Does
your Christmas travel involve a flight? As if flying wasn’t stressful enough,
holiday travel with children and overbooked flights can make anyone a scrooge.
Remember you cannot fly with wrapped packages. Use gift bags so the contents
can be inspected. Don’t lose good stuff at the security check because you
forgot the rule about liquids needing to be three ounces or less in a Ziploc®
bag. Check- in online 24 hours prior to your flight. Folks that wait to check
in at the airport are likely to be the ones bumped from full flights,
especially if they do not have a frequent flyer status with the airline.
Does
your Christmas travel involve a long road trip? Maybe this is the year to
actually leave earlier and stop at some of those places you pass every year and
say “Someday we ought to stop there and check it out.” Here’s a novel idea: get
maps for your backseat riders. We all are so dependent on GPS systems our young
ones aren’t learning to read and appreciate an old-fashioned map. Add a
highlighter and you may just be investing in a future traveler.
Does
your Christmas travel involve staying locally and a few trips across town? I’m
sure you’ve thought of this, but looking for opportunities to help others is
along your way. Have you seen the Blessing Boxes that are around? Picking up
some canned goods, or person hygiene items as you are shopping and then placing
them in the Blessing Box is a great way to talk about giving and not just
getting. There is a list in all the boxes of needs. Police Stations are always
a good resource to ask about ways to help others at this time of year.
I can’t claim
this idea, but I like it: Homes where Santa Clause will be bringing new toys,
give children a bag to put in toys they no longer want. Santa will take these
and repair them to give to other kids. This is such a good idea, maybe we all should
have a bag to fill for the Christian Mission, Goodwill, Animal Shelter, or
other agencies.
Does
your Christmas involve staying at home with no travel plans? How about making
someone’s day by picking up the telephone and having a real conversation? Cards
and emails are great, but a real voice is the best. That could be a gift in
itself.
However and
wherever you go this Christmas, pack your sense of wonder, your sense of humor
and your sense of adventure. Remember that first Christmas involved travel that
had some surprises.
