Have you decided to go on holiday this Christmas time?  A lot of families, now that the restrictions for flying are finally lifting, are spending Christmas abroad – perhaps in a fancy hotel, or with much missed family.

There are pros and cons for travelling abroad at Christmas. But if you’re travelling with kids, this is a great time to go! However, the most important thing is planning ahead.

Some of the pros are that you have more time to book accommodation, flights, and purchase presents. As well as not having to worry about work commitments – most people are on annual leave at some point over Christmas.. This might be a good time of year to visit some family members too since they may be less busy during this festive season.

Some of the cons include no chance of seeing snow or being cold (not necessarily a bad thing, and of course it depends on your destination), and potentially higher costs for flights and hotels during holiday travel periods due to high demand.

We are all aware of the old adage, “Never travel abroad at Christmas.” But is it true? Yes, it might be better to avoid travelling on the big day itself if you can. But with the right preparation and precautions, your Christmas abroad can be a wonderful experience.

  • Create a holiday playlist – even if you are in the sun you still want the festive music!
  • Get a tree – most hotels will still have trees in the lobby, and probably a gala dinner, although depending on the country, this could be on Christmas Eve.
  • Start a new tradition for the holidays – perhaps buying a bauble from your trip abroad to enjoy next year

Before you go away though, you need to prepare!  Not for the holiday itself, but for your normal Christmas tasks.  If you are holidaying with children, set their expectation in terms of presents.  You are not going to take Johnny’s new bike on the plane with you!  You can either decide to only buy small presents (perhaps the holiday itself is the main present) or you can choose to give them their presents once you have returned.

You also need to get things sorted for the rest of your friends and family.  They will miss seeing you over the festive period, especially if this is a big change for you.  Start by letting them know in plenty of time.  Make sure you have seen them before you go, and have a lovely Christmassy day with them.  You can make their Christmas extra special by sending luxury foil-pressed personalised Christmas cards from Aura-Print.  Go online with the kids and get Christmas cards printed, giving a really personal feel to your celebrations.  The fantastic designer includes options to choose the type of paper you want to use (you can even choose recycled paper or Kraft for a really sustainable feel); and you can upload your own artwork. 

These are perfect for companies too, buying hundreds of cards in bulk.  If you don’t have your own artwork, the designs you can use are just perfect.  Stylish and high end, these cards will really start your Christmas period off with a bang.

You can even really go high end by buying matching personalised Christmas Tags.  This will tie all of your Christmas wrapping in perfectly.  If you choose Kraft paper for the cards, why not wrap all your presents in brown paper, perhaps getting the kids to stamp them with stylish designs?

Once you have chosen your cards and wrapping paper, its time to pick the perfect presents for your family.  Try to choose something memorable so that when they open it on Christmas Day, they have lovely thoughts about you even though you will be away from them!

Facetime and video calling means that you can stay in touch with family even while you are abroad.  Make sure you arrange times beforehand so that you can get to the perfect spot.  I am sure your family would love to see you at the beach!  Chat with them for a while, then get on with enjoying your slightly different Christmas Day.  There may be other guests there who are feeling a little out of sorts too – seize the opportunity to make some new friends.  Christmas abroad is a fantastic idea and a great way to spend the festive period – just make sure you are fully prepared before you go.  Oh – and get ready for all the comments about your tan when you go back to work!