Fishing for a great hotel deal

So, if you're planning a trip, it's best to do it at least 6 weeks in advance. Between 6-8 weeks out is when you will find your best flight prices.

In getting a hotel deal, I think it's great to go fishing. Fishing? Visit the web sites and test the waters. For example, if you are thinking about a Disney vacation, visit their web site and sign up to receive their emails. Make a few searches for the dates and resorts you are looking for and then "walk away". Don't visit the web site for a couple days. Typically... an offer.... a sweeter deal will arrive in your e-mail inbox in just a few days.

This happened recently for me, on hotwire.com.  Same has happened with Delta Vacations and Air Canada at other times. The cookies your ip address leaves behind with your search, and your e-mail that you voluntarily give them to contact you with offers is all you need to nab a better bargain.

And while I'm not actually going to Newport Beach, Ca those dates, it is certainly helpful to get a baseline of prices so I CAN budget for it and plan for the future should the stars align.

Then again, they might send an offer so sweet I can't say no.

Fast Five Travel Tips: Choosing a Hotel

Most vacations include a hotel stay. Choosing a hotel can be a big deal, especially if you are vacationing as a family. Each person has their own wants and needs. There's a budget involved, but most important is often the location. Just like in real estate... location, location, location.

1. First step is to determine what your vacation centres on. Are you spending 5 days at Disneyworld? Would staying on-site being a benefit? Or are you going to the beach, Seaworld, Universal Studios, or a museum? If that's the case, perhaps a central location is a better choice?  Is the hotel just a place to sleep, or do you like to lounge, kick back and rest at the resort?

2. Space. How much space do you need? Are two queen sized beds good enough, do you need bunk beds or a kitchen? What do you need to be comfortable? Most hotels have a pool.... but is it a deal-breaker if yours doesn't?

3. Safety. You need to be safe. It's no bargain if it's a scary, scary neighbourhood.

4. Price. Price takes a fair bit of research. Check all the popular sites... travelocity.ca, hotels.com, expedia.ca, hotwire.com. PLUS check the hotel's own website. They just might have the best price, or perhaps a package that suits your needs. Do you have a AAA card, or military discount? If yes, skip the discount sites and try the hotel itself first.

5. Research! Before you commit, check Tripadvisor.com  The good people of trip advisor offer a wealth of hands on experience, tips and honest reviews. Not everyone will have your tastes or priorities, however, I tend to agree and trust what the majority says.

Christmas Happened

Christmas went pretty much as anticipated. SO, that was good. At least I was prepared for the roller coaster, adventure that is our family Christmas.

Sure enough, I wasted time and precious energy making too many cookies.

We forgot a couple important things at home.

Visits I was enjoying were cut short and the schedule had us running.

Weather was crazy cold, but the boys played outdoor hockey Christmas morning anyways. That's the one tradition we really treasure. It wouldn't be "US" if there wasn't morning hockey.

The uncle bought the kids the best presents.  All hail the popular uncle.

Some relative always makes an off colour, snarky remark that makes you wonder what the heck they were getting at. I chalk it up to the alcohol talking, but still it does bug me. Seems so unnecessary.

I felt super guilty that the dogs were in the kennel and that I neglected to buy them some fancy $20 pet store bone to get them thru the holiday. And while I DID forget to buy a treat for my dogs, I spent a ridiculous amount of money on people food and treats.

I missed my old dog Mocha. Missed her soooo much. For years and years, she spent late nights watching me wrap presents, bake cookies, and fuss with last minute preparations. It really hit me as I thought about leaving cookies and milk out for Santa. I used to leave cookies out on a plate near the fireplace and just leave them. Each Christmas morning the cookies would be gone. Santa? Or my sweet Mocha? She used to sneak over and ever so slyly... steal them. It was our secret.  So, without Mocha, this year, I just couldn't put cookies out. I did however, hang her monogrammed ornaments on the tree to remember her.

There's just too much pressure at Christmas. However, we do it for the kids. And they LOVE it. So, that's what makes it all worthwhile. Turns out they don't even notice the bumps, blemishes and the chaos that I feel.

Christmas Turbulence

Like so many others, I struggle with holidays. Holidays exacerbate the feelings we carry around all the time. When lights are aglow and holiday music plays it just seems to make things so much worse. When I feel dark and gloomy on the inside, a dash of fake holiday syrup isn't going to make it any better.

Commercialism of the holiday is one aspect. Demands, or perceived demands add so much pressure. The pressure is the other thing that gets to me. Is it possible to live up to expectations? Can anything truly be perfect? Probably not. But we try and try, and stress ourselves out immensely in the process.

I have kids. They have constant peer pressure. Then there are the holiday parties for each and every club they belong to. Bring this, make that, donate this, fundraise that. Each year the expectations seem to grow. It all seems overwhelming.

The exception is their school play. It's modest and cheery and the right blend of character building, and fun. I enjoy it every year. The expectation there is to have fun, and to gather in the holiday spirit of community. It's pure and simple. I love it.

The Christmases I have enjoyed the most are the ones we bailed on convention and did our own thing. Took off on a plane and made a real holiday of it. The year we went to Maui was the best. Sun, sand, surf and fish tacos for Christmas dinner. No gifts, no expectations, just family togetherness.

