The Holidays
The holidays are a time we look forward to spending time with family and friends. I think of the holidays in a nostalgic way, the whole chestnuts roasting on an open fire, jack frost nipping at your nose way. Sometimes though the holiday season brings on stress and anxiety as we struggle to get it ALL done. Toss in some holiday travel and frequently that nostalgia turns to a nightmare. We travel via car over 1,000 miles for Thanksgiving. As the kids got older and plane tickets for four more expensive we opted for the family road trip.
We’ve been at this since the kids were 3 and 5, they are now 9 and 11. We’ve learned a thing or two along the way and wanted to share that with you. Our Thanksgiving trip is something we look forward to rather than dread. There are a few things we do to help make it go a little more smoothly. I hope these tips help you too. Whatever you celebrate have a very happy season filled with love and joy.
No Screens….ok Limited Screens
We have as my one friend called it a UAV, an Urban Assault Vehicle. Ok, really it is just a minivan. But for a road trip I really can’t think of a better vehicle. What we don’t have in our UAV is a media system. No overhead movies and while we have a few devices the kids can play on or watch a movie their screen time is really limited. Why? Well for one being in a car together is a chance for us to all chat. We learn what our kids are thinking and make memories along the way. We also use audiobooks and podcasts.
By disconnecting we are more present with each other. Also, since we are stuck in a rolling box we can’t just all scatter to our own corner of the house. Among other books, we have listened to the Harry Potter series, Percy Jackson series, and surprisingly business books. Yep, my kids actually really liked Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet. A book about how empowering people will bring about excellent results. They have even requested that we listen to that one again. Go figure!
Our favorite podcast as a family is Myths and Legends. It is a delightful trove of well, myths and legends, and our favorite part of the podcast is the creature of the week. We’ve learned about legends from around the world as well as gaining insight into some of our favorite stories. There are plenty of other podcasts that we’ve listened too but this one keeps the entire family engaged.
While stories and chatting keep us entertained we also make sure we take breaks along the way.
Adventure is Calling
If we did our drive straight through it would be about 20 hours long. Instead of doing two pretty long days, or one long and one shorter we actually extend the trip a bit by going on adventures.
The first time we did the drive our only stop was New Orleans for some beignets. This took us a little out of our way, but a nice break to introduce the boys to Cafe Du Monde. We walked around a little and then headed on our way. We learned from that trip that the boys really enjoyed the break and maybe we should find some adventures along the way.
The following year we planned an early departure with a stop in Mobile, AL to check out the USS Alabama. Everyone had a great time climbing all over the ship. We spent about three hours in the park and then had a picnic lunch. Then on to New Orleans for Cafe Du Monde and a final stop at a play ground for dinner. We switched drivers somewhere outside Shreveport, LA and ended at a hotel in Dallas around 1 or 2 am. It was a long day, but the kids stayed in good spirits because they had time to get out and run around. We only had about 6 hours of driving left the next day, so we made a quick stop at Cabela’s in Fort Worth for some Christmas presents and then finished our drive.
Changing Things Up
Each year we change things up a bit. We travel from Florida to the Texas Panhandle so there are essentially two routes we can pick from. The “southern route” and the “northern route” we choose based on weather and the adventure we seek. We also keep games, books, and activity books in the car for entertainment and they typically spend a couple of hours watching a movie after dinner. The have done great! We typically to do one long day and then a shorter “final” day. Some years we have also broken the trip into a short day, long day, short day. The trip back is always one overnight. We leave on the Friday after Thanksgiving and arrive home on Saturday. That way we have a whole day to recover before getting back to school and work.
Places we’ve stopped and loved include
- Tupelo, MS – Elvis’s birth place and some hiking nearby/playground time at a park.
- Chattanooga, TN
- Ruby Falls – An underground waterfall, it was fun and the kids still talk about it years later.
- Bea’s Resturant – seriously the BEST fried chicken ever.
- New Orleans, LA – Cafe Du Monde
- Oklahoma City, OK – Botanical Garden
- Super fun outside play area.
- Pensacola, FL
- Naval Aviation Museum – Navy Aviation Museum, lots to see and a nice play area for small kids. Our kids were too tall by about age 7.
- Pensacola Lighthouse – Beautiful views and history. You can go to the top of this working lighthouse.
- Both of these are on Naval Air Station Pensacola. Check their websites for entry requirements. Google maps may not take you to the correct entrance.
- Mobile, AL
- USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park – Tour the Alabama and the USS Drum a submarine while learning about life on a ship and WWII.
- Little Rock, AR
- William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum – We did not go in the museum but they have a great hill to “sled” down on cardboard boxes. I’m guessing if there had been snow there would have been real sledding. The boys ASK to go back here, we haven’t made it yet but maybe on of these years. Also, nice walking paths. It was a fantastic break from the car.
- Countless random playgrounds we’ve found along the way. We just look at a map and find a playground not too far off the route we are on. This is where we frequently eat our meals. Either food we’ve packed or food we’ve grabbed. Unless we are near Bea’s….then game over we are going to Bea’s.
We Love our Time Together
The adventures have kept us sane. They add to overall travel time, but well worth it for happy memories. I think the adventures are what the kids look forward too. Our kids also really like spending time together. They even recognize how busy everyone is and are happy that we are doing things together.
Our holiday travel is fun because we stop for an adventure every 3-4 hours. This may make for longer overall travel time, but the trip is much less stressful. The drive becomes part of the fun, not just a grind. We are trying really hard to focus on what is important, time with our family and friends. We pass on some of the fancy decorating or events to make sure we have the time to really enjoy the holidays not just get through them.