It’s the most wonderful time of the year – but traveling during the holidays is enough to make any of us go a little bit crazy!

More than 4.3 million people are expected to take to the skies this holiday season – nearly double the amount that traveled during the holidays last year, according to AAA. If you’re among them, you might be wondering how to make things easier on yourself.

Follow these tips for stress-free holiday travel and you’ll be fa-la-la-la-la-ing your way all through the airport (and right back home again).

4 Tips for Stress-Free Holiday Travel

Holiday travel can be fun and exciting, but it can also be stressful. Between trying to cram gifts into the luggage, dealing with winter weather and flight delays, and handling traffic jams and crowds at the kiosks, holiday travel is enough to turn the most patient traveler into a total Scrooge.

Here are some tips to make it a bit easier.

1. Give Yourself Lots of Time

If it’s a four-hour drive to Aunt Peggy’s house and you know you need to be at her house by five pm on Christmas Eve for dinner, don’t wait until 1 pm to leave. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to navigate traffic, icy road conditions, and other delays, regardless of whether you’re traveling by road or by air.

2. Have a Back-Up Plan

Put a backup plan in place in case anything goes wrong. You never know when flights are going to be delayed (or worse, canceled) or you’ll be caught in an unexpected snowstorm.

3. Consider the Kids

If you’re traveling with kids, a bit of thoughtful planning ahead of time can ward off meltdowns later on. Bring plenty of snacks and water and make sure your kids know what to expect during travel, too. The fewer surprises, the better!

4. Have a Plan in Place For Your House

Many people assume that, because they don’t have pets, they can simply lock up the house and leave it alone while they’re on the road for the holidays.


While it’s true that your house doesn’t need to be fed and taken out for walks like Fido might, it can’t be totally neglected, either. In fact, many home insurance companies won’t cover events like burglaries unless you have someone checking on the house each day.

Short of leaving your eight-year-old son home to ward off burglars (there’s a Home Alone reference for all you Christmas movie fans!), you do have other alternatives.


Leave a light on at all times and consider investing in the SmarTek Environmental Sensor Series from AlarmTek. This all-inclusive monitor has flood and smoke detection along with the ability to keep track of the temperature in your home to prevent frozen pipes.

AlarmTek even offers solutions that will let you arm and disarm your security system from afar, making it perfect for travelers on the road this holiday season.

Plan Ahead for Stress-Free Celebrations

Ultimately, you can’t control every aspect of holiday travel. From unpredictable weather to crowded airports and unexpected delays, you sometimes just need to be able to roll with the punches – and stay calm when surprises do pop up.

However, planning ahead whenever and wherever possible has the ability to seriously lower your stress levels later on. By investing in AlarmTek’s patented home security solutions, you can take one big stress factor out of the entire equation – your house.

From the SmarTek Environmental Sensor Series to the Connect Plus App, you’ll be able to manage your stress levels and keep everyone safe during your holiday travels – and long after you return home. Happy holidays – and safe travels.