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Holiday travel can be a nightmare for families. Long lines at airports and train depots, congested traffic on road trips and let’s not even mention the stress of packing for your kids AND yourself!
My family needs to travel long distances to visit any family, as we live at least 9 hours by car from every member of our extended family. This means a lot of planning on our end! Whether we fly or drive, we always have a plan in place to try and make travel go as smooth as possible, especially during the crazy holidays!
We recently had two long distance drives to see family over the holidays, each about 9-10 hours long with our two kids. Thank goodness for things like new toys, endless supplies of snacks and comfortable seating for us all! We JUST moved my 15 month old out of his infant car seat (he’s a skinny little thing!) and into a Safety 1st Advance SE 65 Air + Convertible Car Seat. We had finished our first long trip and vowed to get him into a convertible for the next trip because he just seemed to be so uncomfortable and unhappy in the infant seat for those longer periods. We stopped every hour or so to let him get out and run around, which made us all miserable when it took an extra few hours to complete the drive. Fast forrward to his new car seat…he is obviously so much more comfortable! This seat is the ultimate in car-riding comfort!
We can thankfully keep him rear facing, thanks to a 40lb rear facing limit AND the easy 4-position recline feature
My son loves that it has a built in cup holder, so his sippy cup of milk or water (or in most cases a bunch of Cheerios) is never far away
Switching car seats has saved my sanity for our holiday travel, and now both of my boys are riding comfortably (and I’m much happier knowing that they’re so safe!)!
Safety 1st has some great travel tips for making sure YOUR holiday travel is easier and stress free:
Avoid peak travel days –Try not to fly or drive the days immediately before and after the actual holiday. Those are the busiest travel days. However, if you fly or take a train you might save money by traveling on the actual holiday, the roads are less congested too.
Prepare your child for the trip – Holiday parties can be overwhelming with sensory overload. Especially for young children it’s good to talk about the upcoming trip days even weeks in advance. This will help him or her get excited about the journey. Show photos of family members or friends your child has not met yet, this way the new face might be a little familiar on arrival.
“Are we there yet?” – To help avoid that dreaded phrase an hour into your six hour trip reserve a bag just for the kids, include books, toys, diapers a change of clothes and snacks. Pre-load a tablet or smartphone with kid friendly apps or games. If you are driving keep all necessary items such as wipes, hand sanitizer or tissues easy to reach in a second – there are times you may not want to be digging through the bottom of a bag for such items. The Safety 1st Car Door Sanitation Station is a great solution.
Car Seats – If you are flying check to make sure your car seat is FAA certified. If it’s not clearly labeled contact the manufacture. For parents with older children the Safety 1stBoostAPack can double as a kid survival kit, it’s FAA certified, and will fit in the plane overhead bin.
If you are driving make sure your car seat is installed correctly. If it’s been awhile since you visited a car seat check, it’s recommended to check your seat with a Certified Child Safety Technician in advance of your trip. Safercar.gov is a great resource.
Prepare the guest room – If your child will be sleeping in a Play Yard during the trip, try using that for bed or nap time the entire week before. This will help him or her get used to a new sleep environment. Also if your infant or child sleeps better in a dark room or tends to wake up early with the morning light, bring garbage bags or dark fabric to tape over windows.
We want your kids to be riding safely in your cars and on planes, so we are giving away a Safety 1st Advance SE 65 Air + Convertible Car Seat!
This car seat has made our holiday travel so much better, and we want the same for your family too. Enter below for your chance to win this amazing convertible car seat!
*We received this car seat to facilitate our feature, but all opinions are our own.
Getting everything prepped and packed is the worst. I always feel like I’m forgetting something.
The worst is getting through security at the airport. I have flown with just my son a few times and getting everything on the belt to be ran through to be scanned, taking off my shoes, putting the stroller on the belt, and then having all of your fluids in a bag to be scanned is a hassle.
The roads are terribly busy as well as the airports! So much waiting.
Making sure I have everything packed and not forgetting anything is the most stressful thing
Packing for 6 this year so not looking forward to it but can’t wait to get to our destination!
It’s amazing how difficult functioning can be with little ones. Especially when you have multiple families with little ones on different schedules… when their nap times, feeding times and bed times don’t align it throws everything off and then you have a houseful of cranky adorable little ones.
