Travel

4 Easy Ways to Make Holiday Travel Less Stressful

posted on December 18, 2019 | by Chelsea Becker

4 Easy Ways to Make Holiday Travel Less Stressful

This year will be the first — in probably a decade — that I’m braving the airports in December. I’ve always spent the month as close to home as possible because I’m legit terrified of the craziness of travel, dealing with weather, and all the things that make December travel seem like the worst idea ever. But when your parents decide to retire across the country and you want to see them, you learn quickly that holiday travel is now a part of life. Fun stuff!

I’m being dramatic, I know, but I get stressed easily. Throw in delays, a 7-month-old baby, and the anxiety of being away from home for a week, and well, it’d be easy to panic. I know I’m not the only person traveling this season so to calm my own nerves (and maybe yours?), I’m going to rely on a handful of things to keep the stress levels as low as possible. Wish me luck!

Make sure things at home are OK

I’m traveling alone with my son and leaving my husband at home (he has to work). Since the house will mainly be empty for about a week while he’s working, I’m planning for that in advance. We recently got a myQ-connected LiftMaster garage door opener (aka a WiFi-connected garage and opener) installed for a few reasons, one of the main ones being the easy access of letting the right people into your home. Between our house cleaner, our neighbor who walks our dog, and my BFF Amazon Prime delivery guy, and family popping by – that’s a lot of people get keys for. So we don’t.

Instead, we use the myQ App, which allows you to not only let Amazon Prime deliveries to be dropped off within your garage (score!), but it also permits garage door access to approved people to. My house cleaner and dog walker are now listed under myQ Guest Feature and they can let themselves in and out as they please. No planning or leaving keys on my part.

Plus, we order pretty much all home goods on Amazon Prime so it’s nice that those deliveries can still happen while we’re out. When you link the myQ App to the Amazon Key App you can get free in-garage delivery and see when your packages have been delivered. Click this link to check if you are eligible for Amazon Prime in-garage delivery. Also, if you are not in the market for a whole new garage door opener, the myQ Smart Garage Hub is a great option too! You can upgrade your existing garage door opener for under $30 this holiday season!

Book a non-stop flight if possible

More stops = longer days and the bigger chance of delays. No thanks! I gladly paid an extra $100 for a non-stop flight. If you can do the same, I highly recommend. To even out the budget, pack your own food & a reusable water so you’re not spending ungodly amounts for a gross sandwich at the airport.

Lower expectations

I’ve been trying to do this in general lately and lemme tell ya – it’s SO helpful! By going into travel without expectations (both positive or negative), you’ll be able to stay much more level-headed. If something annoying happens, you’ll deal with it, but you won’t carry around negative energy expecting it. If your flight gets there early or you sit next to an adorable old man, be grateful for it! Try not to stress about everything that might go wrong (or right) and just let the day roll.

Celebrate small care opportunities

Before you roll your eyes, stay with me here. With the invention of podcasts and books on audio, I actually live for a long flight where I can kinda zone out. Yes, I’ll have my son with me, but he sleeps often and I can still entertain myself while I entertain him. I also like listening to calming music as I’m waiting to board or feel any sort of travel stress coming on (walking meditations are awesome for this too!). If you’re afraid of flying, you might consider a meditation app before taking off in your seat as well.

This post was sponsored by Chamberlain Group Inc. As always, thoughts are our own.