Family Travel

I saw this post about Christmas in London over at About’s Travel With Kids, and I got to thinkin’….Do we always have to spend our holidays in our hometown?

Yes, I’m all for tradition and continuity, and waking up to Santa or whatever in my own cozy abode, but take a moment to consider going somewhere for a holiday.

It can build great memories and make that year a real standout for the kids.

Maybe lots of you already do this, and I’d love to hear your comments about how you make it work.

If not, let me suggest that you consider going someplace wonderful with the kids to celebrate Thanksgiving, New Year’s, or whichever winter holiday you celebrate in your family. Someplace that you’ve been meaning to go anyway, or someplace that you love already but would like to see all dressed up in lights and holiday cheer.

I’ve been to London and Key West for New Year’s, and let me tell you we all had a marvelous time (especially when Big Ben rang at midnight.) Many places now have First Night celebrations that are kid-friendly, so that helps. We were in London with family friends and Key West with grandparents, so there were plenty of jollies to go around.

Kinda spooked about breaking tradition? I vote for starting with the Thanksgiving holiday, as long as you aren’t really enamored with cooking some giant meal in your own kitchen every year. So many hotels and restaurants now put on a delicious spread that you don’t need to cook or clean up after; you can relax, enjoy and be thankful for the company of family and friends, which is the whole point of the holiday, right?

You probably want to go to a Thanksgiving destination within decent driving distance, since I can’t imagine more hell than wrestling with kids and luggage in an airport during that time of year. We popped down to New York City from Rhode Island one year — with the sparkling lights and decorations already up in most places it was like a holiday two-fer.

Just think about it, maybe not for this year unless you move fast, but maybe next year (if Aunt Mabel or whomever needs time to get used to the idea that you’re going to miss the annual trek to her place, just this once.)

Update 01 December 2006: There are apparently a lot of Australians who travel for the holidays as well (and many do it to escape the non-fun of family events that have become a raging pain in the ^#$%. I’m starting to really appreciate my own fairly low-impact family!)

We all know that the true crazy season for family stuff is about to begin.

There are outdoor festivals and events to take advantage of nice fall weather. Halloween is practically a month-long event (even longer if you tack on Dia de los Muertos.)

You may want to make travel plans for Thanksgiving, and my favorite organizer, the FlyLady, has already posted her tipsheet for early Christmas/winter holidays prep.

So, before it gets too nuts, resolve to get you and your entire family set with passports if you are US citizens.

Starting in January 2007 (that would be in two months!) you will need a passport to get back into the United States through airports, even from some of the countries where we’ve never had many re-entry requirements (the list includes Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, Panama, Central and South America and most Caribbean islands.)

Stand by for January 2008, when the requirement will also be in force for seaport and land crossings into and out of all of the countries above….are you listening, cruise fans?

This very good New York Times article mentions that the State Department estimates that 73 percent of Americans don’t have passports. Even though not all are going to run out and get them, there is good potential for a big ol’ clog in the bureaucracy as the system tries to respond to demand in issuing these documents.

Remember, for first-time applicants, you’ll need to go in person (usually to a local post office, county clerk office or library) and it’s $97 each for adults and $82 for kids under 16. Ouch.

The official US State Department Passport Page is here, with all of the latest requirements and links to other info pages.

So, how many of you have already beaten the rush? Full disclosure: I need to renew. How about you?

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