By Becca Royer, Features Editor
Traveling over Christmas break may run counter to the popular belief that there’s no place like home for the holidays. However, there are many advantages to being away for the holidays.
Last Christmas, I had the privilege of traveling to Buenos Aires, then the Patagonia region of Argentina for the holidays. My family spent Christmas vacation touring an amazing world capital and hiking the Andes and staying in rustic hotels with beautiful views. Let me tell you, it was a much better experience than staying in Winston for two weeks.
Traditionally, my family goes to California for the holidays because we have family out there. It’s always a refreshing change of scenery and atmosphere as compared to Winston. Plus, I am a huge fan of airports. Who doesn’t love the hustle and bustle of people running to catch a flight or racing moving sidewalks against stationary ground?
While a lot of people think “there’s no place like home for the holidays,” a lot of others are “dreaming of a white Christmas.” Let’s be honest here, those people will be sorely disappointed every year because it doesn’t snow in Winston during December – at least not an adequate amount to make your days “merry and white.”
A lot of people travel to see family for the holidays anyway, whether they move only a few miles down the road or all the way across the country. So I guess it would depend on how literally you take the word “home,” because usually holidays are spent at Grandma’s house, not your own.
Sometimes, vacations are given for Christmas presents, which are always the most memorable and biggest gifts. The quality family time and memories made on these trips are the best presents anyone could receive. For those traditionalists who like to stay home for the holidays, would you pass up a trip to your dream destination, even if it means not being able to spend Christmas and New Year’s at home (probably watching Netflix and eating a dozen holiday cookies a day)?
While I realize packing and lugging carefully wrapped presents around only for them to be smushed in transit isn’t the ideal situation, it’s the price that comes with going out of town.
There is a solution to the home vs. travel debate. My family and I are not untraditional: We enjoy laying cookies and milk out in front of our fireplace as much as the next family and unwrapping presents under our tree. To satisfy these desires, we usually choose to travel after Christmas day. This means we are still able to go to our church’s Christmas Eve service and have a feast at home afterwards.
Home or away for the holiday season, it is the Christmas spirit and time with loved ones that is most important.