Sanity Savers for Those Family-Style Holiday Treks

Here we go again. The crowded airports. Delayed and canceled flights. Highways made worse by construction and snowstorms. Crabby spouses and whining, tired kids who can’t wait one more second for their holiday toys.

Every year, we toss the presents in the trunk, pop an antacid, grit our teeth and wonder why we’re leaving home for the holidays.

More than 45 million people are expected to travel during the Christmas and New Year holidays this year, AAA says.

We aren’t just visiting the relatives. We’re spending big bucks to meet them at ski areas, beach resorts and on cruise ships. We’re snagging cheap deals to show the kids Paris or London. We’re checking into lavishly decorated hotels for a dose of holiday glitz, finding Christmas past in Virginia at Colonial Williamsburg, and marveling at 21st century holiday wizardry as Dr. Seuss’ Grinch and all of Whoville come alive at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

Despite the aggravation and emotional baggage that accompany holiday trips, we can have a good--even a terrific--time. It just takes the right mind-set.

Keep telling yourself and the kids that this year, no matter what happens when you pull out of the driveway for the holidays, nothing will wreck the trip--or what’s left of your holiday spirit. (E-mail me how you survived at eogintz@aol.com, and I’ll share your stories in an upcoming column.)

Here is my annual roundup of tried-and-true holiday sanity savers. Try a few as you’re rushing around with that never-ending “to do” list.

* The Christmas elf and Hanukkah fairy can bring along some glow-in-the-dark markers, miniature cars, a Barbie, a new CD or an electronic game to be handed out at the appropriate “we-can’t-take-it-anymore” moment. Don’t forget your significant other with a new novel, sleek travel coffee mug or sinful box of chocolate truffles. The elf’s reward: peace on Earth--for 10 blissful minutes, anyway.

* That favorite holiday children’s story will be just the thing to get the kids and grandparents they haven’t seen in months literally on the same page. Suggest Grandma and Grandpa bring a new book to share. Maybe it will become a family tradition.

* Cherry lollipops, candy canes and bubble gum are the treats that make your gang smile for those really awful times when only a dose of sugar will help.

* Water play is one of the best stress busters around--and guaranteed to tire out even the most overstimulated kids. Wherever you’re going, there’s bound to be a pool--even at a local YMCA or health club. If you’re driving, throw in a couple of beach towels. They’re great for cleaning up back-seat messes too.

* Pack Band-Aids and cold remedies because you always need them when you don’t have them. Take an extra package so the younger kids can play hospital with their dolls and Beanie Babies.

* Buy magazines for your teenagers, for you and for the toddler to rip up when you’re done.

* Show the toddlers pictures of Grandma, Grandpa and their cousins so they won’t be strangers when you arrive. Take along some old holiday snapshots from when you were a kid. Make a small holiday album for each child with funny pictures from each year.

* Take along videos for the kids to watch during those too-long holiday meals. It’s cheaper than paying for movies in your hotel room, too. Just check to make sure you can get a VCR at the hotel.

* Have each family member keep a “Holiday 2000” journal. Compare notes at the end of the trip--then save them for next year.

* Don’t forget extra batteries so there’s not a crisis if a CD player or video game runs out of juice.

* Give each child his or her own snack bag and water bottle, because you won’t be able to find either when the kids are starving. Stick to neat, healthy snacks such as bagels, pretzels and fruit. Brian Beihl, who oversees the online family travel catalog https://www.familyonboard.com, substitutes these snacks for meals on long holiday road trips. “When we stop, the kids never eat anyway,” he says. Instead, each packs a snack bag, and everyone’s happy, Beihl says.

* Flashlights, portable book lights or a camper’s headlight like the Lightsource headlamp from L.L. Bean (Internet https://www.llbean.com) let you and the kids read, draw or play a game in the car, on a late-night flight or in a hotel room while everyone else sleeps.

* Buy a disposable camera for each child, but forget the tourist shots--funny pictures only.

* Make a holiday joke book. Don’t leave home without your sense of humor either. You’re going to need it. Happy travels.

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Taking the Kids appears the first and third week of every month.