Holiday Travel Tips from Samantha Brown
Submitted by Samantha Brown on November 15, 2012 – 1:38 PM17 Comments
PLAN AHEAD. Start now and you will ease some of the most common headaches when you travel around the holidays.
With Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas and New Year’s all around the corner, here are my battle-tested
tips for holiday travel:
- Get started! If you haven’t already booked your flight for the holidays, stop reading this and look at flights now! With so much consolidation in the airlines there are fewer flights and routes. The seats that are available are just going to get more expensive as we get closer to the holiday.
- Pay for preferred seating, aisle and window: It’s one of the ugliest fees in a slew of bad ones and it’s new for this year’s holiday season. This fee is especially awful for families of four who now have to shell out an extra 60 dollars more each way to sit with one another. But it may be a valuable splurge since as a family you want/need to sit next to one another and if you’re traveling alone during this busy season you’ll be getting a middle seat if you don’t. Some airlines throw in priority boarding when you upgrade your seat, so check the airline’s website to see if you qualify.
- Use them if you’ve got them: If you’ve been saving your travel rewards, it’s time to use them for a first class or business class upgrade.
- The airline club: You may think these exclusive lounges with their heavy wooden doors are reserved only for the chosen but don’t worry they’ll take your money too! You can buy a day pass in advance on an airline’s website or just walk in the day of your travel. Most clubs are $50 and include complimentary drinks and internet as well as working stations and a bathroom with no line.
- Fly against the traffic: The holidays are such a crunch time since just about all of the United States is traveling at the same time. If your dates are flexible you could both save money and avoid the peak most stressful times to fly. Sites like FareCompare.com or Expedia.com have calendars to show when the cheapest days and times are to fly to your destination. Just mark “my dates are flexible.” And book your flight to your destination before or after most people have already arrived, this could mean flying on the actual holiday.
- Leave plenty of time: I’ve said it again and again. What makes everyone panic is when they haven’t given themselves enough lead-time for crowds or unexpected problems. Because of the busy season, get to the airport AT LEAST 2 hours before your flight. Print your boarding passes the night before so you eliminate one potentially long line.Here’s my trick to get to the airport in plenty of time. I base my two hours off the BOARDING TIME not the DEPARTURE TIME. Both times are printed on your boarding pass but generally its ½ hour before the flight leaves. Think about it: if you base two hours off of the departure time you’ve already lost 1/2 hour. And you’ll want to be at the gate when the flight is called so you have a better chance of boarding at the beginning of your zone or group so you can get space in the overhead bin.
- Connecting Flights: If there was ever a time to fly nonstop it would be now. I know the connecting flights are cheaper but they are also the weakest link of your itinerary and will leave you vulnerable to major problems for such a short trip in the first place and If you miss your connecting flight, the chance of there being room on another flight is very slim and no one wants to miss the holiday festivities. If you have to connect — leave no less than 2 hours between flights.
How to bring joy to the travel experience
- Stay busy: We all become 3 year olds in an airport or on the plane who need to be entertained with lots of distractions. Make sure you bring your fully charged electronics on your flight or drive. Watch a movie or TV series you’ve been meaning to see. Read the book or e-book series by the author everyone is raving about. Learn French from a downloaded app and impress your family and friends. And by all means make sure you’re have a book, magazine or puzzle for the time you are asked to shut down all electronics. When the Captain announces that you are 23rd in line for take-off you’ll be happy you’ve got something to do.
- The sound of silence: I achieve a similar effect of noise canceling headphones with a twenty cent set of ear plugs. I find most stress from the airport comes from the noise: crying babies, barking CFO’s, and 43 announcements about flights you don’t need to care about. I slip these into my ears and though it doesn’t block out the noise completely (you still do need to hear things) it does create a more placid existence while in the hurly burly world of an airport terminal. Next time you’re at a Home Depot or Loewe’s pick up a box of them. You get like, 80 for $15 as opposed to 1 measly set for 6 bucks at the airport.
- Make sure you eat something: Most incidents of travel tantrums can be avoided by simply eating something. Yes, even the perkiest travel host on TV has lost her cool when she’s skipped a meal or snack while traveling. So smile, be friendly to the airline staff and make sure you eat a healthy meal or snack. I always travel with a peanut butter sandwich, nutmix and a banana.
And now a word on everyone’s favorite part of the travel experience:
Airport Security
- Transporting Gifts: When there’s a big crowd it’s easier and better to travel light so mail your packages ahead if you can. If you must take them on the airplane or even checked baggage, make sure they are unwrapped. Wrapped gifts will very likely need to be unwrapped for security purposes, so plan accordingly. Also as of November 2012 TSA still hates the snow globe. Don’t try to carry one on.
- TSA doesn’t care that your gravy is the prize condiment of your holiday dinner. Gravy, cranberry sauce and of course soups are all considered liquids and have to be checked or will be confiscated (and consumed in the staff break room.) You are better off just cooking when you get to your destination.
- If you only travel this time of year there are some welcomed changes in security procedures: Passengers 12 and under are able to leave their shoes on and those 75 and over can leave shoes and light jackets on while going through security checkpoints. This will help speed up the line for everyone!
