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Make your holiday
plans now
By Cynthia
E. Brodrick • Bankrate.com
Can you put a price on family tradition? Airlines
certainly do.
You may be all settled into college or a new job in
a new state, and happily creating your own "home." But as the holidays
approach, we're reminded that the place where we left Mom &
Dad is really home. Now the problem is how to get back there
on a limited budget with limited time.
In our 20s, money can be a major factor in getting
home. But another problem that you may have discovered since starting
your new job is time. In many industries, vacations during
the holiday season are often doled out on a seniority basis -- and,
even if you've got the dough, you'll have at best a three-day weekend
for Christmas this year.
How important is being home with your family for the
holidays? Basically, flights are more expensive when more people
are flying -- it's one of the basic laws of capitalism.
"Bottom line is that over the holidays, you are not
likely to be able to fly home cheaply," says Edward Hasbrouck, a
travel agent and consultant in San Francisco. "In fact, looking
for discounts at the holidays is quixotic." Think of it this way:
Your holiday plane ticket could cost twice as much as a flight some
other month -- when you'd be able to get a week off from work, too.
So, decide what's important to you. If you have to
get home, start looking for flights now. But if you end up
having to stay in your new hometown, you can make the best
of it.
Fly me away
"If the trip is a must-do, then you'll
fly home no matter the cost," says Hasbrouck. "If you don't have
the money, then you can try waiting for a lower fare. And realize,
you may not get home." Ask yourself what you consider a good deal.
Are you willing to save money even if you have to fly to a less
convenient city or spend hours twiddling your thumbs in some other
town waiting to change flights?
Last-minute discounts do exist. But finding them is
tough. Closer to the holidays, the airlines will see which days
or flights are underbooked and offer discounts. But it's different
every year, and they don't exactly announce these things.
"If you try calling airlines and start asking for
a specific day, you probably won't find discounts," warns Hasbrouck.
"In fact airlines are the last place to start asking for low prices."
They are salespeople after all -- they want to make money. A travel
agent may be your best bet for searching through the numbers to
find you the best deal and schedule. Keep in mind the agent may
charge a fee for the work of sifting through all those flights --
and you must hope the savings are more than the fee.
"You're better off paying ahead of time," Hasbrouck
says. "You won't get the best absolute rock-bottom prices, but you
won't get the worst price either."
I asked Hasbrouck about standby, which I've never
tried, but had always heard was a good deal. He explained that there's
no such thing as standby on domestic U.S. airlines anymore.
"If you have time, Amtrak is often substantially cheaper,"
recommends Hasbrouck, who remembers taking a 24-hour-long trip from
Chicago to Boston, saving money and also enjoying a day-long adjustment
period from school to home. With Amtrak, it's more important to
reserve ahead of time. They don't have last-minute discounts. Like
airlines, they get busier around the holidays." You can check Amtrak
deals by calling (800) USA-RAIL or checking out their Web site.
Recreate holiday memories
OK, so you've ended up staying in your new town,
far from family. But it doesn't have to be a bah-humbug Christmas.
"The most important thing people need to learn is
that holidays can be very magical some years and other years be
quite ordinary," says Michael S. Broder, a Philadelphia psychologist
and author of The
Art of Living Single.
In your new hometown, you can try recreating some
of your family's holiday traditions. For example, my first Christmas
without my family I went to midnight mass on Christmas Eve. I felt
it was important to join my family in spirit, and then I knew it
truly was Christmas.
Greenville, S.C., resident Jennifer Massengill, 29,
spent two Christmases in the African country of Mali while in the
Peace Corps, and she struggled to recreate holiday traditions in
the predominantly Muslim country.
"All the volunteers got together because we were all
in the same boat," she remembers. "We made a big meal. Each of us
tried recreating a dish we would have had back home -- well, as
close as we could get in Africa. We got real creative." She also
managed to carry out one personal family tradition.
"My parents always sent over gifts," she says. "And
I opened the presents the same as we did at home -- one on Christmas
Eve and then the rest after our big meal the next day."
Open your mind -- and your heart
"Holidays offer the opportunity to share time
with other people in your life," says Jan Yager, in Camden, Conn.
She is the author of the book Friendshifts:
The Power of Friendship And How It Shapes Our Lives. "If
you constantly run home, you might miss the chance to explore own
community. Instead of duplicating childhood Christmases, see each
year as a new adventure. As your network expands, someone else will
include you in their holiday celebrations."
Sometimes, however, it can seem as if everybody
else is off somewhere having fun. Well, when you start feeling
sorry for yourself, there's one sure way to feel better -- help
someone with even less to celebrate. Volunteering is a wonderful
opportunity to meet new people and to give of yourself, explains
Yager.
"When you are involved with helping others -- who
have nowhere else to go -- you forget your own situation," says
Yager.
If your workplace is open on the holiday itself --
such as a hospital or a daily newspaper -- you might actually enjoy
the chance to work. For many of us, our work environment is
our new home. Besides making a little extra dough, you'll also be
earning major brownie points with co-workers who can be home with
their families.
As for the folks back home, call when they are opening
gifts or sitting down to dinner, and have them pass the phone around,
so you feel you are there. And other modern technology can also
help those homefires feel closer -- set up an Instant Message or
e-mail chat, and be part of the day through your PC.
"Don't make the assumption that everyone at home is
having a good time," reminds Yager. Yeah, I just have to remember
the long-standing feud between my aunts, and my grandfather's iron
control of events ... and suddenly staying away seems like a good
option!
-- Updated: Oct. 16, 2002
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