Whether you are traveling to an exotic destination for the holidays or going to grandma’s house, holiday travel can be a stressful experience, to say the least. You can make your trip a little less stressful though, if you take some time to plan things out in advance.

First, you’ll want to make sure you book your plane tickets, hotel, and make any other reservations as early as possible. You’ll get a better price, too, as Christmas is one of those times when it doesn’t pay to wait until the last minute.

If your plans are flexible and you need to fly to your destination, try booking a flight that leaves on the day of the holiday if you can. Those flights will usually be cheaper than flights that go out on peak travel days, like the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve. Plus, you’ll avoid the stress of being in a busy airport and having to wait in line for a long time at security checkpoints.

If you’re flying to your destination, you might want to ship your gifts ahead of time. If you choose to fly with your gifts in a suitcase, leave them unwrapped so they can be inspected at security checkpoints. Don’t want to bother with wrapping them when you get there? Ship them to your destination via an insured carrier like UPS or FedEx. This could also reduce the need to check any baggage at all, making it so you don’t have to wait at the baggage claim before leaving the airport.

Traveling by car? Don’t forget to fill the car up with gas a couple of days in advance. Many gas stations close early on Christmas Eve and don’t open at all on Christmas Day, and you don’t want to be caught without gas on a cold winter day.

Don’t forget a thing when you leave! Create a checklist for yourself so you can make sure everything is packed. It’s best if you work on creating your checklist several weeks ahead of time, so you can add new items as you remember them. List everything you’ll need to pack, including gifts, clothing, and toiletry items.

Lastly, make sure you take plenty of patience with you. It’s amazing how much your own personal attitude can affect what kind of experience you have. If you choose to have a positive attitude no matter what happens, you’ll have a lot less stress to deal with when you’re traveling. Be polite, and reduce everyone’s stress level.