Christmas is just around the corner. Are you planning a family Christmas vacation this year? That means it is time to seriously decide what your Christmas plans are. Are you spending it with extended family or friends? What presents are you going to buy for your kids? What are you serving for Christmas dinner? There are a lot of things to get done this holiday season.
6 Tips for Planning a Family Christmas Vacation
If you are looking to spice things up this Christmas season, here are six tips for planning the perfect Christmas vacation.
Location Scout
It’s important to decide where you want to spend your family Christmas vacation. Think about what you want to do while you are there, the weather you want, and if you want to be near any family or friends If you want to have a true snowy, white Christmas you’ll want to stay somewhere further north. Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, New York, and Michigan are great places to stay to get a snowy Christmas morning. Or maybe you want a sunny and hot Christmas. If that’s the case, then you should look into traveling to Florida, California, or Arizona.
Rent a House
Instead of just staying in a hotel room, rent a house to help your Christmas vacation still feel homey. Rent through airbnb.com or tetonvalleyvacationrentals.com to find the perfect home to rent. It will be nice to have more space than a hotel room to be able to enjoy Christmas day. Plus, renting a home will give you access to a kitchen to make a delicious home-cooked Christmas meal.
Packing List
Going on vacation at any time requires some planning and packing, but traveling for Christmas requires extra attention. “Santa” does not want to forget his bag of presents! Write down everything you need to pack. Remember to pack food, clothing, presents, and stockings. You may even want to pack wrapping paper, scissors, and tape in case you have any last-minute presents to wrap.
Watch the Weather
Watching the weather is especially important for anyone planning to travel to snowier areas. Make sure the weather will be safe for your travel days. Double-check the car before you leave. Check the tire pressure, oil, and that the heater is working. You don’t want to get stuck traveling with no warm air while it blizzards outside. You might also consider investing in some snow chains to put on your tires. These will help you have more traction and stability on the road even if the roads are snowy or icy.
Bring Entertainment
Christmas break is normally a relaxing and chill vacation full of puzzles, board games, books, and movies. Pack a favorite Christmas puzzle, a few movies, board games, and maybe even bring along your Xbox. Having a few fun things to do while you vacation will make your Christmas vacation that much more enjoyable.
Enjoy Quality Family Time
Even though trying to plan a whole Christmas vacation may be stressful, remember to really enjoy the time you have while you are vacationing. The Christmas season is all about being with family and loved ones, so enjoy the time you have to spend with one another.
Christmas has always been a magical time of the year and as a child, I always looked forward to spending extra time with my family. There were several years my parents booked trips around the Christmas holidays but never tried the ideas listed above. One year before my youngest is too old, I’d love to surprise him with a family Christmas vacation.
Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash
Thank you so much for sharing these really great tips to us! This is so helpful!
This is such a really helpful post! I love it! Thanks for these tips I will surely keep this in mind!
I definitely agree with renting a actual home for Christmas vacation! Feels cosy.
Fun tips! We usually stay home for the holidays since it can be so insane to travel. But if we ever do anything, I will keep the post in mind. Tracking weather is a must! You just never know.
A Christmas vacation is right up my alley. I would have never thought to check the weather.
It would be so fun to go on a Christmas vacation! What a fun idea and I am going to share this with my husband and plan something fro next years Christmas!
We always go for a Christmas vacation every year, and renting a house saves me a lot.
These are all great recommendations and suggestions for all the families and people traveling for the holidays. I will be sure to refer to these tips when preparing myself!
while we will be home around Christmas itself, we will make short trips before/after when possible.. and most likely road trips.. planning with older kids who have lots of plans of their own and school work on their mind adds to the complexity
These are great suggestions! We went away during Thanksgiving and this article would have helped me. I’ll bookmark it for future reference!