Over 35 million Americans will be heading over the river and through the woods to visit friends, family and to go on vacation between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. If you’re thinking of hitting the road, one thing is certain: you won’t be alone! So before you find yourself stuck in traffic or delayed at the airport, take a few moments and consider these tips as you plan your travel for the upcoming holiday season.

Alicia on ‘The Early Bird Gets the Worm’ ‘A little planning can help you work around the typical constraints of holiday travel. For starters, buy your tickets now – don’t wait for prices (and people) to get in the way. Fares start going up three weeks in advance of the trip date, so don’t delay. The earlier you book your tickets, the more likely your family will be seated together on the flight or train car of your choice. If you’re planning on hitting the road, try to pick a route that is less well-traveled. It’s less torturous for everybody if the car is at least moving!’

Sarah on ‘It’s in the Mail’ ‘The best way to avoid having your gifts arrive in less than perfect shape is to ship them ahead of time. Send them separately and they can arrive wrapped and unharmed, rather than ‘ruffed up’ by airport security. Most shipping companies, even the USPS these days, allow you to choose a particular arrival date and track your precious package’s every move online. The shipping companies also offer the option to go online and schedule a pickup from your home, so you can wrap, pack, and ship without the hubbub of Holiday traffic.’

Get organized for Holiday Travel with the tips below. #1: Fun and Games Make the journey fun for kids by bringing entertainment to the travel! If you’re flying consider a travel DVD player or iPod, you can also bring dry erase markers and window stickers to decorate the plane window. For car travel, make the trip fun and educational! The drive can be a chance to use maps and play games like eye-spy or the license plate search (how many different state license plates will you pass?). If the trip is enjoyable for your kids, it is guaranteed to be more enjoyable for you!

#2: Delegate Packing up a whole family is a stressful, and time consuming task! Tackle the packing problem by making each member of the family responsible for packing themselves. Make lists for your kids of what MUST be in the suitcase and tell them that the extra space can hold any toys or fun clothes they choose! This cuts your job from several packing suitcases to just a few inspections, and gives your kids independence and responsibility!

#3: Strategize The roads and airports are guaranteed to be a zoo this holiday season. Stay ahead of the pack by being prepared and travel savvy. Be sure to collect information about other flights leaving the same date in case yours in canceled or missed due to a delayed connection. If you’re traveling by land, check your route for construction for foul weather; having this information ahead of time allows you to draw up a new path. Having a plan and being prepared for the unexpected will prevent Grinch behavior from popping up in your holiday season.

#4: Sit back and relax Vacation is not the time to worry about being everywhere and doing everything. Ditch your perfect traveler mentality and accept that your itinerary may not be met minute to minute. If you’re ten minutes late to brunch at Aunt Milli’s, or snow never falls for the annual snow angel contest, your holiday is still a success! What matters is that you enjoy yourself and fulfill your goal of family fun and togetherness.

If the excitement of the holiday season is overwhelming for you, just imagine how incredible it must be for your children. There is so much to juggle: Santa Clause, reindeer, Christmas stories, and of course, presents! Many families have a great time staying home, preparing a big dinner and enjoying time in the house with relatives during the holidays, while other families prefer visiting their out of town relatives. But if you have a family that simply can’t be held to tradition and instead enjoys the hustle and bustle of holiday travel to an exciting vacation destination, then get ready to meet your match this season with some great adventures that will make your children want to come back for more!

Great Places to Visit

Hersheypark in Hershey, PA – If you’ve never heard of the city, I know you’ve heard of the chocolate. That’s right, they man behind some of the best tasting chocolate in the world created a city centered around candy many years ago, and now, this great city wants your tummy to be the next one hurting from a chocolate overdose on this great holiday travel vacation destination.

Affectionately known as “Chocolate Town USA” Hershey, PA owns Hersheypark, which is a fabulous amusement park that is normally closed in the winter; but for the holidays they reopen for “Christmas in Candyland.” There your children will have a ball riding in your car under the “Hershey Sweet Lights” two-mile holiday lights show. In addition, they will love Hershey’s holiday musical, the Teddy Bear Jubilee, and the family party on New Year’s Eve. Your family can either stay in Hotel Hershey, a hotel with a kids club, or the Hershey Lodge, which includes the Santa Package (breakfast or lunch with Santa Clause). This trip will make your children’s holiday travel dreams come true – and maybe yours too!

