Raising children, no matter how many you have, what gender they, or what age they, will always be stressful. There are plenty of tricks and tips out there you can use to make it as easy as possible, but in the end, there’s only so much you can do. And there are plenty of things that are just plain unavoidable.

But traveling with kids? Now that’s a whole different beast in and of itself! There are so many different things that can come up or happen that you will not be prepared for. And there is plenty of stuff you’ll just inevitably do because, heck, what choice do you have?! So let’s go through some of these inevitable things so you can be prepared as possible the next time you travel with your kids during the holidays.

SAY GOODBYE TO ANY SCREEN TIME RULES

Screen time rules are an important part of raising children in today’s day and age. With TVs and computers and tablets, there are so many options of things your kids could watch. So you have to be careful to not let them spend too much time staring at a screen. It’s just plain bad for them! That’s why screen time rules are key.

But when it comes to traveling with your kids, especially during the holidays, those screen time rules pretty much disappear. For most of any vacation, just avoiding a temper tantrum and maintaining your sanity is all that matters. So don’t feel bad about letting your kid watch a few more cartoons than usual. It will keep everyone happy and you can go back to the normal rules as soon as you’re home.

SAY GOODBYE TO ANY SUGAR RULES AS WELL

Just like with your screen time rules, any rules about how much sugar your kids can eat in a day are pretty much going right out the window. Breaking these rules will similarly keep your children happy and keep you sane. But there’s also a lot of unknown factors on a holiday vacation like grandma making too many cookies. We can’t just let those cookies go to waste now, can we?!

YOU’LL MAKE THE HOLIDAYS SPECIAL IF IT’S THE LAST THING YOU DO

All that stress can certainly go to your head. But you’re putting yourself through all of it for one reason and one reason only: to make a special holiday memory for your family! And damn it, you’re gonna do it! So everyone better stop complaining and better start having a wonderful time! OK?! OK.

This can materialize in all sorts of ways. Matching sweaters, Santa hats, too many gifts, perfectly wrapped gifts, and everything in between. Your kids may look at you like you’re crazy while you’re doing it. But they’ll finally appreciate you and your efforts once they’re a little older!

YOU WILL FORGET SOMETHING IMPORTANT

There is literally nothing more inevitable when it comes to holiday travel with the whole family. You will forget something. It will be important. There’s no point in trying to fight it, people! It’s going to happen. Have you ever even seen Home Alone?? But you’re smart, you can problem solve, and you’ll figure it out.

YOU WILL FEEL GUILTY ABOUT SOMETHING

This is a tough one, but unfortunately, it is very likely that you will end up feeling guilty. Everyone will be so stressed out and so exhausted that eventually, someone will complain. And no matter how much you try to tell yourself they’re just tired and they don’t mean, you will still end up feeling guilty for “forcing” them to do whatever family activity they claim they don’t want to do or present they claim they don’t like.

It’s a really difficult part of parenting, but it’s sadly all too common. Just try to not let it get to you any more than it should or affect any further decision making. It will pass. And you’ll feel better before you know it.

YOU’LL REMEMBER WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT

In the end, despite all of the stress and guilt and frustration, I promise you something will happen that will make you remember why you do it. What Christmas is all about. It could be as simple as everyone laughing at the same joke or spilled plate of food, but it will be special and it will make you want to cry. Because Christmas is all about coming together as a family, being thankful for what you have, and showing each other how much you love each other. And that perfect little moment will make it all worth it.

Not everyone has a Costco membership… but we all know Costco. We’ve all been to Costco, we all get Costco. It’s equally one of the greatest and weirdest places you’ll ever buy groceries. But there’s a lot more to Costco than just groceries! 

One thing about Costco that most people probably don’t know, is that with that membership you can also get great deals through their travel website. That’s right… Costco has a travel website! And it’s actually pretty amazing. Here are some of the awesome things you should know about it:

THE PACKAGES

The Costco travel website offers a bunch of great travel packages to places like Maui, The Dominican Republic, Vegas, and even Walt Disney World. The Walt Disney World package is especially great and includes tickets to the park, a room with a view of the park, and, of course, covers all fees and taxes. You can also add a FastPass to your package for not much more money to skip those crazy lines.