If you haven’t already, check out Samantha’s travel gear only at HSN.
I love your bags I have the 21″, the weekender and the computer bag..and I just got the 28″ inch. It is too big. If you fill it to almost full ( you don’t even have to stuff it) you go over the 50 lb limit for checked bags, most airlines charge $100 for over wieght bags. It would be nice if you could do a 24 ” or 25″ for checked bags. The 21″ is great for carry on (not to check too small) but a 24/ 25″ would be great for checking and you could fill it w/o going over the 50 lb limit. Please look into one that size….I travel frequently and could use a smaller check bag.
Please make your hard sided in burgundy match the rest of that color wave. I want to add to my other pieces, but don’t like the lighter brown trim, looks a little odd. Love the other pieces. So far I used for car travel only.
I bought many of Samantha’s items. I just bought more with the free shipping. I have a problem, though, with the carryon type of bag, mainly the underseater and 45 inch total dimension flight bag. Unless I do not pack much, the sides bulge and have been taken away by flight crew because they are “too big”. Has anyone had this problem and how have they solved it? Are these bags just too big to pack normally? I will use compression techniques but wish bags were correct in dimension design.
Samantha, thank you so much for designing a more organized tote. I have been using the dr’s tote for school, but now this new tote is much better suited as a school bag. Only problem is my daughter wants one in pink (like her other pink pieces). Will you be offering this tote in pink? Also, I have been waiting to see if you will be offering a computer bag in the same croco design, but I just made 1 out of my old dr’s tote. I have your entire collection in navy and I look forward your next show!
when is the croco- embosse underseater back in stock….. i realy realy like it…… :(
samantha…i have purchased MANY of your pieces in purple and i love them all. i was heartbroken when you appeared with your most recent beautiful tote and it wasn’t offered in purple!!!!!! i need this for my set! will you be adding purple in the future please
Hi Samantha, just wanted to let you know that I admire your luggage designs. I am longing to purchase your carry on suitcase and matching tote, but sadly the dimensions of your luggage do not meet the size requirements for carry on pieces, according to the airlines I mostly travel on. The pieces cannot exceed: 22 inches long, by 14 inches wide, by 9 inches deep. Please consider designing a matching case and tote that meet these measurements.
I agree totally. about not knowing if my flight bag or underseater bag is going to be taken from me when boarding… is extremely worrisome. also, I might not have items in the cabin that I really need.
I adore your luggage and have several pieces. I just ordered the Underseater and Accessory kit in Black/camel. Both had: the kit’s lining is not the beautiful one in the rest of your/my pieces. It’s a faded gold. The underseater has zippered shoe pockets on each side. Very nice, but one side has padding,the other doesn’t. I can return both when you return in Dec. but I only want to EXCHANGE them for a kit with regular lining and a better constructed underseater.Can you check on this? Thanks.
I just ordered several pieces of your fabulous, burgundy luggage pieces. Question? do you or will you be making a larger, toiletry bag?
Did you see the new cosmetic bag or the 2 toiletry pieces sold with the underseater? Also, the accessories bag is big and organized to carry most items. Hope this helps :)
Samantha I have ordered a number of your bags in the black/camel and love them. I have one request. Could you please, please offer a garment bag? I need one to pack my husband’s suites and some of my dresses.
Congratulations and best of luck with your pregnancy!
Yes, I would love a garment bag in this croco design too. Its one of the essentials thats missing from this luggage line.
Congratulations to you and your husband, best wishes for very healthy babies!!
I’ve traveled a lot with your luggage and usually have no trouble carrying onboard the 21″ upright and the doctor’s bag set that I had bought before. This last trip however, they asked me to place the bag in that piece of metal that measures bags and was not allowed to bring it onboard. I had to check it in. I was furious! I had been with that same bag all over and had never problems. Nothing in the front pocket eith
… and I hadn’t used the extra space available. Anyway, not your fault but I just wanted to share that with you.
Other than that, I’m very happy with everything I’ve bought from you. I want everything in every color, but I’ve got the navy and I have different neat colors like the yellow and tangerine as accessory bags so that I can tell right away which is which. Yellow for toiletries. Aqua for makeup. Tangerine for jewelry. ETC. It makes for a very colorful trip, no matter where I go. <3
Samantha it was so good to see you pregnant and then hearing you are expecting twins. We are so happy for you and you looked absolutely marvelous. We have followed you for years and when you came to hsn I bought your first set with original doctors tote. We have about twelve different pieces, everything is marvelous, you think of every little detail. Just perfect, my husband gets nervous now when you are on as he knows I will get something.
Keep em coming and our prayers are with you & husband!
Thank you for the tips… I wanted to tell you how much I LOVE your cabin bag! I have been on several flights recently where the overhead storage was filling up fast. This bag fits every time and can squeeze into a smaller space vertically. I cannot believe how much it holds! I get so many compliments on it, too. I have become a traveling brand ambassador for you, telling everyone of its features and where to buy it:) You look beautiful- just glowing! Do I see baby bag designs in your future?!?