Heading into the holiday season Trafalgar, the leading global guided travel company surveyed 2,500+ parents across the U.S. to discover just how stressful, costly and time-consuming the holidays are for them. Spoiler alert: The holidays are extremely stressful, costly and time-consuming.
The results illuminate a list of compelling reasons on why the overwhelming majority of American parents admit they would rather “cancel” Christmas this year and travel instead:
- Over half of parents (66%) say they would cancel Christmas this year to travel instead, with majority (78%) noting they would rather spend their money on a vacation instead of holiday gifts.
- According to the findings, parents’ stress doubles during the holidays and they can nearly eliminate that stress by traveling instead. In order to not simply transfer the stress to planning a family vacation, many companies, like Trafalgar, provide guided trips and itineraries.
- Spending the holidays at home can actually be more expensive than a week-long family vacation in Europe, with 56% of parents planning to spend $5,000+ on the holidays this year.
- Parents spend 1-2 months prepping for the holidays, and 1 in 3 parents have had to take a day off from work to prep for the holidays.
At Family Traveller, we advocate creating lasting memories through shared family experiences. Whether it’s a long-haul trip, a weekend away or a festive outing this holiday season, we’ve got inspiration and resources:
- Soak up the magic of the season with a holiday train experience.
- Don’t miss New York City’s top 10 most family-friendly activities during Christmastime.
- These ten vacations are what family travel dreams are made of.
- Ski together — then relax together — at these kid-friendly ski lodges.
- Snuggle up together at these cozy cabin rentals.
