Photo by Sergey Tarasov on Unsplash
With December finally here, there's lots of anticipation to have a wonderful holiday ahead. Going "over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house" is an American tradition as old as the Interstate system, and it comes with its own beautiful traditions and pitfalls.
Holiday traveling can be wonderful, or it can be horrible. It really depends on who's traveling and what they think of the experience on the road. Thankfully, after nearly 75 years of highway travel, we've learned a thing or two about how to make a holiday trip less stagnant. Even as technology seems to pull us more into ourselves, a holiday trip can be a wonderful forum to reconnect with your family; in a way that makes them feel loved and happy to belong. Here are 5 tips to help you and your family have a better road trip experience.
Do your due diligence! Weather, traffic, and local events are often listed on travel sites to make sure that you know when a ball game may add an additional hour on your drive through a major city. Be prepared with an emergency kit, and obviously, get the car checked out before you begin a long journey.
Plan out stops to explore new places along the way. If you can make pit stops fun, you can get your family excited enough to be happy for the drive; rather than bored and waiting for the arrival. If you're going to Texas, make a plan to stop at Buc-ee's if your kids have never been to one.
Make the family car a place everyone wants to be. Clean and detail your car, and decorate the interior a little for Christmas -- festive air freshener, garlands, maybe a sprig of mistletoe on the rear-view mirror to tickle your partner. Outfit it with the things you need for the trip -- a drink cooler, snacks that won't cause a sugar rush, and maybe even a holiday surprise or two -- like the "elf on the shelf" turning up!
Play road games. Bust out the ABC game or map out a scavenger hunt based on things that will appear on the drive (GoogleEarth can be very helpful here.)
Make the experience about everyone. Are you traveling with your kids? Your partner? Make a music playlist of everyone's requested songs and play it at random. You might not inspire sing-a-longs, but if a song is infectious enough, you never know! One way to get some singing going is to have each passenger pick a song (or two) that they will sing and then add a karaoke version to the playlist.
Road Trips can be a fun and exciting way to travel with your family and have new experiences. Just remember to be prepared and make sure that your car is properly serviced before heading out. At HB Auto & AC, we want you to take good care of your car. Plus, we believe that showing appreciation to your vehicle is vital, and that is why we recommend regularly scheduled service. We invite you to schedule vehicle maintenance with us to show your car some love. Like us on Facebook for news and updates!