The worst thing about traveling during the holidays to me is the other drivers! They are crazy this time of year for some reason!
I would say the drive to our location. Having to sit in a car for hours can be stressful.
The most frustrating part is other people on the road when I’m driving.
So many people on the road.
Making sure that i dont forget to bring everything i need, it can be overwhelming to travel during the holidays.
Worrying about the weather! It can get bad around the holidays here.
The most frustrating part is dealing with the weather! There are never great travel days in the winter in the Midwest and figuring out the best days to travel is always frustrating!
Being on time!
For me, the most frustrating part of travel is the delays in the airport, fighting traffic, and the all-too-often loss of luggage by the airlines.
the most frustrating part of travel during the holidays is …. that I don’t go somewhere warm!
The worst thing about traveling during the holidays to me is agreeing on a restaurant to eat at.
The most frustrating thing for me is trying to cram everything into our little Honda Insight.
most frustrating part of travel during the holidays is packing and leaving on timee
the most frustrating part of holiday travel for me is traffic, no matter when we leave and what route we choose we always have an area where we get stuck in traffic. when there are young ones involved who get much more impatient quicker=madness.
Packing for my 4 year old seems so easy compared to a newborn! We are expecting our little ones arrival Jan! I am going to have to prepare to never leave home without a fully stocked diaper bag! You never know what situations will arrive!
Making sure each kiddo has their lovie doll. Also making sure that I’ve adequately packed for each kiddo and myself. I usually forget something so I try not to stress too much.
Getting the kids in and out of the car over and over.
The most frustrating part is the giant mess my family seems to make within 5 minutes.
I don’t like it when there is ice or snow on the roads.
packing the car!
The worst is probably the traffic. We have a 4.5 hr trip every Christmas and it always seems to snow the day we need to leave, some luck:(
All the packing frustrates me.
If we’re flying, I hate trying to get through airport security. If we’re driving, I hate all the traffic and congestion on major roads!
Packing is the worst.
I would love to be able to travel comfortable with my daughter and not stop every hour to stretch.
Any type of delay is the worst for me. Airport, traffic, any type frustrates me.
Most frustrating – traffic, crowds, security and delays. I try to avoid holiday travel.
It would have to be spending SO much money combined with a cranky child in the car 🙂 THank you for the giveaway!
The foot traffic is the most frustrating part of traveling
I hate packing up and getting the kids ready. I’m not a fan of cold weather either.
Traveling with a potty training toddler makes for lots of extra stops.
It’s stressful remembering to bring everything for my son! And now next Christmas we will have a new baby so it will get really interesting! Lol! Thank you for the giveaway!
The most frustrating part of traveling it the traffic and keep the kids entertained through the whole ride!!!
The most frustrating part of holiday travel is that I’m exhausted after!
Definitely not enough time to get everything done and see everyone in a short amount of time!
the most stress ful thing for me is all the packing for everybody
Bathroom breaks
the bad roads
What is frustrating is trying to keep a schedule as we travel.
Having to bring the pets along!!
I hate dealing with all the crazy traffic!
it would normally be getting everyone ready and out the door on time but this year we had to stay in as me and my 3 year old had chicken pox and still do
The most difficult part of traveling with my 3 small children is trying to keep them getting along with each other and keeping the arguing to a minimum!
the traffic problems are horrible
Not having a vehicle and taking the bus is the most seriously frustrating travel for my son and I.
The most frustrating part for me is having a tiny car, so when my preschooler and baby inevitably start freaking out and crying after hours in the car, I don’t have enough room to sit in the back and comfort them!
Making time to visit everyone and be everywhere!
Traveling with my 16 month old that decides after about 30 minutes that she doesn’t want to be in the car anymore and screams until she gets out.
The unpredictable New England weather van make travel frustrating
Remembering everything when we leave to go back home. This year we left a hat, slippers and a sippy cup!!
The absolute worst part is the dirty laundry that builds up.
the jetlag is the worse part when traveling.
The illness everyone seems to come down with from being travel weary
Will love this car seat for my son he is out growing his car seat and I don’t have the money at this time to buy one
The most frustrating part of holiday travel would have to be getting everyone situated in the vehicle(s) with all of their gear. lol
Getting everywhere ON TIME. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas involve travel to three different houses in two cities. One day I think we’ll accomplish it, lol