Six Holiday Airport Travel Tips

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It’s almost the holidays, which means the airports will soon be flooded with families on their way to grandma’s house or to spend their annual week at the timeshare. Depending on your past air travel experiences you may or may not have reservations about traveling during the holidays. Yes, delays, long lines, lost luggage and unexpected weather are a few things that come to my mind, but just being prepared can help things go a lot smoother.

Here are a few tips from a well-traveled Traveling Mama:

1. Pack your cell phone, DVD and laptop chargers in your carry-on bag. It makes life easier if you accidentally forgot to charge your phone before traveling or find yourself with a three-hour delay and your DVD battery is running low (or heaven forbid the airline loses your bag!). And don’t forget to use an item recovery service just in case you lose your electronics.

2. Have your airline and hotel phone numbers with you and keep a hard-copy of these numbers in case you do lose you phone/PDA or need to rebook your flight due to a cancellation.

3. Stay within the carry-on limit - security will call you on it. When I was in Kansas City a few months back, I pulled a souvenir bag out of my laptop bag and I thought the TSA lady was going to tackle me until I explained I had just removed it from one of my legal carry-on bags.

4. Ditch the “over-sized” stuff. When I say over-sized, I do mean regular sized. Toothpaste, hairspray, mouthwash… all those toiletries will be tossed as you pass through security if they are over 3 oz (read Christopher Elliot’s toothpaste/security experience). I recently witnessed a situation where a mom had to dump almost her entire makeup bag and her crying baby’s bottle because the items were one to two ounces over. Bummer. (Oh, and don’t forget to bubble wrap the holiday snow globe in your luggage - they won’t let those through either.)

5. Pack those meds. Holiday season is also sick season. Airport gift shops rip off travelers as it is, but when you need something as simple as nose spray the prices are exuberant.

6. BYO. I’ve always been a big fan of bringing-your-own-food since airport food vendors can cost more than an amusement park. One of my favorite travel foods for the kids is Smucker’s Uncrustables. They come in various flavors: grape or strawberry PB&J, peanut butter and honey on wheat, grilled cheese or just peanut butter. They’re individually wrapped and ready to go. The kids love them!

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November 18, 2008 | Filed Under Family Travel, Flying High, The Cookie Jar, Travel Gear 

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19 Responses to “Six Holiday Airport Travel Tips”

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  2. Barbara says:
    November 18, 2008 at

    GREAT TIPS!… and really for anytime of the year that you travel. I like your idea about packing a snack. Good idea so you don’t go broke buying something to eat.
    Barbara
    http://www.joyfulpaws.com

  3. Prill Boyle says:
    November 18, 2008 at

    Ditto what Barbara said. I’ve done a ton of traveling over the past eight years and have got the routine pretty much down pat. That said, I can’t wait for the TSA to lift the ban on liquids. (I heard that they’re going to do that in 2009. Am I right?) We’ve all got our horror stories. I’ve never had my make-up taken away (horrors!), but I’ve had other stuff confiscated–some wonderful homemade chocolate syrup a friend gave me as a gift, etc.

  4. Carolyn Howard-Johnson says:
    November 18, 2008 at

    I’ve been traveling lots lately. And most of those suggestions are absolutely perfecto, Beth. Except for the peanut butter thingeys. I was speaking at a tradeshow recently and they had some of these available as free snacks on each of the floor. I’m FRUGAL so, naturally, I took one. Just awful! I thought I was eating dough. Ha! Guess the kids would love that, huh? LOL.

    Also, in terms of travel, your readers might be interested in the travel page on my website. It’s http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com. It has pictures, articles and even some of my travel-inspired poetry! Just find the “Travels” link at the top of the page. Come to think of it, I should put your link to this blog there. E-mail me and remind me. (-:

    Best,
    Carolyn Howard-Johnson
    http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com
    Blogging at http://www.SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com

  5. Allyn Evans says:
    November 18, 2008 at

    Well…on my last trip I had to do without my toothpaste! Ha! I took the wrong size and forgot that I put it in the carry on bag.

