At the end of the calendar year, a phrase commonly bandied about in the office is this: "Use it or loose it." This advice serves as a reminder that many employees, being unable to carry over unused vacation days at year's end, lack the ability to accumulate large amounts of vacation time. Where do they go, and why do they take such trips? This fact also helps to explain the reason for many Christmas vacations.
Squeezed as they are into a compressed space on the calendar, Christmas vacations tend to be much shorter than the more traditional summer vacations. Time constraints often tend to limit the locales chosen for Christmas vacations. This undoubtedly leads the reader to ask one question: Where then do people go for a short Christmas trip?
Christmas travelers normally seek a spot that has gained recognition for one of three different offerings: special Christmas entertainment, warmer temperatures or great winter activities. For example, along the coasts of the United States, many Christmas travelers flock to big cities such as New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, or Los Angeles. On the other hand city residents, already tired of city dirt and noise, generally use Christmas vacations as a means of escape. They might go to Vail, CO., to Las Vegas, NV, to a New England ski resort or perhaps south to Florida.
The planning of Christmas vacations requires a fair amount of flexibility. Unless one decides to head south, there exists a good chance that snow could impede travel at some point during the course pf the vacation. More than one of the planned Christmas vacations to ski lodges has resulted in an emergency stay at a small, out-of-the-way motel.
Since the showing of the movie series that began with "Home Alone," many parents have become more aware of the possible consequences of embarking on one of the more hastily-planned Christmas vacations. In fact, that series of movies highlighted the most dreaded outcome for any type of vacation. Now parents with large families think twice before planning any Christmas vacations.
Present-day security precautions likewise have the potential to hinder the enjoyment of Christmas vacations. Air travelers can no longer carry onboard wrapped gifts. That means that many Christmas vacationers must allow extra time for gift wrapping following their arrival at a destination. If one lacks the skill needed for rapid wrapping of gifts, then one needs to be a speedy shopper.
When then should one consider making the effort to join those who are venturing on a Christmas vacation? In order to bolster the boldness of that decision, three conditions should appear simultaneously.
When the weather report looks promising, when the demands of gift wrapping will be minimal and when the readiness of all members of a traveling party has been assured, then one can make plans to spend all or part of the Holidays away from home. It is case it is definitely not unwise to set-out on one of the many Christmas vacations.