BARGAINS ABOUND

There are all sorts of crazy bargains to be found through the site, but one of the best ones is for the Villa del Palmar Flamingos resort in Mexico. It’s a gorgeous beachfront resort with a, get this, 17,000-square-foot spa. That’s huge! You can get four nights in a junior suite for only $259 per person. And that includes ground transportation!

CRUISES

The site is also a great source for deals on cruises on 12 different cruise lines (including Disney, of course). Cruise destinations include Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, Alaska, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the South Pacific, Mexico and South America, to name just a few.

GUIDED TOURS

You can also get set up with some great guided tour based vacations that are ideal for group vacations. This is also a Disney affiliated perk through their “Adventures by Disney” company. You can explore Costa Rica, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Peru, and Spain. I can only imagine how much fun a Disney-run tour of those places must be!

And those are just the most obvious benefits of the Costco travel site! There are plenty of other bargains and money saving tips to be found. So if you’re already a member you should definitely check it out. And if you’re not a member, what are you waiting for?! Get to it!

We all know at least one. The guy who seems to be traveling every few months. They just can’t help themselves! They need to see the world and they need to see it now. So, with the holidays right around the corner, we thought we’d help you out by giving you some great gift ideas for the men in your life that love to travel. Take our word for it, they will love every single one of these items!

YETI RAMBLER 30 OZ. TUMBLER

Nobody loves staying hydrated more than frequent travelers! Whether they want to keep their water cold or their coffee hot, Yeti has some of the best products and this particular tumbler is one of the best on the market. It can be used for week-long camping trips, way-too-long flights, tailgating, you name it. They also look pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

72-HOUR MERINO TEE BY HUCKBERRY

Huckleberry is one of the lesser-known men’s wear brands out there, but that should really change. Especially when it comes to gear designed for travel. Take, for example, this amazing merino tee. It was specifically designed so it can be worn 3 days in a row! How perfect is that for those long travel days where you sometimes go well over 24 hours without access to a shower.

And get this… it’s also available in a long-sleeve version!

GOPRO HERO

GoPro’s almost seem like a thing of the past these days as we don’t hear about them all that much anymore. But make no mistake, they are still very cool. And they’ve only gotten better over the years. Their latest version, the GoPro HERO is truly amazing. It’s waterproof, comes with voice control, and features jaw-dropping stability regardless of whatever rocky terrain you may be traveling on while documenting.

So if your travel dude loves to livestream his adventures or recap them in videos after the fact, this is the perfect holiday gift for them.

RENEW LIGHTWEIGHT HOODED PUFFER JACKET BY EVERLANE

A good, durable jacket can be a literal lifesaver in some climates. But it can also be so hard to find the right one! Well, look no further than this perfect puffer jacket from Everlane. It’s reversible, surprisingly lightweight, and can be zipped into it’s own travel pouch, making it extremely easy to pack. This really is a must-have for any serious traveller.

LUMINA 5200 MAH ULTRA COMPACT PORTABLE CHARGER

It doesn’t matter how much we fight it, we simply can’t survive without our devices any more. We need them! Even if it’s just to play games to pass the time. But traveling is one of the easiest ways to accidentally let your battery run out.

That’s why a portable charger like this one from Lumina is vital to any successful travel experience. It’s one of the more affordable portable chargers out there and it comes with a lifetime warranty. It’s also available on Amazon so it couldn’t be easier to buy.

COMRAD COMPRESSION SOCKS

For whatever reason, foot comfort is one of the often overlooked elements of successful and enjoyable travel experiences. I don’t know why so many of us forget to take of our feet. We do use them to walk everywhere! But so many of us still do.

That’s why these compression socks from Comrad make such a simple yet perfect gift for the traveling man. They provide comfort, warmth, support, circulation, and can even prevent swelling. These really are a must-have.

HERSCHEL SUPPLY CO. BAGS

These Herschel Supply Co. bags most easily found at Nordstrom are the most affordable and durable bags out there. The duffel bag is ideal because it’s has all the room he’ll need but is still small enough to be a carry on. And the travel kit bag makes organizing easy by providing multiple pockets to make it easy for him find whatever toiletry or grooming accessory he needs in a flash.

I’ve actually used both of these bags and I really love them.