    And yes, Prill, I read somewhere the liquid ban is going away in 2009. I am looking forward to it!

  6. DesertMama says:
    November 18, 2008 at

    Yes! The ban will be lifted as soon as the new x-rays (that can “read” liquids) are in place - hopefully they will be up and running as scheduled without any kinks.

    Carolyn, that’s so funny. Honestly, I haven’t tried the sandwiches since they go so quickly - maybe I’ll try and steal a bite from them next time.

  7. BedsideTalesMan says:
    November 18, 2008 at

    Love the tips. Don’t travel much but kow the difficlties involved when I do. 6 kids can do that to you.

    Found you through twitter. Hope you can check out my blog.

  8. tips paradise says:
    November 19, 2008 at

    Hello to all great people like the four of you here. You are all really amazing mamas and I’m beginning to think if your traveling mamas header should be replaced.

    Anyway, I really like your tips here. quite comprehensive and really very useful especially now that it’s a holiday season and sooner or later, a lot of us will be traveling here and there. back and fort. Thank you for these and I’m sure it will come in handy pretty soon for me and my family.

  9. Sierra Night Tide says:
    November 19, 2008 at

    great advice on airport packing, traveling & prep. I hate traveling by air. Long lines and long waits. But this would helps!

  10. Kim says:
    November 21, 2008 at

    Another different tip: start chatting with the people around you in the lines, I’ve had wonderful fun quick conversations just chatting up the people around me in line, makes the time go faster and it’s a hoot talking to people you’ll never see again.

  11. Great Travel Links for 24 Nov 2008 | Family Travel Guide says:
    November 23, 2008 at

    [...] Plantation in Massachusetts and debunk those Thanksgiving myths. Then, read the Traveling Mamas six holiday airport travel tips, and learn more about family lines at security checkin, which should help everyone to avoid losing [...]

  12. Mark Evans says:
    November 24, 2008 at

    If you don’t want to bring your own food to the airport, check out PlanetEye’s guide to the best places to eat at more than 40 restaurants around the world - newsletter.planeteye.com/airports

    Mark

  13. Gracie says:
    December 5, 2008 at

    If you’re taking your laptop, another tip to streamline the process is using a TSA approved laptop case–new thing in cases! You can leave your laptop in the bag when it goes through security, which means less to juggle with in the security line. Kind of nifty! Also keeps your computer protected.

  14. meds food for kids says:
    December 9, 2008 at

    ATLANTA — As the seasons change and parents reach for over-the-counter cold medicine for their icky-feeling children, they may be baffled by new instructions: Do not give them to kids younger than 4. Drug companies recently announced

  15. patriciaj says:
    December 9, 2008 at

    I like the tips, but I am not so sure about those Smucker’s Uncrustables…somehow they look like airplane food.

  16. Hollie P says:
    December 11, 2008 at

    Have your hotels physical address handy to put into gps for rental cars and for taxi drivers, mapquest the drive before you go if you are going to take a taxi so you know if the cabbie is trying to rip you off by going the “long” way, or call the hotel staff before you go how much a taxi from the airport should cost.

  17. Kirstin Hornby says:
    December 16, 2008 at

    These are wonderful tips. Great ideas on how to handle carry-ons. I’ve definitely been in that situation of having to ’stuff it all in’ as I went through security.
    I wrote some tips of my own here:
    http://blog.nileguide.com/2008/11/25/6-tips-for-traveling-on-the-busiest-travel-days-of-the-year/

  18. ana casuncad says:
    February 17, 2009 at

    Hello to all o’ you gorgeous tipping mommas in here. I just wanted to say many thanks for these tips. They may be little bit old but they sure are still handy and useful for the lost traveler in me.

    I’ll be taking my family out soon and I wanted to seek first some great tips and stumbled upon this post o’ yours. Thank you.

    Ana

  19. stomach fat says:
    June 30, 2009 at

    I must say, I could not agree with you in 100%, but it

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