Holiday Travel Hacks for Families

Although the holiday day season is full of fun and joy, it can oftentimes be stressful for families for a number of reasons. One of the biggest stressors is travel. Jumping from city to city or state to state for holiday meals and traditions can cause a lot of unwanted stress on families. To mitigate some of that stress, check out this list of holiday travel hacks for families.

Use packing cubes
Whether you are flying or road tripping, packing cubes can be a great space saver when it comes to travel. If you’re looking for a cost-effective choice, check out Amazon’s 8 Set Packing Cubes for Suitcases. If you want to splurge a little, look into CalPak’s Packing Cubes Set (5 Pieces).

Save money on food and snacks by packing your own
You may dread the food options when it comes to traveling, endless drive throughs and fast-food restaurants. Avoid those less-than-desirable options by taking the initiative to plan and pack food/snacks for your family. Not only may you save money, but you’re giving your family more healthy options.

This can look different depending on the type of trip your family is taking. For short-term car rides, consider SELEWARE Portable Stackable Food Storage Containers for Snacks. However, if you’re traveling long distances and need something to hold larger amounts of food, check out the XXL-Large Insulated Cooler Bags with Zipper Closure.

Use laundry bags to keep dirty clothes separate
It can be frustrating trying to keep dirty clothes separate or organized when staying in hotel rooms or other spaces when traveling. To better organize laundry when away from home, take some laundry bags with you on your trip!

These laundry bags from Amazon don’t take up much space and are cost effective! Use them to reduce clutter and keep things separate when traveling.

Travel during “sleep time”
Young kids can get antsy and anxious during car rides and flights. To reduce the stress on them (and yourself), consider scheduling flights/car rides during times that they normally sleep during. Not only are you saving them some stress, but you’re not wasting any daylight during travel!

Look into discounts for military families
Regardless of any travel hacks, traveling can be expensive. American Forces Travel provides a comprehensive guide to all military discounts when it comes to travel. Check out their service to see what you and your family qualify for!

One thought on “Holiday Travel Hacks for Families

  1. Hello OSU!

    Thank you for sharing the link to AmericanForcesTravel.com (AFT). This makes me so happy for a couple of reasons! First, I work on the Office of Secretary of Defense staff and I am the program manager for AmericanForcesTravel.com. Secondly, I am an OSU alumni, class of 1991.

    We launched AFT back in 2019 and ever since it has been saving military families money and time. The big bonus is with every purchase, small commissions are generated and then sent back to each branch of the military to support quality of life programs, making the bases feel more like a community.

    Thank you again for having a spot on the OSU website that supports military families and shares AFT!

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