Travelling abroad with the family this Christmas? Or maybe just cross-country for the holidays? Here are a few tips that are sure to help make the festive season away from home a bit easier.

1. Taking Presents Along

If you’re travelling abroad this year, keep the airline’s luggage weight limits in mind. If you’re travelling by road this year, keep the limited space in mind. Either way, after all the necessities are packed, there often isn't much space left over for the Christmas gifts.

A great compromise between practicality when travelling and the sentiment of tradition on Christmas Day is to pack small. Pack only a few of the smaller gift items for each of the kids so that they still get to partake in the exciting ceremony of the day. And as an added bonus, if there are some gifts you couldn't take along, the kids get to have another day of opening presents once you’re back home!

If you’d like all the gifts to go on holiday with you, there are also the options of taking more than the airlines allow and paying for the additional luggage or simply Fedex-ing the gifts to yourself before you leave.

Tip: If you’re flying to your destination, don’t wrap the gifts. Rather keep them in drawstring gift bags in case the airport security decides to do a thorough check of your luggage and open the presents.

2. Christmas Tree on Christmas Day

There’s very little chance you’ll want to pack your Christmas tree in with your luggage, never mind the gifts. But Christmas without the decorated ambience doesn't feel like Christmas at all. The solution? Well, there are several.

You could, of course, decorate the fern in the corner of the foyer of the hotel but that’s definitely not subtle or tasteful and it’s also definitely not what I’m suggesting. Purchasing a cute little beaded wire frame tree for the coffee table in the living room of your holiday home could be enough. Or pinning up a Christmas wall decoration could do the trick. Either of these adornments could be purchased on holiday and might even be small enough to take home with you.

If you’re the lucky tenant of a luxury villa this holiday, there’s the chance that none of that would even be necessary. Many luxury villas offer a festivity-friendly service where they can arrange for a Christmas tree to be placed and decorated in your villa making a heart-warming home away from home.

3. A Night Out for the Grown-Ups

Gifts for the kids and maintaining the Christmas hype is all good and well, but what about the grown-ups and their holiday fun? Family activities and daytime beach bathing aside, sometimes Mom and Dad just need a night out on the town to rejuvenate their spirits. Too often the topic of what to do with the kids becomes a point of concern for parents and far too much fretting takes place. Many popular holiday destinations have respectable and reputable babysitting services. Finding them is as easy as asking your rental agent, or enquiring at the front desk, or doing a bit of research online.

Do you have any tips for making a family vacation over the festive season easier? Or perhaps you’d like to share your past experiences? Let us know all about it by making use of the comment section below.