Home for the holidays is the best place to be.

During the holidays, there are many people who love to travel and get out of town. I, on the other hand, prefer to be home.  Decorating my house, spending time with my family and being in the holiday spirit is something I look forward to each year.  While traveling may be fun and exciting, there are many downsides to traveling during the holidays.

There is more traffic than usual on the roads and in the air, and most of the drivers are reckless, as they are in a hurry to get to their destinations. This causes traffic jams on the highway and longer lines in airports.  The stress that many of these drivers are under as they try to make it to their final destination or catch their flight on time leads to accidents. According to the Highway Loss Data Institute collision claims increase by roughly 20 percent during the month of December. Thirty two percent of drivers are more likely to show road rage during the holiday season according to a State Farm 2015 survey. Crowded roads and aggressive driving are not a good combination, and I’d prefer to not be a part of it.

During the holidays, getting homesick is a major problem for me. I do love to travel, but traveling during the holidays definitely makes my homesickness kick in. There is something I cherish about being home where I feel most comfortable with my family and friends celebrating Thanksgiving or Christmas. Most of my family lives close to me, so there’s no reason to have to travel and visit them. It’s our tradition to celebrate the holidays at my house. All my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents come to my house to be with our family. I love to help my parents prepare big meals, spend time with my family and hang out around the house. I don’t understand how some people can stand being in a hotel room, different state or even a different country during the holidays.

The prices and cost of traveling during the holidays sky rocket. Rates for hotel rooms, flights and gas sometimes double because of the captive audience they have. They know that people want and need to travel, so they take advantage of it and increase their prices. According to the Providence Journal, the national average price of gas will rise nearly 40 cents over the holidays. Most people don’t have a extra money laying around to afford all the high prices of travel during the holidays. Holidays are expensive enough without adding travel to it.

Traveling may be fun, exciting and relaxing to do, but during the holidays there is no place like home.