Planning a Holiday Trip With Your Parents, Your Kids, or Both

If you're the one who plans the family trip, holiday travel means fitting together very different days: parents who need more rest or have appointments that can't move, little ones who still nap, and everyone in between. Here are five things that make those trips easier, learned from planning our own family trips.

Put the fixed times on the calendar first. Medications, appointments, naps. Fill in the fun around them, not the other way around. It's much easier than squeezing them into a plan that's already full.

Don't stack two long days back to back. A big outing followed by a slower day keeps everyone going, especially when walking is hard for someone in the group.

Plan when the group can split up. Not everyone has to do everything together. Give the high-energy people an option while others rest, and pick a time and place where everyone meets back up.

Call ahead about stairs and access. Reviews that say a place is step-free are often wrong. Ask about elevators, the walk from parking, and whether there's seating. The same goes if you're pushing a stroller. Two minutes on the phone can save a frustrating day.

Give everyone the same plan. Print it or put it on a shared calendar, so the whole group knows what's happening and when. It saves you from answering "what time are we leaving?" all day.

And if you're driving out of Northern Virginia the day before Thanksgiving, you already know the last tip: leave more room in the schedule than you think you need.

My husband and I built a small planning tool, Restway (restwaytravel.com), after doing this by hand for our own family trips. But you don't need a tool to use any of these tips. Happy travels.