Then there was fake Christmas. I loved fake Christmas too. Cj and I went to Disneyworld in late November. Their decorations and parades and holiday magic were in full effect. For us it was early Christmas. No pressure. No running around splitting time a few hours here, a few hours there. No demands from family. We just hid away from the world and enjoyed the magic of Disney. Some cocoa, a couple cookies, fake snow and a Christmas Mickey toy made it all seem so real, right there in November. Fake Christmas rocked. Ooooh, and their light display. Clark Griswold be ashamed. Disney and their million light display was absolutely second to none.

Did I mention the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian? That was incredible to see! And smell! The whole experience was awe inspiring. Now of course, I don't think I could handle the crowds of real Christmas at Disney, but I bet it would be incredible still.

But this  year I've got the 400 gifts wrapped (ok, not really 400 but it feels like it) and the dinner crate assembled and ready for the family road trip. We'll bounce from house to house to house spreading ourselves thin (I mean, spreading cheer). We'll exhaust the children and forget things along the way. We'll be accused of being ill mannered for leaving early or showing up late. We'll bring the wrong cookies, forget the wine and in general say the wrong things. I'll bite my tongue, eat handfuls of Tylenol and feel extremely guilty for leaving the dogs at the kennel. But... we'll be with family and that's what matters. My kids couldn't bear to have Christmas without their uncle, and I wholeheartedly agree.

I'll do my best to relax and ride the waves. When the stress gets to me, I'll head back to Hawaii in my mind. Maybe next year we'll be there in person again. Or at the very least, I'll try to find my aloha attitude again and just hang loose.

Freeshippingday.ca success

The first parcel arrived within 48 hours of ordering it. And I don't exactly live in a major metropolitan area.

The first parcel through the door was a pair of boots from Globo Shoes.  I ordered it at 7pm in the evening on a Tuesday. The arrived at lunchtime on Thursday.

Shipping was free. The boots were exactly as advertised.

Success.

Free Shipping Day!

It's free shipping day! It's free shipping day! Hi ho the dario it's free shipping day!

This is the greatest idea. This is the 2nd year in Canada. And I'm pleased to say I tried it in its inaugural year and was thrilled with the results. Last year Christmas preparations were just not happening. My mom was in the hospital and I was at her side full time. Meanwhile... back at my house, the kids were panicking that Christmas wasn't coming.

Free shipping day saved my bacon. I did nearly all my shopping on-line in about 2 hours. The beauty is that everything is guaranteed to arrive before Christmas.  They are almost all Canadian stores and they all positively ship to you in Canada.

Last year I was blown away that Roots.ca had my parcel in my hands within 48 hours. It came Fed Ex if I recall right. Roots offers free express shipping on everything this day, even clearance items. I bought my youngest just one thing. It came with wrapping paper & a note card at no extra cost. (Not sure if that applies to all items or I got lucky, but wow... impressed.)

The greatest things about this day are:

1. Canadian (Was started in the USA and is HUGE there, but finally the concept is here too. www.freeshippingday.com)

2. It's not too late! (Guaranteed to arrive before Christmas eve)

3. Ship gifts!  Soooo... if you have to send gifts elsewhere, shop online and have the company mail it right to them. Saves you wrapping, going to the post office and paying those crazy Canada Post fees. Isn't that typically your biggest barrier to sending the gifts you want to send?

4. Typically no minimum order. (Old Navy still has their $50 minimum, but they do offer you 30% off on this day too)

5. Discover new stores. I found Orb Clothing this way! Very cool. Very Canadian. And Got Something to Say They do the wall lettering you see in so many homes. (I bought little I love you messages, for my kids' rooms.)  And Globo Shoes... I know they exist around the country and are a division of ALDO shoes, but I was still pumped to find them. Great selection. Oh, and if you have an athlete in the house, don't miss Under Armour - another shop no minimum for free shipping today.

6. I don't feel like I'm stressed and fighting with other shoppers. No rushed panicked decisions made to get out of the crowd.

One last note, if you are worried about using your credit card online, just use your PayPal account. It's that easy.

Today only.... 12 12 12! Best of luck!

I'm a MART

We were talking about travel styles today and I am a self-described MART. That's Mother Against Road Trips.

It's true I don't enjoy road trips with my whole family. There's a couple good reasons.

First of all, we fight on who's going to drive. I have a big, spacious, gas guzzling quad cab truck. It's awsome. Like super awesome and I love it. But... I don't let anyone else drive it. So, gas mileage and the fact that I would have to do all the driving makes me reluctant to take it. But it sure would be comfortable and safe.

Then, if we took my husband's wagon, he would do all the driving. Ugh. He never stops. "Get in and shut up. We'll stop when we get there" best describes his driving style.  And since we live in the middle of nowhere road trips take at least 15 hours to get anywhere good.

My kids don't do well in confined spaces. They argue and fight and in general cause a ruckus.

I've tried road trip games, including custom bingo games. I've tried music, dvds and ipods. They work for a bit, but not long enough. They're active boys and need to run. I prefer to run them through airports on vacation, not gas stations and highway rest stops. I think it's great exercise to run from Terminal A to Terminal E in order to catch a connector flight. Keeps the heart racing and strong.

And with fly away vacations you can't just yell at everybody, toss them back in the car and drive home in a huff, cutting the trip short. Plane reservations and fees for changing flights help you resist the temptation to just throw your hands up and end the vacation.

I love my family and I love exploring new destinations. I just don't have the time, energy or interest in doing it Griswold-style like in the classic movie, "Vacation."

So I'm a MART. So what!