Making Travel Fun this Holiday Season

On behalf of Amy Graff, family travel expert for Best Western

*   Lose the layovers Avoid stopovers, especially in airports such as Denver, Chicago, Detroit, and Minneapolis where weather delays are common. If a connection is necessary, fly through a Southern hub such as Dallas, Charlotte, or Phoenix, where you can at least eliminate the possibility of weather being a problem.

  *   Beat the traffic If you live far from an airport and have an early flight, stay at an airport hotel the night before; some allow you to park your car at the hotel until you return.

  *   Reserve parking During the holidays, airport parking lots fill up fast. Luckily, you can reserve spaces ahead. Even better, ask a neighbor to give you a lift or arrange for a shuttle.

  *   Avoid gift glitches Leave the presents unwrapped because security measures may require wrapped packages to be unwrapped. Another option: To avoid gift wrapping late into the night after your arrival, mail gifts ahead.

  *   Carry on some fruitcake-and a sandwich Food is nonexistent on most flights these days so bring a sandwich from home and a holiday treat to keep yourself in the spirit.

  *   Entertain the kids…or just yourself Play holiday movies such as Polar Express and Elf on the DVD player; bring paper, stickers, and crayons to make holiday cards; and pack travel Scrabble but play with new rules-holiday words only.

  *   Spread the joy Pack a box of chocolates to pass out to other passengers, or bring a treat for the flight attendants.

  *   Bedeck your bag The last thing you want to deal with is a piece of lost luggage so tie a red ribbon around the handle.