My kids have just one more day of school and then they are out on winter break for the next 2+ weeks. My husband’s office shuts down between Christmas and New Year’s. Sounds like the perfect time to take a family vacation, right?
Not for this family. Why not?
Logistics Are Difficult
Most years, we pack up Christmas presents and make the 6-hour drive to my in-laws. I can barely handle the preparation needed for that. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to pack for a flight or a longer road trip with presents. (And we don’t do longer road trips!)
Every now and then, I dream about celebrating Christmas in Hawaii or on a cruise. But logistically, I can’t wrap my head around it. I know we could open presents another day, but at my kids’ ages, it wouldn’t be the same.
Prices Are Expensive
I’ve found Christmas and New Year’s travel prices to be some of the most expensive prices of the year, even topping summer and Spring Break prices. It used to be that we could mitigate some of that with miles and points. However, now many airlines and hotels use a dynamic point system that charges more during peak times.
My Kids Want Traditions
I asked my kids how they would feel about celebrating Christmas on a cruise. They were not in favor. They want to experience our Christmas traditions, like driving around looking at Christmas lights and baking cookies. To them, Christmas wouldn’t be the same without these subtle intangibles that they’ve grown accustomed to.
As my kids get older, we may change our minds. When they are all teens and in college with a longer winter break, we may want to escape over the holidays. I can see us doing that over Thanksgiving week more than Christmas/New Year’s, but I’m not ruling anything out.
Do you go on vacation over winter break? Or, do you stay at home or travel to see family?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I visited Bali during Christmas. The traffic was insane.
And the prices horrendous
Doesn’t sound too fun!
We’ve been doing Thanksgiving and Christmas vacay with the help of fixed miles. Southwest point was not that high, make me second guess my miles spending with the big 3. It helps that we don’t have Christmas morning tradition. What we missed is the gathering with friends that always happen on those two holidays. Dealing with weather was no fun as we escaped Denver snowstorm this Thanksgiving. Merry Christmas everyone.
@Agnes I always worry about getting trapped in Denver with a snowstorm. Merry Christmas to you!
As our kids get older (relatively speaking, they’re all still 10 and under), Christmas break looks better and better.
We also get together with my family for a few days, so last year we experimented a bit. Drove to CLE Saturday morning, celebrated Christmas on Monday (24th), then went to the airport on Tuesday (Christmas day) and spent the next 4 nights in Orlando. Flew back to CLE. Drove home the next day. It was the best of both worlds, and logistically not a big deal.
@projectx That does sound like the best of both worlds. But I couldn’t really enjoy Christmas if I knew I had to fly out the next day. I’m a procrastinator when it comes to packing.
I would never consider traveling during the Christmas season. This is one of the only times during the year that my kids/grandkids can get together at the same time. I don’t think it would go over very well if my wife and I decided to be anywhere else but home.
Our Maine weather also deters me from wanting to be anywhere else but home for the holidays. I can’t imagine experiencing 80 degrees and fake snow during Christmas. Give me the real thing and 20 below anytime. I also don’t like crowds and chaos when I travel. Both of these seem to go hand and hand this time of year.
You might be surprised to hear this but my grown up kids (39 & 37) still love to travel with us and we are building the same tradition with our grandkids. Three weeks from now we’ll be in Florida on a trip for 7 and than in August, heading to Europe on a trip for 6. We are both happy to accommodate them.
For you, I would continue to build on the traditions your kids enjoy now. They’ll still want them as they grow older. Heck, our kids still want us to hang stockings on the fireplace and my son wants a certain kind of sugar cookie my wife makes. Again, we wouldn’t want it any other way.
No, I’m a homebody during Christmas and perfectly content remembering who was born and why we celebrate the season
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
@Bill from Maine I’m glad your grown-up kids still travel with you. I hope mine will travel with me when we’re all older! Merry Christmas!
This year we are flying to California (just for fun, not to visit family) on Christmas Day. My kids really want to wake up at their own home on Christmas and open presents from Santa, so this is our compromise. Our flight doesn’t leave till 3pm, so there won’t be a rush. We will still bake cookies on Christmas Eve for Santa and leave carrots out for the reindeer.
Last year we were in Taiwan for Christmas and even though Santa did find us in Taiwan, it just wasn’t the same for them. I agree that the cost of traveling over Christmas/NY holiday is astronomical, but it also makes sense with the kids school schedule.
Have a happy holidays! Thank you for blogging and sharing your travels.
I too was in Taiwan for Christmas but two years ago. My wife and I spent 3 weeks travelling around the entire island and while if you have kids it’s different, my wife and I (at the time) did not. It was absolutely wonderful. We both agree it was the best vacation we ever took. We agreed that in 5-10 years we will do that same trip again when our son is older.
@Tom It sounds like a wonderful trip! I’ve never been to Taiwan.
@Joyce I hope you have a wonderful time in California! I hear the airports are pretty quiet on Christmas Day. Sounds like the best of both worlds!