Travel Hacks When Thinking About A Family Thanksgiving Trip

When it comes to Thanksgiving, travelling is as big a tradition as pumpkin pie. Last year, a record number of Americans travelled for Thanksgiving. Nearly 51 people hit the road or took to the skies, travelling 50 miles or more for November’s holiday. These stats mark the highest travel volume for the holiday since 2005.

Though a natural addition to the season, Thanksgiving travel marks the start of a very busy time of year. For parents, the hustle and bustle are even more hectic and can make travelling a challenge.

If your family is planning to make a journey this November, you’ll want to follow these tips to make your trip goes off without a hitch. Whether you’re making the annual pilgrimage to your aunt’s house for turkey, or you’re hoping to escape the Thanksgiving chaos altogether by going south, these travel hacks can help you return home with your sanity intact.

Budget wisely, save early

No matter what your plans are, travelling can be expensive. Since Thanksgiving is only one piece to the holiday financial puzzle, it’s important you stick to a budget. Making a budget can help you in several ways.

• First, it shows you how much cash you have to spend once you pay for the necessities. This is the money you have on hand before you start saving.
• Second, a budget shows you what you can afford with this cash.
• Thirdly, once you have a budget that outlines your spending habits, you can target bad habits that do nothing but waste cash. If you start early enough, you can cut out these purchases and use the money you’ve saved to buy airfare.

There are plenty of ways the typical family wastes money. If you’re having trouble identifying them in your own budget, read this blog post from MoneyKey. It shows how wasteful energy habits can take a chunk out of your budget. More importantly, it shows you simple ways to reduce your energy usage, so you can lower what you pay in utilities. As a lender of online loans, the folks at MoneyKey encourage these practical money-savings habits before anyone takes out an online cash advance to cover their bills.

Think about when you leave

School, work, and the holiday itself affect when you can leave for your trip. While some things are out of your hands, it’s important you organize your travel around specific days to avoid the worst of the crowds and expenses. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Saturday after it are two of the busiest flying days of the year. By prolonging your trip that spans Tuesday to Sunday or shortening it to Thursday to Sunday, you could side-step a lot of stress. You could also save a lot of cash on airfare.

Keep the kids occupied

Travel is hard on anyone, but a long trip across the country can feel like torture to little ones who have practically zero attention span. Any parent knows how dangerous a bored kid can be, so it’s in your best interest to keep them occupied.

Whether you’re flying or driving, you should pack a distraction bag for your family. It doesn’t need to be a hulking backpack that you need to check with the airline; it can be something as simple a child-sized fanny pack. Just make sure you fill it with things you know will entertain your kids.

Comics, coloring books, and travel-sized games are a good start to this pack. You should also download your kids’ favorite TV shows, movies, or podcasts onto your tablet or phone. You can pull this out in case your plans get delayed.

For many families, the holidays have become synonymous with travelling. If you’re one of the millions of people jettisoning across the country with your kids this November, make sure you’re prepared for travelling with them. It’s easy to overlook the realities of travelling as a family when you’re busy planning your big adventure, but with a little effort, you can be prepared for anything. Though simple, these tips can help parents keep their budget and your sanity intact.