Traveling during the holidays, specifically through SeaTac Airport.
Most of you probably just read that headline and cringed. No need to cringe, my friend. I am living proof that traveling during the holidays can be easy, breezy and even fun! If you are flying in, out or through SeaTac Airport in Seattle this year, then this is your go-to guide.
This year we found ourselves flying out of Seattle on December 23rd, just 2 days before Christmas. It was time to get down to business… AKA, make our flight on time with little to no stress.
Let me back up real quick and share my Christmas traditions with you, to let you know why we fly during Christmas.
The Christmas traditions in our family have fluctuated over the years as we have all gotten older.
I’ll start with how Christmas used to be when I was younger. My dad’s side of the family resided in Wenatchee, WA. We had aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents who lived over the mountains while we had other aunts, uncles and cousins living over here in Seattle.
Every year we took turns between my Aunt’s house in Wenatchee, and our house here in Seattle. Every other year, my sister and I hopped in the car with my parents, loaded the car up with Christmas presents and made the treacherous drive in the dark night over the pass. Let me tell you, driving highway 2 in the middle of winter was always a scary feat that my dad handled very well.
Our Christmas Eve dinner was always homemade clam chowder. We would hang out for a few hours in the evening, eat a big bowl of chowder together and the kids all got to open one, single present. After a quick dinner, we would all head to bed.
Funny enough, I don’t remember ever believing in Santa Claus. My dad made sure to tell me blatantly that Santa wasn’t real when I was 4 or 5 years old because he didn’t want me believing in made-up things. Needless to say, I grew up very fast. My mom and I still laugh about the fact that I never got to believe in Santa as a child.
On Christmas day we would all wake up, eat brunch and open presents. After presents, a few people would stay back to cook up dinner while the rest of the family would go see a movie at the local theater.
Christmas dinner was always a fan favorite: Prime Rib and Alaskan King Crab. Yummmmm.
A few years ago we decided to start a new tradition. All of the grandparents had passed and there weren’t any young children in the family so our family dynamic was changing as a whole. Because we were all now adults, we realized we didn’t really need gifts; our homes were full of appliances, we had the clothes we wanted and at this point, if we needed something ourselves, we could go to the store and buy it, rather than wait until Christmas to ask for it.
Thus, we made the decision to stop buying each other –Stuff- and instead we would buy plane tickets to go somewhere. The money that we would have normally spent on gifts would now go towards a trip instead. Over the past few years we have gone to Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs and New York. This year we are headed to Scottsdale, Arizona to soak up some sunshine.
I’m sure the time will come for my cousins, my sister or maybe even myself to have children and we will move back towards a “normal” Christmas at home with gifts and such but for now, we have all agreed it is better to create memories together than to collect things. I am thankful for a family with this mindset and feel very fortunate to have an adventurous bunch of loved ones to travel with.
Now that we have taken a walk down memory lane, let’s get back to business.
The airport during the holidays.
SeaTac airport 2 days before Christmas, to be exact. We have done this a few times now, so we knew what to expect. You might not know what to expect so let me help you out.
Don’t drive and park your car. For a few reasons.
- It’s expensive
- The lots are going to be full
Let me elaborate on that second point. A few years back when we went to New York for Christmas, we decided to drive to the airport on Christmas eve. SeaTac airport has a ton of self-park options that we always utilize. Apparently, everyone and their mother decides to park and fly for Christmas because 9 out of 10 places we called said they were filled to capacity. Let me tell you, when you are trying to make your flight on time and have to call and drive from parking lot to parking lot, it is verrrry stressful.
So fast forward to this year, we were taking an Uber. Forrrr sure. We didn’t know what traffic was going to be like, we knew the airport was going to be busy, so we made sure that we would arrive to the airport 2 hours before our flight was set to take off.
Good news! No traffic on the Sunday before Christmas! We made it to the airport in a breeze and got dropped off right at the doors.
Next piece of good news; TSA precheck. Get it. It’s cheap, it lasts a long time and it is totally worth it. If you don’t know what it is, it’s a pre-clearance security screening you go through so that you can enter your own special line at the airport. It’s amazing. The regular lines were crazy long, but because we had TSA precheck we didn’t even have to wait; we literally walked right through security. Easy, breezy.
My next recommendation? Do not check your bags. With even more people flying in the air than usual, the odds of your checked luggage getting lost is pretty darn high. I wouldn’t risk it unless you absolutely have to. We almost always take a carry-on suitcase, plus our personal item (briefcase, purse, backpack).
Once you’re through the security line, head for a beverage; you are officially on vacation! We usually drop in to Stonehouse if we can manage a seat at the bar. The food isn’t wonderful, but the beers are cold and not overpriced. A large draft beer will run you $10.50 which is pretty decent for an airport bar. If you’re looking for a drink and a meal, head over to Anthony’s located in the main terminal.
It was Christmas, so SeaTac likes to cheer everyone up during the holidays. Just in our terminal alone we witnessed a nutcracker walking on stilts, an elf walking on stilts, Santa driving a golf cart, a good amount of Xmas Decor and a wonderful local artist singing and playing guitar.
If there’s one thing I want you to get out of this post, it’s these tips for flying during the holidays
- Sign up for TSA Precheck
- Uber to the airport
- Carry-on all of your luggage
- Follow the 2-hour domestic, 3-hour international rule
- Grab a drink once you’ve made it past security
After making it through Security and after grabbing a drink, it’s time to hop on that plane of yours and get away! Say goodbye to rainy Seattle and maybe even have another drink or bite to eat onboard.
You are on vacation after all!
Merry Christmas or Happy whatever it may be that you and your family celebrate.
