into a carry-on. Why? If you just have your carry-on, you can print out your boarding pass from home before you leave to the airport, and head straight to the gate. You still may have to wait in the security line, but you will save significant time by not having to check in at the airline counter, and you will also save money on those pesky luggage fees (about $40-$60 per bag, round-trip).

If it doesn’t all fit into a carry-on, then you have packed too much stuff. Here’s a tip: Buy all your toiletries at your destination, and leave them behind when you return. If you are bringing gifts with you, I suggest shipping them ahead of time. If that seems like a lot of work, trust me, it’s worth the time and frustration you may spend at the airport. Not to mention, the rate of theft at the airport is always increased during the holiday season.

Get a Free Ticket

This is the only reason I look forward to traveling during the holiday season: Free airline vouchers. How is this possible?? Well, the majority of flights will be packed and most likely over-sold, so you can capitalize on it if you are willing to do some waiting. It doesn’t always happen, but you have great chances during the holidays. You see, most people are frantic and trying to rush to be somewhere. I’m not, and neither should you.

After you have surpassed security and you have arrived at your gate of departure, you can approach the counter (with a happy attitude and a big smile) and say, “Wow, looks like we have a full flight. Is this flight over-sold?” Then proceed to ask, “Well, it seems like there are a lot of people who need to get on this flight. Since I am traveling alone, I’d be willing to offer my seat if the need arises. Would you write my name down?” If they call your name and offer you a flight voucher for taking a later flight, take it! You will be the hero! While you’re waiting for your next flight, hit up the airport bar and start daydreaming about your next trip that you don’t have to pay airfare for.

Smile and Laugh

Here’s my challenge to you: smile! You will feel better yourself, and so will everyone else around you. Go ahead, try it.  It’s contagious.

Laugh. Laugh at some of the ridiculous things that get us so worked up. This is fun too…laugh at the ridiculous things that other people get worked up about. I wouldn’t suggest pointing and laughing, but a good “inside” laugh to yourself, is magical.

So, you can follow some of my tips or not. My main message is to make it easy on yourself, and relax during this holiday season! When everyone else is stressed out at the airport, you are the calm, the collected, the savvy traveler. That is something to smile about.