With the arrival of Christmas, that means holiday travel. This post is a little late in the season, but are you planning a holiday road trip? Maybe these tips will help you as you prepare to travel with your family…

1. Make lists. Your to-do list before you leave, one for items to pack or bring, include food, clothing, toiletries and personal items, and finally, one for to-dos while on vacation – places to see, people to visit or call, etc.

2. Map out your journey. GPS and smartphones are wonderful and I love having them available to me. However, they are not always right. So pack a real life map and gather your children around to map out what roads you will take, which states you will drive through and what cities you will pass by. If you have time, plan some side trips too! If you homeschool, make it a school project for your children to learn something new about the state or city in which you will be visiting. Older children could handle doing this for each state and city you pass through.

3. Reserve your lodging ahead of time. Reserving your lodging ahead of time prevents you from the disappointment, not to mention the inconvenience of possibly not finding any a vacancies at hotels you just happen to stop at for the night. The holidays are busy so plan ahead.

4. Check the weather forecast for your destination, as well as any place in between. This will help you be prepared for winter road conditions, enable you to bring the proper attire and possibly prevent you from driving in any bad weather.

5. Share your plans with your family. This could be the family you are visiting, God forbid they leave for their own vacation, not knowing you are coming to visit! Or this could be family you are leaving behind, just so they know where you are going and how long you will be gone for, in case of emergency.