Travelling home for Christmas

Travelling home for Christmas is part of the holiday season for many families, but for military families that could mean travelling across the country, catching Christmas flights at all hours of the night, and often travelling from remote or hard to access places (at least in Canada).

My travelling-home tips relate to prepping your home before you leave for your holiday weary return! How novel, right?

1. Clean the house before you leave. It will make coming home that much easier. When everyone is tired of travelling, having their cheeks pinched, and the overall season, coming home to a clean home just does something to lift your spirits. It’s one less thing to do when you’re trying to get everyone back into their routine, or after a long day on the road.
2. Have clean bed sheets and towels waiting for your return. This one goes hand in hand with no.1 and can be added to that list. Clean bed sheets and towels are so welcoming, especially when climbing into bed after a bath and a long day of travel…. or if you’re climbing into bed after putting the kids through the wash.
3. Have someone come check on your place while you’re away. If you live in PMQs you technically have to have someone check on your Q if you’ll be gone for more than two weeks. I often bribe this person with a spirit of some sort, or a nice bottle of wine. If they’re really nice they’ll even clear your sidewalk for you. If they really love you they’ll clear your driveway so that you can get in after having the plow go by about two dozen times.
4. Check the fridge! Clear-out any items that might expire in a serious way (think peeling wallpaper because of the stench) while you’re away. Nothing worse than coming home to a staanky fridge. No amount of arm and hammer fridge packs will clean that.
5. Pack away some seasonal cheer. Depending on how long you keep your decor out, you may consider packing away some of your decor pieces before you leave. If I’m coming home after the New Year I like to put away some of my super Christmas specific items. It helps me transition a bit easier once I’m home. If I’m coming home between Christmas and NYE I’ll just put away the knick knacks that might get knocked over in the rush to leave the house on time (or at least not 4 hours late).
6. Make dinner ahead of time. I always leave my homecoming dinner in the freezer, that way I don’t have to worry about making it to the grocery store by a certain time, and it’s one less thing to do. I’m usually batch making meals in the run-up to Christmas, so adding one more meal to the pile isn’t too hard.

Although we don’t currently have kids, or have to travel very far when we do travel home, I’ve rounded-up some great posts from other military spouse bloggers with their tips for travelling over the Christmas season.

Tara from An Aiming High Wife covers the more military-centric aspects of travelling with your military spouse. You can read them here.

Christy from New Dirt n Old Boots covers the scheduling your time beforehand and while you’re there. You can read her tips here.

Heather from Happy Fit Navy wife has a list of 24 apps for toddlers during travel, which you can see here. Heather also has tips for a faster, smoother airport experience, which can be read here.

With that being said, don’t forget to pack emergency travel essentials (especially if you’re driving!) we all know winter in Canada is a JOY to travel through, so stay frosty, live boldly, and enjoy your travels home.