Tickets were a decent price (about $1600 for 5). But add in things like
- Car rental (holy moly minivans are pricey to rent!)
- Airport parking in Portland
- Luggage fees (We're working on this. Do you think Kara can roll her own carry-on? Do you think my kids can fit clothes for 11 days into a carry-on? We don't need to bring any presents, right??)
- Shipping stockings/presents
- Gas to drive to Portland and back
and you can see why I'm getting sticker shock. It will be worth it, I know, but I hope the kids understand that going to St. Louis is a big part of their Christmas this year.
Next I looked at our itinerary. Kyle booked the tickets, and I only remember that we arrive in St Louis at 5pm on Christmas eve. Well, we leave Portland at 9am, which means we need to be on the road by 5:15am at the latest. Wow. It's going to be a doozy of a day! I hope we have merry travelers!
In true Amy fashion, I'm already planning how to make this trip the best possible. Preparation is the way to get rid of anxiety. Here are some of my holiday travel tips:
Pack each child's backpack very carefully. Include the following:
- Several easy access, non-messy snacks. Make sure some of the snacks have high caloric value (like clif bars) so that if you run out of time to catch a meal if a flight is delayed, you won't have hungry kids on your hands.
- A drink bottle with a lid or sip device that is spill-proof.
- An engaging book for older kids, or interactive (like lift-the-flap) books for younger kids.
- A charged electronic device (We have 2 Nintendo DS's, an iPod, and our smartphones. I'm debating about a small DVD player. We will also have the kids bring their mp3 players loaded with books to listen to.)
- Drawing or coloring supplies. Keep it minimal. By half-size coloring or activity books and small boxes of crayons or colored pencils.
- Small toys like action figures, cars, dolls, animals, etc.
- Small containers of playdoh (Can you still fly with this? I'll have to check it out.)
- Have the kids wear comfy clothes, layers, and comfy shoes.
- Pack a few surprises -- something new, something fun, and a few treats to eat.
I am also going to make sure we spend our time in the airport up and about as much as possible. We're going to pack the car the night before, send our stockings and wrapped gifts early so we don't have to stay up late wrapping presents when we will be so tired, have special breakfast foods on the road, and we might even get fun Christmas shirts or socks to make the day a good one. I usually spend Christmas eve day cooking, doing last minute wrapping, and making things ready for our evening. This year will be very different, but also fun. And in St. Louis the party doesn't really get started until around 6pm, so we'll be arriving just in time!
I'm feeling better already.
Do you think we're crazy?
Photo from Emma's wedding:
8 comments:
We all made it to Utah for a 3 week trip with only one checked bag. (Huge suitcase - majority was shoes.) Every person had an item to stow overhead (small rolling suitcase) and one to go under their seat (stuffed backpack). To answer your question about Cara...Amelia was in charge of all her own stuff in the airport.
All we took were some snacks, books, crayons/markers & paper, and a new card game. Kids at these ages fly so well. Except maybe Kate. (; During the long airport layover we did foot races in empty areas, looked through shops, and played hide and go seek (of course, with an adult on both teams).
Good luck! Sounds like a lot of fun!
Wow, that is a little crazy. But you will have fun because you're prepared! Playdoh when flying...do they think it might be some sort of plastic explosive or something? That is funny.
Any trip we take because we live so far away from everything (Alaska) is a big deal and a huge travel day. With 3 kids (our oldest is 12), it gets tricky, but if you find yourself traveling at night, pick up some glow sticks from the dollar store and pass them out when all electronics have to be put away. That way the kids are entertained, and it's something new...if there are not that many kiddos on the flight, purchase extras...it makes for happy kiddos and happy passengers...also, we always fly only with carry-on bags regardless of the destination or time spent. Laundry is our friend! Good luck.
Hey, I have a great tip which may work for you ... when we fly to Hawaii we usually drive to Sacramento, Oakland, or San Francisco the night before, stay in an airport hotel, and fly out the next morning. You can usually find a pretty nice hotel (Marriott Courtyard?)-we paid about $100 for one night-but then the best part? You can park for free the whole trip. You might try to google it - there are certain hotels that just offer this service. If you want me to, I will ask Dave how to find them.
Also, I would definitely have your kids carry on. Surely you can do laundry there? Then just get one big bag to check--that will cut costs. Just make sure you leave enough room to bring home presents! Or take a soft sided suitcase all folded up inside and check 2 on the way home. Also, when we go to Utah for Christmas, I do almost all of my shopping on amazon and have it shipped straight there. Are you on amazonmom? You can get free Prime membership (ie 2-day shipping) which would come in handy now! You probably know all this already, but if you want me to explain it, just call.
Yes, you can still take play-doh. And can you put movies on your smart-phone? They used to have dvd players you could rent at the airport and return at the other airport. They probably still do, but I can't remember what they are called. We did that before we had the ipad. It's not too expensive. Sorry for all of the comments!!
Sounds like you are super prepared! I hope you have a wonderful time. Lots of work, but it will be worth it. Fun memories, here you come!!!
I left a message for you on facebook but you never replied so I'm assuming you never got it. I need your current address to send you a Christmas card. Please send it my way.
rock on.
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