Because Christmas is a time to be with family, loved ones and friends, it is one of the busiest times of the year to travel. People locally, to different regions and to international destinations to share Christmas dinners, exchange gifts and recall fond memories they have of the season. There’s also travel for entertainment reasons that’s done by tourists within the country or from abroad. And even on Christmas Day, the highways are busy with vehicles as relatives and
friends travel between towns and states to spend the day together.

The massive and rapid shift away from an agrarian society to one of commerce with the development of cities and suburbs caused family members to move farther and farther away from each other, therefore making it necessary to
travel by land, air or rail to be together for holidays such as Christmas and other special occasions. And with some countries being economic powerhouses in the world, movement of peoples got even farther as they migrated to other
countries to take advantage of better opportunities to improve their lives. Consequently, air travel has expanded in modern times to take people to international destinations.

But travel during Christmas and the holidays is not limited to visiting relatives and friends. Many people travel for entertainment, including families who are interested in seeing interesting sights at Christmas and enjoying world-
renowned entertainment that are in faraway places from where they live. Travel to a destination that is far away, within or outside a country, may only be done once by a family and that in itself creates a special memory.

Within the United States, it is popular for families and groups of friends to visit New York City to see the general sights of the city and to shop at Christmas. Some of these sights are known throughout the country and are celebrated each Christmas. The annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is an example.

The lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, which is located west of Fifth Avenue from 47th Street to 51st Street in New York City, has been an tradition since the time of the Depression. The first tree was placed at the site in 1931 but it wasn’t decorated with any Christmas ornaments. In recent years, more than 25,000 Christmas lights and other ornaments have been placed on the tree.

Also in New York City, it is very popular for tourists to travel at Christmas to see the spectacular Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall with the signature high-kicking Rockettes. The show is a favorite of both adults and children as it is very festive, lively and filled with the spirit of Christmas. Tourists also travel during Christmas to international destinations for entertainment. Because the Nutcracker Ballet originated in Russia and that country has worldwide acclaim for some of the most technical and artistic ballet performers, it is a popular destination at Christmas. The legendary Tchaikovsky composed the music for the Nutcracker Ballet, which was first performed in Russia’s Mariinsky Theatre that is home to the acclaimed Kirov Ballet.  The story is about a little girl’s dream on Christmas Eve about a beloved Nutcracker toy she received as a present.

Travel to international destinations is also popular at Christmas time to escape the cold of a ‘White Christmas.’ For those who do not like the cold but like to be out and about at Christmas, the alternative is to go somewhere with a more tropical climate. Travel to destinations in the Caribbean, where Christmas is robustly celebrated, is popular during the Christmas season.

One of the intriguing places to travel during the Christmas season is to a place where Santa can be observed. There is such a place in Finland at a village where Santa Claus has his workshop. Travel to see and possibly talk to Santa Claus is a delightful adventure for children. But such a trip has to be made before Christmas Eve when Santa, his elves and reindeers embark on a trip themselves to every home in the world.

You can’t seem to avoid the holiday traveling if you have a large extended family. There are always get-togethers at Grandma’s or holiday dinners at Uncle Ed’s. Getting to these holiday functions requires smart traveling planning and knowing some good traveling tips can come in handy.

Flying

If you are flying you will need to be prepared for security rules. Time can be wasted if you are not prepared ahead of time for what you can and cannot take onboard the flight. Also, know what is allowed to be carried onboard with you.

As you approach boarding sections you will need to take out laptops as you get near the scanner. Getting it out ahead of time will save time and aggravation as others will not want to wait as you fumble around your belongings trying to locate your laptop. It is important to pay attention as you come to the other side of the scanner, so that you pick up your laptop and not someone else’s.

Holiday traveling with gifts has some special precautions as well when it comes to the security gates. Do not spend the time or money wrapping your gifts in gaily colored wrap because you will have to unwrap them in front of the guards. To avoid hassle, either wait until you arrive at your destination to wrap them, or mail them separately to arrive at your destination. Mailing them separately could also save you money if they would have put you overweight on the baggage (have to pay a fee for that).

Time

Give yourself plenty of extra time so that you arrive at the gate before you need to. This way if there are extra security checks you won’t be late for your flight. Checking in always takes longer than you expect. A good rule is to be at the airport an hour before domestic flight times and 2 hours before international flight departure time.

There is not much you can do about snowstorms and other weather delays but booking early in the day flights will give you time to arrange other options for coping with these delays like booking later flights or making other travel arrangements in order to fix the situation and still arrive at Christmas dinner on time.

Always check the status of your flight in advance of arriving at the airport. You can check the status of your flight on the Airline Website. You can usually sign up for automatic flight status notification right on the Website. You can be notified by text message on your cell phone or PDA.

That Airport Website comes in handy when it comes to knowing where the nearest place to eat is at the airport and how close it is to your departure gate. Sometimes if you have a lengthly delay you might even find that your airport has a spa.

Always know what the plan is for once you arrive at your destination. Is someone picking you up, is there transportation arranged ahead of time like a rental car? Make sure that you have a printout of your driving directions to the hotel or other destination so that you don’t get lost once you get there.

Car

Did you know that car travel is the most popular way to travel during the holidays? 83% of traveling during the holiday season is done by car.

Long car rides especially can be challenging at anytime of year but put in a couple of excited youngsters and you may have some extra need for patience and organizational skill.

Here are a few tips for making your holiday car travels run smooth.

Involve the little ones in the planning stage so that they will look forward to seeing something that they helped to plan.

Include some kid-friendly stops along the way so that everyone will have a chance to stretch their legs and have fun at the same time.

Allow for extra travel time just in case there are traffic jams, or weather related road conditions that slow you down.

Limit your road time to just 6 to 8 hours of driving time per day and have two drivers in the vehicle so that you can switch every two hours. Switching will make long drives easier.

Never make a rest stop when children are sleeping. Driving during sleep times allows for you to make the most headway because you won’t have to make any stops.