It’s that time of year again. We are in the midst of the holiday season. The ghosts and goblins of Halloween have moved on. The food, family, friends, and football games of Thanksgiving are just a couple of weeks away. Despite what the Hallmark Channel, radio stations, and television commercials may indicate Christmas is about 7 weeks away.
The holidays are a wonderful time of year. Even though, for some, they bring extra work, stress, disappointment, or sad memories. Let’s strive to make this season one of the best. Spend time with family, friends, co-workers, or even strangers or animals. Put the phone down and make personal connections. Don’t make the season about buying presents and exchanging gifts. Do something that will make you and others feel good. Write a letter, make a phone call, drop by with cookies or wine, take the dog for a walk and get some ice cream. Time together will mean much more than some items that you ordered online.
Make this season extra special.
Everyone loves to give and receive gifts but let’s be honest once the package is open the excitement tends to fade quickly. Can you remember what you received last year? Do you recall the items that you gave? Unless you received something extraordinary, you probably don’t remember. This year look for ways to share experiences. The time that you spend with other people is priceless. The memories will last a lifetime.
If you want to give something memorable, then give experiences rather than things. Take a food tour in your town, head to the Christmas parade, listen to some live music. Want something bigger? Gather the family together and take a tropical cruise, go to Africa to see the elephants in person, visit Croatia to see where Game of Thrones was filmed, fly over the Grand Canyon, go to a working dude ranch, play at a theme park. The options to spend time together explore the world and make memories are virtually unlimited.
You don’t need to take the trip right away, but now is a great time to plan. Give yourself the gift of travel and invite others with you. Have boring friends? Then plan a solo trip to meet new fun people.
I’ll help you design your trip to match your interests, comfort level, and budget. No trip is too big or small if it brings joy and unforgettable memories. Remember that I work for you and do not charge for planning. I’ll help you get the best possible experience and the best value.
Find Local Activities
Need a couple of resources to find things to do in your neighborhood. These two sites usually are used when traveling but they have great ideas for our own backyards. See examples of things to do in Chicago and New Your but you can use these links for nearly any city or date. You have a great experience and also help me in the process.
Project Expedition – https://pe.tours/NTQ1MjEw/
Viator – https://www.viator.com/New-York-City/d687-ttd?pid=P00002881&uid=U00087873&mcid=58086¤cy=USD
Keep Charting Memories
Drew