The lyric in an old holiday song “Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go ...” reminded me that with holidays fast approaching, many readers may be expecting guests or in a reversal of the lyrics, may themselves be making holiday travel plans. In either event, some ideas and thoughts which may be helpful in saving time and money:
For Travelers
The more flexible you can be, the better the airline rate. Time your flight to avoid the crowds: Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday are usually less congested. If you can get up with the birdies, you’ll avoid long lines and waiting. The best “on-time” records are held by Southwest, U.S. Air, Northwest and Delta, so if arriving at a certain time or close connections are important, book one of these airlines. If you can book online rather than by phone, you’ll save up to $35, and if you can fit everything into a carry-on, you’ll save an additional $15-$30.
For longer flights where seat comfort is an important consideration, I always check seatguru.com, which will give you details about the configuration and seat comfort of all seats on different airlines. Bestfares.com will give you price comparisons for your destination.
When booking hotels, check travel sites like hotelscombined.com, but check also directly with the hotel. They may offer to beat the site price or give you an upgrade. Consider priceline.com or hotwire.com, but you probably won’t know where you will be staying until your bid is accepted. Before you bid, go to www.biddingfortravel.com. Don’t forget to check on taxes or other fees.
Most hotels will give an age-related discount to members of AARP and some Marriott properties will give you 50 percent off the regular rate if you are able to make a pre-paid nonrefundable booking well in advance. Radisson Hotels will take off 10 percent at most hotels and in their restaurants, and all you need is proof of age. Hilton’s Senior Honors program gives major discounts at participating hotels, but there is a yearly fee to join. Check www.hilton.com for details.
If you are renting a car, save money by taking other transportation, such as the airline bus from the airport and renting from a car agency outside the airport location. Independent agencies are often less expensive. Try carrentals.com and carrentalexpress.com, or type in the name of a car rental company and “coupon code” into Google and see what discounts turn up. If you are taking a cab, know what the fare should be.
If You Are the Host
Remember that you are entitled to an enjoyable holiday that doesn’t leave you worn out and frazzled. It’s OK to look for labor-saving shortcuts. You might want to plan ahead to buy and freeze some of your side dishes from one of the many food service places such as Pasta Vita in Old Saybrook.
Relatives can bring a side dish or the appetizers.
Place mats and everyday silver look just as festive when set off by a seasonal flower arrangement and pretty candles.
Save on having to load the dishwasher several times by using colorful plastic plates and glasses for drinks and hors d’oeuvres or dessert.
And by all means, get your guests into the act. Children can pass the appetizer dish, help with hanging up coats and clearing the table.
I also like to have Christmas gifts for my Long Island family wrapped and ready for them to take with them at Thanksgiving ... saving me the trouble and expense of mailing them later.
As for gifts, I’ve always been an advocate of buying during the year when I see “the very thing” for someone on my list, but for business gifts or gifts to others with whom I’m not very familiar, I like to find one good choice and send that to everyone. This year, especially, it makes sense to buy less expensive, useful items and to find ways to lessen your workload and create a happier, more relaxed holiday for yourself and your family.
0 Responses:
Post a Comment