Traditionally, when one thinks of the holidays (and when I say “holidays”, I am mainly referring to Thanksgiving and Christmas) a family gathered around a large table in the dining room comes to mind. Anymore, however, this thought is either a remembrance of days gone by, or an unrealized fantasy by more and more families. Blended families that require multiple visits to separate sets of parents/grandparents and a host of other reasons have resulted in the decline of “traditional” holiday gatherings. More and more families are choosing to spend vacation time during the holidays. Whether it’s spending Thanksgiving in the Smokey Mountains, Christmas with Mickey Mouse and the kids at Disney World, a ski trip to the Rocky Mountains, or other holiday variations, there are tons of special vacation-worthy events that one can choose from.
Here are some interesting statistics. 40% of Americans travel during the holiday season, or roughly 99.8 million people. Of that number, just over half are not traveling to see family or friends. That means they are on vacation. Those numbers have steadily increased year-over-year since 2010. While more and more destinations are marketing themselves as “holiday friendly”, prices for these holiday season getaways remain high. With more and more people choosing the holidays to do vacation travel, why discount it, right? Don’t get me wrong, there are some good deals out there; although there are much better times to travel throughout the year if a good deal is what you seek.
Personally, I am a traditionalist. I would much rather gather with my family (extended and blended as it is) than go traveling during Thanksgiving or Christmas. Having said that, how cool would it be for my entire extended family to celebrate the holidays on a cruise ship in the Caribbean under sunny skies and warm temperatures? Or all gathered together in a huge cabin in the mountains with activities such as skiing right outside our door? It is a nice thought, I must say. In the meantime, I will stick to traveling back to my hometown every Christmas and enjoying the headaches/comforts of holiday family time.