Legoland Christmas Parties – If you are looking for some extreme holiday travel, and are up for venturing outside of the country, then you will want to head out to Legoland in Windsor, UK. Just by the name alone you know your children are about to have a blast. But to tickle your senses some, I will tell you about this great location. Smell the delightful mix of spices and scented oil lamps as you feel your feet make their way across a wooden bridge that is surrounded by the sounds of trickling nearby fountains. As you look around, you notice the beauty of bright and exotic colors and you realize you’re in Heaven. For children, Heaven is Legoland, and for you, Heaven is a happy child. So for this vacation, you both get your wishes.

When you visit Legoland, get ready to be dazzled by fun Belly Dancers, exciting Sword Swallowers, and adventurous Fire Eaters. After enjoying this great show, you can have fun on at the Camel Rodeo. And if you are able to escape the children for a while, you can enjoy playing a great game of Arabian Wheel of Fortune and later relax in the intimate Kasbah. No matter the choice, this destination is guaranteed to please the young and the young at heart.

Tips for Traveling with Your Children

As you know, holiday travel with children, especially those younger than 10, can be an adventure within itself. Often, they are not easily entertainment and have short attention spans. So a car trip (or long flight or train ride for that matter) can be more than a notion for them. The best way to anticipate possible tantrums from the frustration of feeling claustrophobic is to plan ahead as much as possible.

Try a Travel Agent – I know sometimes it feels great to stick out your chest and say you were able to single-handedly plan and execute the perfect trip, but sometimes, no matter how tailored your planning is, it’s hard to catch all of the details because you simply don’t know everything. This is why, when traveling with multiple children, it is a good idea to consider an agent for your holiday travel. Their job is to plan trips; they know what’s going on around the country and can help you keep your children entertained while en route to your final destination. If you’re driving, they can give you great stop-off points that will be best suited for an entire family. And if you’re flying, they can provide tips on the easiest ways to manage children and security in the airport.

Pack a Separate Bag for Your Children – It is a good idea to pack a bag that has goodies and entertainment for your children in a second bag. If they’re old enough, they can keep the bag near them, whether in the car or on a train or plane. The bag can contain their favorite teddy bears, stickers, toys, (washable) markers, paper, coloring books, crayons, pillows, or anything else you can think of that will help them feel comfortable while in the midst of holiday travel.

Bring Along a Portable DVD Player – I know this sounds so 21st century and may take away from the tradition and sentiment of holiday travel and family time. But let’s get real for a second. You’re traveling with children of the 21st century who are used to a TV in every room, and having their own DVD collection and a computer. If you want some happy children traveling with you, you need to bring along some of their favorite movies. A little Dora the Explorer or Spider Man has never hurt anyone, and I guarantee, during the 2 or more hours they’re watching their movies, you won’t hear as little as a peep out of them.

Make Frequent Stops – As an adult, you’ve probably grown accustomed to sitting in a cramped car without complaining, but children have not advanced to this stage yet, so if you don’t stop and let them run around you can certainly plan on some whining and griping during your holiday travel. A travel agent can come in very handy at this stage because they can advise you of different fun places to visit during stops in various cities. But if you want to bypass the agent and do it yourself, you can map out where you’ll be stopping and find fun places on your own on the Internet. And if you can’t find anywhere else, you can always stop at a McDonald’s Playland. Remember, they just want to stop and play; they’re not too particular.

Engage Them While Traveling – Traveling a long distance provides the opportunity to spend quality time with your children. So this is a great time to sing with them, tell stories and point out exciting places, historical buildings and even unique cars passing by. Believe it or not, when they reach a certain age, they begin to remember these trips as magical experiences simply due to the adventure of holiday travel. Why not make it more exciting for them by letting them know how marvelous and unique our country really is?

Holiday travel with your children can evolve into an exciting adventure for both you and your children if you know the right places to visit, and make sure to plan ahead for the long trips (or short ones for that matter). Just remember, holiday travel is only once a year, so make a strong effort to make it as memorable and loving as possible. Your children will never forget the time and attention you gave to make them feel special during this special time of the year.